Uruguay launches a guide to enjoy its winter

Winter holidays begin in South America and many international tourists seek to get out of the routine. Although the preferred destinations for these dates are still in the Caribbean, a large number of young people and families have taken the decision to explore new places in Latin America. Uruguay, for example, presents different proposals for fun and rest, among friends or family: criollas, horseback riding through the mountains, relaxation in the hot springs or live a nautical adventure; among many other options.
Therefore, as more and more destinations offered by Uruguay - especially when the cold of winter becomes more intense - is that the Ministry of Tourism of this country launched a guide to suggest places, activities and even tips on what to bring to these adventures.
This guide also includes curiosities about places and characters of Uruguay; different games to solve and learn; useful and detailed information of different outdoor spaces; and a section that proposes tourist itineraries to visit in any season of the year. This document is open to the public and totally free, downloading it from the website of the Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay.
In family or with friends. In this sense, this series of guides show activities for all tastes and ages, both outdoors and in enclosed spaces. Undoubtedly, one of the classics of this country, to know its customs and traditions, are the "open doormen", to receive visitors and show, next to a burning wood stove or to the trot of a Creole horse, how they live and the men and women of the Uruguayan countryside work. Rural tourism takes place both in large tourist estancias and in small family farms, which share as a common denominator the hospitality of its people.

Warm relaxing waters
Another unmissable destination for this time of year is in the departments of Salto and Paysandú, where there is a large thermal area that emerges from the Guaraní Aquifer System, one of the most important underground water resources on the planet. The waters emerge at temperatures that oscillate between 38 ° C and 46 ° C, being pleasant to enjoy, in the middle of winter, open pools.
In the thermal complexes the accommodation alternatives are diverse and range from camping or simple cabins, to five-star hotels.
For example, in Almirón there are the only salt water springs in the region. In Arapey -the oldest complex-, in a plot of more than 250 hectares, there are open, roofed and semi-covered pools. In Daymán, in addition to the municipal park, which has swimming pools with regulated temperatures according to the season, there are private complexes and a playground. For its part, in Guaviyú, its open and covered pools are surrounded by an exotic landscape of Yatay palm trees. In Salto Grande you can enjoy the hot springs in a 5-star hotel, located in a huge park, which offers tours by bicycle or horseback. Finally, in San Nicanor there are the only hot springs located in a private property, where tourists can stay in the historic center of the estancia as well as in bungalows or in a campsite.

Food, culture and football
For those who like the winter cold is an ideal excuse to go out to eat, you can not miss the different "gourmet markets" that have been emerging in the Uruguayan capital in recent years.
El Mercado del Puerto, for example, in the old town of Montevideo, you can taste the traditional Uruguayan grill. Another very attractive site is the Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo (MAM), where a large market of fruits, vegetables, gourmet products, specialty stores and food stalls operates under a huge iron structure from the beginning of the 20th century. with great emphasis on local identity.
But beyond these centers and closed commercial spaces, with a good shelter in tow and the initiative to get carried away by the city, Montevideo in winter offers outdoor walks of great tourist interest, such as the traditional neighborhood fairs of Villa Biarritz, Park Roló and Tristán Narvaja, one of the most visited by tourists because of its characteristic flea market profile, in which there is no object that can not be achieved, especially when it comes to books, vinyl and antiques.
The same happens with artistic expressions whose imprint and identity are inescapably national, such as candombe, murga, tango and the milongas, as well as football.