Laguna de los Padres

Information

It is a laguna (a type of inland lake) in the province of Buenos Aires, located 3.7 km from the town of Sierra de los Padres and approximately 13 km from the city of Mar del Plata. Its tributary is the Arroyo de los Padres (a stream, from the southwest of the body of water) and its effluent is the Arroyo La Tapera (anoher stream, from the northeast). It is part of a municipal nature reserve, which means that it is in a protected area.

Part of its perimeter can be crossed by different dirt roads. It is surrounded by extensive green spaces with lots of shady trees, ideal for an afternoon picnic. The terrain is quite undulating with ups and downs, and with hills from where you can take panoramic pictures of the landscape. There is also a place to camp and spend the night.

You can visit the José Hernández Municipal Museum, which is the house of an old estancia where José Hernández (author of the Martín Fierro) lived for a while, and where nowadays there is information about the different settlers that lived in the area and about the origins of Mar del Plata. In another place there is a reconstruction of what used to be a Jesuit mission, the reduction Nuestra Señora del Pilar, which was founded in 1746 and is undoubtedly an unmissable place to learn about the history of the place.

This is a good place to observe the wildlife of the area. Capybaras can often be seen in broad daylight, usually along the edges of the laguna with vegetation.

How to get there:
a) By bus: there is a branch of the bus line 717 that comes from the centre of Mar del Plata and leaves at the Laguna de los Padres, although it is recommended to confirm schedules and months that this service gives.
b) By car:
- From Mar del Plata: take Pedro Luro Avenue in a north-westerly direction, which becomes National Route 226. Along this road, where it marks kilometres 12 and 15, there are three different paved access roads that leave in different sectors of the body of water.
- From Sierra de los Padres: the shortest option is to take from the entrance arch the Padre Luis Varetto Avenue (which is the continuation of Argentina Avenue) for 2.2 kilometres and turn right on a dirt road for 1.5 kilometres to the laguna. If you want to get there by a completely paved road (it is a little longer), you have to follow Padre Luis Varetto Avenue up to National Route 226 and from there take one of the paved accesses to the place.