Uspallata

Uspallata lies in a high valley east of the Andean passes between Mendoza and Chile. Nearby stand the remains of Ranchillos, an Inca tambo beside a permanent stream. Its many stone-walled rooms formed a substantial complex, one of the largest Inca installations in the region, on the road through the southern reaches of the Inca Empire, serving travellers and the administration of this mountain country.

The route across the Andes remained important after the Spanish conquest. The nearby Paramillos mines were worked in the colonial period, and buildings known as Las Bóvedas served as stores for José de San Martín during the 1817 campaign across the mountains. The valley brought roads, mining and military movement together in a landscape of high ridges and scarce vegetation.