Argentina · AR

Portezuelo del Milico

Portezuelo del Milico is a high mountain pass in the remote southwestern corner of Mendoza Province, Argentina, where the Andean foothills dissolve into a sparsely peopled frontier of ridges, volcanic cones and dry mountain rivers. It is a genuine crossing of the wild pre-cordillera rather than a built-up viewpoint, the kind of place that rewards travelers who love empty horizons and a sense of being far off the map. This is not a place with a visitor centre, a trail sign or a queue of photos — it is backcountry. What it offers is atmosphere and isolation: a low-traffic pass set among cerros and small sierras, with the nearest rural settlement, Barrancas, lying only a dozen or so kilometres to the south in a landscape that holds fewer than two people per square kilometre.