Mendoza

Mendoza is a city in Central Argentina. It is the capital of the province with the same name. It's the main hub to cross the border to Santiago de Chile in Chile across the Andes mountains at the Paso Internacional Los Libertadores.

Hitchhiking out

If you're in the center, consider taking a bus to get out of the city. For the bus you need a Mendoza specific bus card with enough charge on it. As of January 2017, 20 pesos is enough for three bus trips (or three people on one bus trip). You can also ask other passengers on the bus if they can "beep" you in, in exchange for a cash amount.

West towards Uspallata, Puente del Inca and Chile

There's three options to go west: the popular and well-paved RN 7, the legendary and stunning RP 52 and the unknown RP 13. Hitchwiki users have hitchhiked the first two. If you did the Ruta 13, please add info.

= Via the Ruta Nacional 7

- Puente del Inca, about 4 hours away for 26 pesos (old price). This town is the main entrance to the Aconcagua mountain trail. The Aconcagua is with 6.962 meters the tallest mountain of this continent and the southern hemisphere.

- Upsallata, 1,5-2 h away for 22 pesos (old price)

- Agrelo, 30 min away for only 4 pesos (old price). Ask the bus driver to drop you at Ruta 7, at the gas station (Gasolinera de la Ruta 7)

From the first two you can hitch a ride to the other side of the border on a straight road. The third choice is really good too, you will be dropped 200 m before that same straight road (Ruta 7) that goes to Chile. More exactly: the gas station is 200 meters before Ruta 7 leaves the motorway, and many of the cars stop there. Prices are as of May 2012.

Via the Ruta Provincial 52

There are no border formalities to be done on the Argentinian side. You'll get your Argentinian exit stamp on the Chilean side of the border.

Remember that taking unpackaged food through the border is not allowed. The Chilean SAG (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero) will take it from you. Cookies that are made by a lovely Argentinian grandpa are not OK, while branded cookies are fine. Same goes for pasta, trail mix, prepared and labeled pan de miga sandwiches, etc. Not OK are vegetables and fruits that are not prepared in some way. They're really afraid of the bugs all the neighboring countries have. Bring enough water for the crossing, especially in summer when all the holiday traffic can cause a giant blockade and there's no shadow nowhere. This also applies for inside the car.

South towards Neuquen, Zapala, Bariloche on the Ruta Nacional 40

Southwards (Valle Grande, ruta 40): you can take a city bus until Lujan, or try hitching straight from the bus terminal in the centre (highway passes there). Be warned waiting times are very long on this stretch of RN40 as vehicles are doing short trips. Also the route itself is too wide and fast to hitch successfully on. Consider a bus to further down from Lujan.