With its 6,570 meters of altitude, Tupungato volcano is Mendoza´s second mountain and ranks fourteenth in the Andes mountain range.
Like its well-known neighbor Aconcagua, Tupungato’s powerful dome can be distinguished from several kilometers away. It is also protected by a natural reserve, which does not count on any infrastructure.
Tupungato volcano Provincial Park is one of the major inheritances we can leave to the coming generations. This corridor, lying between two mountain chains -Frontal on the east and Principal to the west- protects the largest freshwater reserves in glaciers of the Central Andes, six thousand meter- high peaks and valleys where wildlife thrives. Some of the most beautiful and unknown scenarios are here, protected by their difficult access.
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Though there remain traces of the presence of the Incas in the area, the first documented explorations were carried out by Europeans. On the 11th of April of 1897, the Swiss guide Mathias Zürbriggen and British Stuart Vines reached the top of Tupungato for the first time.
The glaciers of this area originate rivers Tupungato, flowing to the North, and Tunuyán, to the South.
The glaciers of Tupungato also save the answer to one of the most intriguing enigmas of world aviation. In 1947, a British Lancastrian -a military aircraft adapted for commercial use-, called Stardust, disappeared with eleven passengers on board, while flying across the Andes. Traces of the plane were only found in 1998 on the volcano slopes. |
