San Javier

San Javier is the shoulder of the Sierra de San Javier that rises straight out of Tucumán city, and the road up climbs through subtropical cloud forest in a series of tight bends, gaining a thousand metres and a completely different climate in half an hour. At the top stands the Cristo Bendicente, a stone Christ figure of around twenty-eight metres set on a platform with the city, the plain and the sugar cane fields laid out below and, on clear days, a horizon that runs for a hundred kilometres. The mountain is a university-managed reserve, and trails lead into the forest to waterfalls and lookouts. Paragliders launch from the ridge, and the village of Villa Nougués nearby preserves early twentieth-century summer houses.

What you actually see

• The Cristo Bendicente - the large stone Christ on the ridge top.
• The city panorama - Tucumán and the sugar plain far below.
• The cloud forest - dense yungas woodland along the climbing road.
• Villa Nougués - old summer villas on the mountain shoulder.

When to go

April to November for clearer air and comfortable temperatures; in summer the ridge is often wrapped in cloud and the road slick with rain. Mornings usually offer the best visibility. Weekends bring heavy local traffic on the narrow bends.

Honest expectations

Cloud can erase the view entirely with no warning, and it happens often. The road is narrow with sharp drops and busy at weekends. Facilities at the top are limited to a few kiosks.

Nearby

Tucumán city is at the foot of the hill; Tafí del Valle lies further west over the mountains.