Uruguay
Boasting picturesque beaches, rolling countryside, colonial old towns and atmospheric
cities, Uruguay comes in a small but highly impressive package. The country’s laid
back, welcoming charm and year-round temperate climate is being discovered by more
and more tourists from further afield each year, and they find out what many of
their South American counterparts have known all along: that Uruguay is a destination
with spades of personality, beauty and often striking panorama.
For such a small country, Uruguay has a lot to offer its visitors, and a surprising
degree of contrasting scenery. The capital Montevideo is arguably the jewel in its
crown: an eloquent, cosmopolitan and thriving metropolis where art deco buildings,
a lively business and shopping district, a breezy beachfront promenade and the world's
longest carnival celebration collide to create a heady experience.
Colonial del Sacramento is another gem; its beguiling cobbled streets, leafy plazas,
18th-century Portuguese colonial architecture and quaint riverside setting make
it a perfect destination for cultured romantics. High rollers looking to top up
their tans on a beach or yacht before dancing away the early hours will likely be
drawn to the glamorous Punta del Este; its stunning beaches, fancy hotels, classy
nightclubs and swanky restaurants ensure it is the most expensive and brazenly showbiz
place in Uruguay. Maldonado is a slightly less pricey alternative for beach bums
on a budget, but aside from those places, there are scores of small villages and
towns dotted across the country each with their own distinctive charms and character
to explore, lest we forget a thrilling Atlantic coastline with dunes, lagoons and
perfect surf, the fisherman’s paradise of Punto del Diablo, soothing hot springs
near the pretty town of Salto and the wide open grandeur of gaucho country.
Uruguayans are, by and large, a liberal, relaxed and friendly people who enjoy a
relatively high standard of living, and they will likely delight in showing you
their homeland. They are also known worldwide for their garra charrúa, a fighting
spirit derived from the original indigenous settlers that has seen a country of
just 3.4 million people punch above its weight on the international stage both economically
and in sport. The inaugural Olympic soccer champions, improbable double winners
of the FIFA World Cup and ahead of their much larger neighbors Brazil and Argentina
in South American titles, Uruguayans are an immensely proud people who delight in
fighting against the odds, and often succeeding.
The compact nature of Uruguay, at roughly the same size as the USA’s Oklahoma, means
it its possible for visitors to discover a good wedge of the country in a relatively
short period of time. That’s not to say that repeated visits to Uruguay are unnecessary
or excessive; returning travellers will either discover more of the country’s distinctive
beauty that they missed out on the first time out, or nostalgically reacquaint themselves
with what made them fall in love with it in the first place. In the vein of its
famous sizzling beef steaks, Uruguay is best digested and enjoyed at a leisurely
pace. And there is little doubt you will want more.