For some time now, it is a common walk. Get out of the city one day on the weekend and venture to a nearby town It is a program that more and more people are encouraged to do. However, the circuit usually always includes the most popular ones. Uribelarrea, Carlos Keen, Mercedes, Azcuénaga or San Antonio de Areco They are widely chosen thanks to their good gastronomic offer and their charms spread in various journalistic articles and on social networks. But deep Buenos Aires has much more to offer. In fact, there is a lot to see in some of the smallest and most discreet towns in the province.
Summer 2025
Thinking about the summer season that begins in a few days, there are some towns that seduce with their beach proposals and options to enjoy the water.
It is the case of Punta Desnudez, in the Tres Arroyos districtnamed after the first surveyor who explored its coasts. Located 14 kilometers from Ourense Spa (and close to other better-known points such as Claromecó and Reta), a small town of about 2,500 inhabitants that reach 2,800 including the rural area. The spa town is especially small: between 60 and 70 people live there during the year.
This beach has slopes for vehicles, two hotels, restaurants, fishing club, camping and dance bowling alley. There are also several homestays that are rented during the season. The most emblematic place is Médano 40, a living dune whose height of 40 meters allows you to observe the entire landscape from the highest point. Another attraction is the Cristiano Muerto stream, which follows a winding path between the dunes until it ends in the sea, and along its route there are different fishing spots.
“Here the houses are always open, the cars park on the waterfront and you go down with beach things like umbrellas and chairs, you put them away in the morning and at noon you go up to your house to have lunch or rest for a while, and you’re everything there no more. Nobody touches anything and that is invaluable,” says María del Carmen Quiroga, in charge of the Tourism Office, while giving the key to one of the great differentials of this tourist resort.
The hot springs are another refreshing point to consider this summer, and to those already known in different parts of the country the variant of Tapalqué, a town 270 kilometers from CABA. The complex is located on a 17-hectare property in a forested and landscaped environment, which this year also added an outdoor pool area with water games specially designed for children.
Outside the hot springs, the city also has a municipal natatorium, a spa with an extensive grove of trees and a stream with 10 kilometers of coastline, ideal for practicing kayaking, fishing and hiking. On weekends there is an artisan fair and the proposal to taste a typical delicacy of the area: a black cake the size of a pizza.
Country spirit
It can also be a good plan to indulge in the rural charm of certain towns. Como Crotto, which is located a few kilometers from Tapalqué, has just turned 110 years old and was recently designated Rural Tourist Village. Here the adobe and brick houses stand out almost as much as the silence of siesta time or the intensity of the shine of the stars at night.
This was a town that grew next to the railroad, but over the years it lost access to the train, the one that brought it news from the world and products that were not found in the area, as well as connection with its neighbors. However, today Crotto station It is a museum worth visiting. Between old photos and everyday objects it is possible to relive the history of a town that preserves much of its essence. With barely 300 inhabitants, visiting it is like traveling back in time. What else to visit? The “store corner”, with the Old Fonda and the General Store, and the central square, where the statue of the Peasant Woman stands.
Inside the Saladillo district and 180 kilometers from Buenos Aires, Polvaredas It is presented as a green lung of dirt streets and brick houses. It is known as the birthplace of the helicopter creator Augusto Cicaré, and has centuries-old buildings such as Cato’s Bar (still open), a photo of what remains over time without modification. It is also worth stopping by the Luna Park Bar, which treasures the history of the town and its inhabitants through objects, paintings, newspaper clippings and photos, and which even has a bocce court. It is an ideal destination to walk in silence, sit in its parks and enjoy the kindness of its neighbors, who love to tell the stories of the place where they grew up.
and just Gardey hides 27 kilometers from the city of Tandila rural town with poplar paths, ideal for lovers of nature and outdoor life. Here you can visit the San Antonio de Padua chapel, in a romantic style, the Chapelofú stream, where it is possible to camp and fish, or reach “Las Coloradas”, a green space nestled in the middle of the countryside on the bank of the same stream, which It is reached by a rural path. And it’s not all about exercise: there is also a place to enjoy gastronomy, and the Almacén Vulcano is ideal for an outdoor snack, a specialty of the area. At its outdoor tables it will be possible to admire the sunset of the town.
Recover the essence
Although charming and each with its own particular mark, life in small towns is not always as idyllic as it seems. With residents emigrating in search of opportunities and fewer and fewer inhabitants, there are several who struggle daily with the challenges of staying on their feet and remaining current. It was with this problem in mind that in 1999 the geographer and sociologist Marcela Benítez created RESPONDE, an NGO dedicated to promoting the social and economic development of small rural towns in the country.
They do so by committing to the preservation and defense of the roots, identity and cultural heritage of the people, while trusting in the entrepreneurial capacity of their people and their will to improve based on opportunities. To do this, they investigate and generate unpublished information to revalue identity and culture and reveal potential. They also launch projects so that communities can take advantage of their resources and find a possible future in their town.
As far as the province of Buenos Aires is concerned, they have focused on nine towns: Sansinena, San Enrique, Saforcada, San Jorge, Recalde, Pirovano, Ramón Biaus, Agustina and Castilla. And on its page it is possible to know a precise survey about each one, from its demographic, economic and service data to details about its flora and fauna and its tourist attractions. It is the ideal opportunity to find findings that are worth not only knowing, but also helping to put on the map.
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