Punta de Vacas
Punta de Vacas is a small town at 2350 meters above sea level in the Las Heras department , in the province of Mendoza , Argentina , on the Ruta Nacional 7 . It is near the confluence of the Rio de las Cuevas with the Rio Tupungatu and the Rio de las Vacas to the Rio Mendoza, 50 km west of Uspallata and 9 km east of the ski resort Los Penitentes , 17 km east of Puente del Inca in the Parque Provincial Aconcagua and 30 km east of the border with Chile .
population
Punta de Vacas had 47 inhabitants in 2001 according to the INDEC , a decrease of 65% compared to the previous 1991 census. At the time of the Transandenbahn , the place still had a doctor, a nurse and a more active socio-cultural life than it does today.
climate
A dry mountain climate is predominant, which is very changeable due to various factors, including altitude. The mean annual temperature is 7.6 ° C, with large fluctuations between the seasons and between day and night, and there are also sudden sharp changes in temperature. Precipitation is rare and irregular, the annual rainfall is between 200 and 300 mm, which corresponds to the prevailing climate in the Andean region .
Spiritual tourism
Despite its small size and importance, Punta de Vacas is known around the world among the followers of Silo , who gave the first public address here in 1969. For the 30th anniversary in 1999, a steel monolith was erected here. In 2007, the study and reflection park Punta de Vacas was inaugurated in the same place and in the presence of around 10,000 supporters silos. Some of his followers worship the place as a holy place, others as a place of inspiration, on the one hand because the humanist movement and Silo's message began there, but also because of the geographical location near the Aconcagua . The World March for Peace and Nonviolence ended there in January 2010 .
Coordinates: 32 ° 51 ′ S , 69 ° 45 ′ W