http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1042422
Here's Google translates version if you don't speak much Spanish -- the article is from this time 2 years ago:
De Mendoza to Santiago, on four wheels
The 380 kilometers separating the two cities deparan addition to the cross of Christ the Redeemer, spectacular scenery and ski resorts on both sides of the border
Barely 380 miles separate the city of Mendoza to Santiago de Chile. However, the journey through the Andes, by the Paso Cristo Redentor, lasts longer than expected: the winding road, attractions and towns on the edge of the road, and the beauty of the landscape require operate without constraint.
Crossing the border in winter has the added charm of the snowy mountains, but required to take precautions. After a snowstorm, the transition may remain closed for hours or days, so it is advised to contact Border Police before leaving. Once enabled the route, is indispensable to carry chains. The police asked to see them, but them is up to the traveler.
If you plan to spend the night in one of the ski resorts, in Mendoza and Penitentes Portillo in the neighboring country, it is important to purchase antifreeze to the car's engine. The Cordillera has an average elevation of approximately 2500 meters, and the temperature drops to -4 ° C or -5 ° C.
Beyond the weather, the trip should be started early: figure about six hours to Santiago and take into account that the tunnel is closed from 9 pm to 8 am.
The crossing
The journey begins at 60 kilometers from the city of Mendoza, in addition to the National Highway 7 which leads to the Chilean border. Here is the dam Potrerillos colossal construction that forms a remarkably blue lake waters, where the river Mendoza. This little wealthy in winter is a great attraction for lovers of rafting in summer. After the dam, the river starts to run fast, along the route during the rest of the trip.
About 40 miles later, the landscape is peopled with poplars and willows. Signs Uspallata welcome in the valley of the same name. Landmark Campaign San Martin, the Mendoza will remember for having filmed there Seven Years in Tibet, with Brad Pitt. In addition to the stories to film buffs, the village has the Vaults, eighteenth-century buildings made of adobe, declared National Historical Monument.
After a stop to stretch your legs, carrying gasoline or contemplate the landscape, the journey continues to the Penitentes ski resort, and in the mountain ranges. A small complex of eight lifts, with the advantage of being considerably cheaper: During high season, the day pass costs 120 pesos and equipment rental, 80. It is adjacent to the route, so it is curious to see cars and trucks travel as close as he drops one of his tracks. The Penitentes are, above all, Mendoza, but also heard speak Portuguese and some English. The accommodation is at the foot of the hill, and includes hotels, apartments and hostels.
There are only 30 kilometers to the border, but the road still promises attractions. Near Penitentes is the Puente del Inca, a natural monument formed by the erosion of mineral waters from the River Caves, which have given the place a peculiar shade of orange and yellow. Incas are said to frequent the area in order to exploit the thermal properties of water. With the same objective was built in 1925, a luxury hotel. Forty years later, in 1965, an avalanche destroyed it almost completely and now only ruins.
Cemetery climbers
In ruins have also been more than 200 kilometers of roads in the old trans-Andean train, which stopped circulating in 1984. The sheds that protected the passage of the railway are now corroded structures, while bridges and tunnels are crumbling.
The cemetery of the climbers is another curiosity. It lay amid flowers and wooden crosses, the remains of the climbers who dared to summit Aconcagua. The highest peak of America, 6962 meters, is visible from the road, which opens a 18-kilometer road leading to the Aconcagua National Park. In winter, the road is covered by a thick layer of snow, so the less adventurous tourists be forced to comply with the photo of the hill.
Near the crossing, countless trucks begin to crowd outside the route. After a few minutes of confusion, one realizes that line up for miles and wait their turn for inspection at the office. But cars, must also wait? The road is narrow and two-way. A few meters from the entrance is 10 km tunnel through the Andes and the Argentine side connects with the Chilean. Is not it dangerous to proceed, asks a passenger. It is very dangerous!, Warns a leading Chilean trucker days waiting by the roadside. But you have to be sent! He concludes. So recklessly cautious and hoping that no one will come in the opposite direction, it moves along the tunnel. Once outside, as in Chile and on Route 60, the office waiting.
Papers, papers
Chilean Customs control is strict and somewhat tedious. First a queue to submit documentation of the order: green card, registration and proof of insurance, the other to show the identity card or passport, and third and last, to collect customs declaration form. Once completed the form, submit one of the police, accompanied by a dog breed that inspires fear. The animal immediately began to sniff the car. Two things can happen in this instance: that the dog does not sniff anything and one is free to move on, or to detect any undeclared food. If this happens, the police will confiscate and destroy the view of travelers. At that time, the police display their profile drive: on a table, cut the food into two and, like science fiction film, begin to pour into a bright green poison so that nobody can throw the tooth, they put it in a plastic bag and thrown into a container.
The tour continues. This time is the Portillo ski resort that attracts attention, especially when it is discovered that the tracks pass over the tunnel or, viewed another way, one moves below the skiers. But the road starts to wind sharply and it is downhill, forcing the driver to look over the asphalt.
The rest of the trip to Santiago is on the decline. The ears are uncovered and the snow melts, as the landscape is covered with vegetation. Some wooden houses begin to appear beside the road, a sign of approaching the first settlements on the Chilean side. Among them, Los Andes, with over 60,000 inhabitants. Unlike Mendoza side, dry and arid geography, Chile's is strikingly green and fertile. Despite this contrast, both territories share be covered with vineyards.
From Los Andes leaves Route 57, which ends in the Chilean capital. The panoramic view of cultivated fields and low houses away, as entered in the metropolitan area. The city is guess the distance, nestled in a valley and covered by a layer of contamination that dilutes its contours. But no matter, because it has reached the destination.
