San Carlos Park

Information

San Carlos Park is a municipal nature reserve located in Concordia, in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos. It lies just 3 or 4 kilometers from the city center, making it easy to reach by taxi, bicycle or even on foot if the weather is nice.

It's a spacious green area with gentle hills and groves of trees, and it can be explored by car thanks to its internal gravel roads. Locals from Concordia and occasional tourists often come to enjoy the place, whether for a picnic, some outdoor physical activity or simply a walk. Keep in mind that there are no shops within the park grounds, although you can find what you need in the surrounding area.

The park features several access points to the Uruguay River, which in that stretch has a shoreline that alternates between pebbles and soil creating a rugged-looking landscape. Along its edges grow gallery forests, a type of vegetation that follows the river's course and hosts a good variety of native birds typical of the region's riverside environment. There's also an artificial lake where turtles (specifically "yellow-bellied slider turtles") are commonly seen basking on the shore or on rocks.

One of the park's most striking features is an old castle built in the late 19th century. In this building stayed Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French poet and author of The Little Prince (in French 'Le Petit Prince'), who passed through Concordia during a stopover on his flights across South America.