Immediately south of Malargüe [1]’s tourist office, antique farming implements embellish the landscaped spaces of the 10-hectare Parque del Ayer, a handsome city park. At the north end of the park, the improved Museo Regional Malargüe (tel. 02627/47-0154, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and 5–9 p.m. daily, free) has professionalized its displays on natural and regional history.
At the south end of the park, Malargüe’s founder built the Molino de Rufino Ortega, a historic flour mill dating from 1876 that’s undergoing restoration.
Malargüe has also acquired an astronomical reputation thanks to the presence of the multinational Observatorio Pierre Auger (Avenida San Martín Norte 304, tel. 02627/47-1556, www.auger.org [2]), which offers tours at 5 p.m. weekdays. Its specialty is ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
A complement to the Auger, the new Planetario Malargüe (Aldao and Rodríguez, tel. 02627/47-2116, planetario [at] malargue [dot] gov [dot] ar, free) is Argentina’s first digital observatory. Primarily didactic, it offers weekday visits for school children except on Tuesday. There are afternoon programs for adults 5–8 p.m. weekdays, 3–8 p.m. weekends.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/argentina/cuyo/mendoza-province/malarguee
[2] http://www.auger.org