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Central Interior (Uruguay)

The central interior of Uruguay includes the departments of Cerro Largo, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja and Treinta y Tres. The Central Interior has rolling hills, cow country, lakes, history, a border with Brazil, and more—including lovely, quiet spots for a visit.

Cities

Other destinations

Grutas del Palacio

  • Grutas del Palacio (Palace Cave), near Trinidad, Flores department, -33.276111°, -57.133333°. A natural formation of caves forty-six kilometres from Trinidad and recognized by UNESCO.
  • Quebrada de los Cuervos 📍 (near Treinta y Tres) - considered the most beautiful national park in Uruguay.
  • Rincón del Bonete 📍 (near Durazno) - A huge hydroelectric power station with a large artificial lake popular for fishing. It is possible to visit the interior of the station.

Understand

Historic estancia (farm) in Florida Department

Get in

By bus

Most (but not all) bus routes begin or end in Montevideo. For buses that do start or end in Montevideo, you can find schedules at the Tres Cruces Bus Terminal website. For other buses, such as the Nossar line from Colonia to Trinidad and Durazno or the Tureste line from Maldonado to Treinta y Tres, you'll just have to ask around or look at individual bus companies' websites.

By car

Highways crisscross the region, providing good connections with Montevideo and decent to good connections with other parts of the country. You can also drive from Brazil, crossing the bridge between Jaguarão and Río Branco.

By plane

Fly into Carrasco International Airport (IATA: MVD) outside of Montevideo. If you're going to the eastern departments of Cerro Largo, Treinta y Tres, and Lavalleja, you can probably catch an intercity bus at the airport. Otherwise, take a bus to Tres Cruces terminal in Montevideo and get an intercity bus from there.

Get around

By bus

If you're trying to travel between two places that are more or less on a straight line from Montevideo, like Florida and Durazno or Treinta y Tres and Río Branco, buses should be frequent and convenient. Otherwise, you'll probably have to change buses, and in many cases the easiest way to get from one city to another may be to transfer in Montevideo.

By car

Probably more convenient if you plan to explore the region in depth. Some rural attractions are not served by bus routes.

See

  • Chamangá, -33.666667°, -56.583333°. An area with numerous remains of Guarani Precolumbian settlements including rock temples, cemeteries and pictographs.
  • Salto del Penitente, -34.37259°, -55.0532°. A small waterfall and pool to refresh in the hot summer. Enjoy watching the iguanas line up on the rocks to catch the rays of the heating sun. Otherwise you can do zip-lining across the pool, or hike the rugged hills and enjoy spectacular scenery. There is also a restaurant there. 2018-02-02
  • Buddhist Temples, +598 98489550. Call ahead or ask tourism information. Interestingly, two temples have found themselves in the middle of nowhere. 2018-02-05

Do

  • Lago de Paso Palmar (National Park) (Rio Negro Dam), -33.1318°, -57.1698°. Camp, see the sunset, and take a dip in the refreshing cold water. If you wander around a little, remote and quiet camping places off the official ones can be found, e.g. at the Geopark Bartolomé Hidalgo 📍. Free 2018-02-17

Eat

Minas is known for its alfajores, a very sweet dulce de leche cookie sandwich. Alfajores are available throughout Uruguay (and in various other Spanish-speaking countries), but true aficionados say the best ones are found in the Minas area. If you're taking a bus that goes through Minas, look out for vendors getting on board to sell this famous local product.

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Central Interior (Uruguay)

Timezone:MultipleCoordinates:-33.12, -55.06