Two hours of walking to reach the top of Ullum: trail to Cerro Tres Marías.

If there is something that characterized this last trip I took, it was all the walking I did: I walked and walked as if there was no tomorrow. Trekking and hiking are one of the things I like to do most when I'm traveling, and this time when I had a little more time available to do these activities I made the most of it. The Ullum Dam area in the province of San Juan is ideal for those who want to get started in this activity, since it has trails of all difficulties. The most famous of them is the one that takes you up the mountain to Cerro Tres Marías, located at 1050 meters above sea level .

The good thing about deciding to go to that hill is that since it is a short walk, half an afternoon would be enough to complete it. Unlike the previous time I had gone to the Ullum area, this time I was well prepared with my trekking shoes and my wind jacket, since even though this province is quite hot, the wind in the peaks It is quite cold and full of clay .

The trails leading up to the peaks in the Ullum area are quite marked and it is almost impossible to get lost. This landscape is characterized by being quite dusty and orange. It also has some interesting landforms along the way, such as this one. Could you tell me what shape this stone has at the beginning of the path?

Leaving aside the strange occurrences of nature, the most common thing for visitors to this area is to reach the first cross where you can sit and spend the day. The terrain in this area is quite trodden so it is not even necessary to have special footwear to reach it, although it is certain that your shoes will come in a very particular color .

From there you can easily see the path you have to follow to get to the top. What I liked about this path is that it is quite intuitive and from time to time you can meet other visitors. What I didn't like is that the signage is quite neglected and a renovation wouldn't hurt .

For this second part of the path it is necessary to have good footwear because the terrain is loose stone. This part was one of the steepest climbs we found, but from it you could see incredible views of the dam .

This dam is one of the most important water reserves in the province of San Juan. In this place, the climate is generally dry and it almost never rains, so having a reserve of water for human consumption is more than important. In the almost two months that I was there, it did not rain a single day: good for outdoor activities, bad for the crops .

The higher we went over the mountain, the colors progressively changed from orange to dark brown. Something we learned when we went to the San Juan history museum is that this area is one of the few in Argentina that has stone mountains, since the majority are made of dirt .

What they recommended to us before climbing these mountains is to check the wind forecast. Climbing up this mountain was not difficult, until some of the gusts that were forecast for the afternoon began to arrive. Although they were not strong, they had told us to be careful: as always, we must respect the mountains .

In addition to how special this trip was for me, I was also amazed because I had never seen a landscape with these colors. The contrast that the blue of the dam made with the oranges and browns of the mountains was incredible. Along the way I don't know how many times I was grateful for the opportunity to be there, and I continue to do so until now ❤️.

One of the reasons these trails are so perfectly marked is because many people use them for trail running. During our walk we came across many people running along the trails and that seemed incredible to me, since with the slope of the mountain they were going down at great speed. At some point in life it would be nice to do that, but for the moment I prefer to keep my legs healthy .

The second stop on this trail is the paragliding slope. With its winds and drop to the valley, this area of the province of San Juan is ideal for this activity. I barely got close to the edge and I was surprised at how there are people who dare to jump over such a precipice. Quite brave indeed .

Arriving at the paragliding slope meant we were halfway there. We took the opportunity to rest a little and admire the landscape, but we soon continued on the path because it was almost 6 in the afternoon and the sun was slowly going down. Although I don't exercise regularly at home, I felt quite energetic, or maybe it was the adrenaline of wanting to continue walking through those beautiful mountains ❤️.

Almost reaching two hours of walking, we began to see what we hoped would be the summit we were looking for. This formation is a large mountain range, so during the walk we went up and down several peaks, until we finally reached what was the highest in that area, Tres Marías hill. Luckily, it was marked with a very blurry sign .

At the summit of this mountain we could see the river that feeds the dam in front of us and we also found a small grotto with offerings. In most of the mountains I visited during this trip there were crosses and caves, so I suppose it is a San Juan tradition .

And speaking of crosses, when we looked to the side of the street, we saw another small summit with another cross. We had already walked quite a bit, but there is always a desire for a little more so we approached it. I must say that the path to get to this cross was not easy in the last section because we had to use our hands to get to it, but the views from there were great so it was worth risking our lives .

Of course this path continued much further, but for the moment we had already gotten as far as we wanted and as far as the sunlight allowed us that afternoon. The great thing about having gone at that time is that we went down with the sun on our backs, so the entire landscape became golden and illuminated, very beautiful ❤️.

If I start thinking about my fears before embarking on this great journey, I can tell you that one of them was feeling alone or not being able to make friends. Luckily this was not like that at all and instead I met some wonderful people with a great adventurous spirit. I think I could have done this trek alone, but sharing it with my hostel companions was much better and more fun ❤️.

Cerro Tres Marías became one of the treks that I most recommended to people who came to the hostel. Located just 20 km from the city center of San Juan, the Ullum Dam and surrounding areas have all kinds of activities to spend the day. If you like kayaking, you can do it. If you like to drink mates in front of the water, you can do it. And if you like adventure and doing a little exercise, you can do it too. A very complete place and of course it became one of my favorites ❤️.Hope you liked this post! Thanks for reading. ❤️❤️¡Espero que les haya gustado este post! Gracias por leer. ❤️

source