Punta del Este

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Punta del Este is an upscale vacation spot on the southern tip of Uruguay, southeast of the town of Maldonado and about 140 km east of Montevideo. Although the town has a year round population of 10,506 (2005), it experiences a tourist explosion each summer between Christmas and the end of January and often February, sometimes the summer population can reach one million.

History

The first Europeans to set foot in what is now Punta del Este were the Spanish at the beginning of the 16th century. However, the colonization of the area actually began around Maldonado at the end of the 18th century due to Portuguese expansionism.

Punta del este and its surroundings (Maldonado and Punta Ballena for example) at the end of the XIX century were kilometers of sand and dunes, but in 1896 Antonio Lussich bought 4.447 acres (1800 Hectares) of uninhabited land and there he started a botanic garden and planted trees and plants from all over the world. Later in the surroundings the trees started to spread by their own now the area is full mostly of Pines, Eucalyptus, Acacias and various species of bushes (Quite similar to Australian flora).

Transportation

You may reach Punta del Este from Buenos Aires by grabbing a ferryboat (Buquebus) or a hydrofoil boat to the other side of River Plate you can also take a plane to the Laguna Del Sauce international airport.

Punta del Este is served by an international airport located near Laguna del Sauce, on the outskirts of the resort, which opened in 1996.

From Miami or Madrid for example you have to take a plane to Carrasco International Airport which is in the capital city Montevideo, and from there you have to take any kind of ground transportation to reach Punta del Este which is located 140 km to east from there.

Touristic sites

• Casapueblo museum and art gallery.
• Mueso del Mar
• Conrad Hotel
• La Barra

References

See also

• Uruguay
• Montevideo

External links

• Official site
• Tourist Information Punta del Este
• Article about Punta del Este in The New York Times
• Fotos of Punta del Este and Surrounding
• Punta del Este aerial images

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 17:15:22 PDT (GMT -0700)
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