Reserva Provincial Castillos de Pincheira, Protected natural area in Malargüe Department, Argentina

Reserva Provincial Castillos de Pincheira is a 650-hectare protected landscape 27 km west of Malargüe, Mendoza. Its pale grey and tan rock mass rises from scrub-covered slopes, its vertical face eroded into rounded columns and deep recesses, with a dark arched opening at the base and two tall columns standing apart to the right. The Malargüe River runs at its foot, with the Pincheira Stream a few metres away.

Tradition holds that these rocks sheltered the Pincheira brothers, bandits serving the Spanish royalists, and their troops during their raids between 1811 and 1833. The reserve, named after them, was created by provincial law 6691 on 22 June 1999, covering 650 hectares about 27 km west of Malargüe.

The name recalls the Pincheira brothers, royalist bandits who, by tradition, used these rocks as a refuge during their raids between 1811 and 1833. Arrowheads and fragments of indigenous pottery of the Huarpe culture, and later of the Mapuche culture, are often found in the surroundings.

The area is accessible from Malargüe city via Fortín Malalhue Street with regular bus service available. Guided tours through the local tourism office will help you understand the geological features you see.

The two tall columns standing apart from the main mass on the right are what give the formation its castle silhouette. In the surroundings, arrowheads and pottery fragments of the Huarpe culture, and later the Mapuche, are commonly found, evidence of long use of the site before the Pincheira brothers sheltered here between 1811 and 1833.