subject: What to Visit While Staying at the Diplomatic Hotel [print this page] What to Visit While Staying at the Diplomatic Hotel
There are many great sites to see while in Mendoza. There are many places to see and enjoy. The corner of Belgrano and Sarmiento is a great place to start, right where the Diplomatic Hotel is.
The story of Mendoza starts in 1561, precisely on March 2nd, when the city was founded by Capitn Pedro del Castillo. It is located 750 meters above sea level at the foot of the Andes. The originary tribes that lived in the Mendoza area were Puelches, Incas and Huarpes. The Huarpe people, a hard working tribe, occupied the Valley of Hentota, the exact spot where Medoza city is nowadays. Their peace of mind and kindness transmitted to the way Mendoza inhabitants are nowadays.
The Huarpe cultivated their lands, and made art. They also were good hunters and used to fish in the many rivers and creeks that run in Mendoza. They created a unique way of transporting water, by knitting mesh, which has not been paralleled in America. They developed an irrigation system, which is basically the same that is used in Mendoza in the present. Through it managed to divert water from different rivers flow channels to carry water to their fields of corn, beans, squash and quinoa.
So, thanks to the irrigation system, the Cuyum Mapu (Land of the Sands), as the Indians called it, became the oasis it is today. The basin of the Mendoza river provides water to the metropolitan area, and the famous vineyards that abound in the province. Even nowadays, Mendoza's irrigation system is unique in Latin America.
An oasis in the middle of the desert is the phrase that might define the city of Mendoza. This irrigation system made it possible to create many parks in the city, such as the Parque General San Martn of 510 hectares. If you enjoy walking, going out and having a drink in picturesque nice little cafes, in wide and clean streets, then Aristides Villanueva Av., San Martn Av., and Colon Av. are the places to go. There is also a lot of cafes and more and most places have wireless internet connectivity. In 2005 Mendoza was named the most digital city in Latin America in the VI Latin American Meeting on Digital Cities, because the number of online services offered to its citizens. Obviusly, the Diplomatic Hotel offers broadband connectivity free of charge to all guests.
