One of the most popular resorts in Uruguay is Punta del Este. It is a very small town with white sandy beaches, luxurious villas and hotels, as well as impressive nature. Despite its small size, the city has many memorable places. Here are historical buildings of colonial times, a unique sculpture house, the world-famous monument "Hand" and even an island with seals.
City between the river and the ocean
Punta del Este is located at the place where the La Plata River flows into the great waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is located on a peninsula, part of which is pulled forward by a long and narrow tongue. Its region is the southernmost point of Uruguay.
Punta del Este is located in the department of Maldonado. The city belongs to the municipality of the same name, which also includes several coastal islands. It is located just five kilometers from the center of the department, the city of Maldonado, and about 140 kilometers from the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.
The city was founded in 1907. However, the region was opened much earlier. The Spaniards were the first to notice him while exploring the La Plata Strait. But desert lands, practically devoid of vegetation, at first did not attract them at all. They began to develop the region only in the 18th century.
After armed clashes with the Portuguese, the Spaniards conquered this corner. In the XIX century, Francisco Aguilar decided to equip lifeless lands. He built a ceramics factory here, and, becoming the governor of the region, initiated the construction of schools, religious and urban institutions. Now all these buildings are considered attractions of Punta del Este. In the XX century, the city turned into a luxury resort, which today does not lose popularity.
Climate and nature
The city is located in the subtropical zone. Due to the close proximity of the Atlantic, the climate here is mild oceanic with hot summers and cool, but not frosty winters. The coldest time is in July, then the average temperature is 11-12 degrees. The hottest month is February, with an average temperature of 21 degrees.
The holiday season lasts from November to the end of March. There are many sunny days in Punta del Este at this time, and the thermometer shows from 25 to 35 degrees. It rains on the coast in April, but the ocean remains warm until June.
Eucalyptus trees, pines, acacias and other trees grow in the region, which can be safely called exotic for these places. Until 1896, they were neither within the city, nor in Uruguay as a whole, until Antonio Lussic founded the botanical garden.
There was a large port in the city, and sailors brought plant seeds from various parts of our planet to Lussic. Over time, the trees began to spread themselves and adorned the former sand dunes.
Resort areas
The population of Punta del Este in Uruguay is 10 thousand inhabitants. Due to the flow of tourists in the summer, this number increases at least 50 times. The city has many hotels, first-class restaurants and nightclubs.
Local beaches are free and are divided into two types: river (Mansa) and ocean (Brava). On the beaches by the river, the sand is coarse and golden, by the ocean the beaches are of a "higher grade" with fine white sand. The most popular holiday destinations are El Tesoro, Bikini Beach, Montoya and Manantiales Beach.
The La Barra area is great for sailing, yachting and fishing. From December to January, parties and festivals are often held on its beaches. Surfers and windsurfers usually gather on coasts heavily blown by winds. Water sports are also practiced in the department’s largest body of water - the Lagoon Yves, located 15 kilometers from the city.
Hand sculpture in Punta del Este
The sculpture of the Chilean Mario Irarrasabal appeared in 1982, during the first international meeting of sculptors. The remaining monuments have long been removed from their sites, but the work of Mario has been so liked by the locals that for thirty years it has been adorning one of the beaches of Punta del Este in Uruguay.
Fingers from the ground rise three meters in height. They seem to break out of the thickness of the sand. They are made of steel and cement, covered with plastic on top. The sculpture is called differently: Monument to the drowning, Birth of a person, Fingers or Hand.
There are various interpretations of this work. According to one version, sculpture is a warning to all bathers. The waters on this beach are very turbulent and have claimed more than one life. According to another version, the monument symbolizes the presence of man in nature. A similar sculpture is located in the Atacame Desert called “Desert Hand”.
Architecture
Punta del Este has its own special atmosphere. There is no integral old center, as, for example, in many European towns. Historic buildings are surrounded by modern buildings and private houses, not devoid of luxury and taste.
Within the city, the most famous landmarks are the lighthouse and the Candelaria Church with an orange tiled roof and blue walls. The lighthouse reaches 45 meters in height, to climb it you need to overcome as many as 150 steps.
Thirteen kilometers from the city is Casabueblo - the home of the Uruguayan artist Carlos Vilaro, known for his unusual appearance. This white cement building resembles buildings on the Mediterranean island of Santorini.
The house was built without any plan. It arose from a small building, to which other units were attached at different levels and from different sides. So for 36 years he “crawled” along the slope in the form of a huge maze with many windows, arches and terraces. Now it has a museum, art gallery, hotel and restaurant.
Lobos Island
The name of the landmark Isla de Lobos translates as “wolf island”. Only they have never been here. In fact, it used to be called seals and sea lions, which are abundant on the island near Punta del Este.
Lobos is a unique natural monument. Local animals, although they are in the center of attention of tourists, feel great. Once they were the object of fishing of the Uruguayans, but now they can not even be approached.
In size, the island covers only 0.4 square kilometers. There are no settlements on it, and all pleasure boats leave it in the evening. The only inhabitants of Lobos are seals, sea lions and birds, and near the coast you can often observe killer whales and southern smooth whales.