Las Lenas

The village is small but has a number of plush hotels and some cheaper apartments available. There is a supermarket selling most things, but if you want any thing fresh then bring it with you. Theres a cash machine, a couple of board shops, restaurants and the usual tourist trappings in the mall, but thats about it. The nearest town is Malargue about an hours drive away.

Food wise the 5* Piscies do a good $50 peso 3 course meal at one of their 2 restaurants and the food at the Aries can be very good. Apart from hotels, El Refugio do a reasonable fondue and Huaco some good steaks. If its burgers then the Innsbruck is ok, and the UFO Point do great pizzas. A good way to end the day is a meal at La Cima, situated at the top of the Eros lift. They serve authentic Argentinian grills including a parrillada, a mixed grill or rat on stick depending on your viewpoint. The place really kicks off once the eatings finished and the band start playing. If you're eating on a budget then you'll find a restaurant in the workers accomodation, open to all its $15 peso for a 3 course meal including wine. The local supermarket stocks everything you'll need if you're self catering, however fresh vegtables are rare so make sure you stock up before arriving.

Lodging in Las Lenas is pricey (4 star hotels), though it is often easy to get a bed in the 'workers' dormitory for $10 per night. There are a number of apartments available if you can't quite stretch to the Piscis or Otherwise the nearest 'affordable' beds are in Malargue, a small town down the valley, where you'll find hotel rooms from $20 a night.

Nightlife starts late and finishes early, so its just as well the lifts don't close till 5pm. Do what the locals do and grab a beer or a chocolate, sit outside or in the Innsbruck or UFO point until about 6pm then take a break. Around 9pm the restaurants will start to open up, grab some food then head to one of the late bars. The BU bar above the Corona Club is a good place to hang, and they often have bands playing. UFO Point and Corona Club take alternate nights, things don't start getting lively until its past midnight and theres usually a cover charge to get in. They certainly know how to party, but you wont find many people drinking so at least you'll always get served quickly. For a change in atmosphere the tiny wine bar's a good place to chat to locals whilst you sup a good Malbec.