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Travel addict? Want to go on a road trip in Argentina? Discover the route of mate!
It is a circuit dedicated to mate in the north of Argentina as well as a good excuse to go to South America.
Revise your Spanish and pack your backpack. Let's go!
The mate route or rather "Ruta de la Yerba Mate" is a tourist circuit that allows you to discover mate and all the culture surrounding it.
The idea was born in 2002, after the University of Buenos Aires presented this project to the national yerba mate institute "Instituto Nacional de la Yerba Mate".
But it was not until 2009 that the first stage of the route was inaugurated.
It now has several and grows as much as the interest of the rest of the world in mate.
The mate route crosses the mate-producing regions in the north of Argentina: the Misiones region and the north of the Corrientes region.
This road takes travelers through lush landscapes and rural villages to discover one of the oldest customs in Argentina.
Unless you are already in the region, you have to go through Buenos Aires.
Once in the capital, the simplest solution is to fly to Puerto Iguazú or Posadas. Both cities are served by many daily connections through Buenos Aires.
Puerto Iguazú should soon have a direct line with France.
For those with more time or who simply prefer to travel avoiding the plane, it is possible to go from Buenos Aires to Posadas and Puerto Iguazú by bus or car.
But be careful, the road is long (and we know what we're talking about)!
There aren't many tourist infrastructures in the region.
The best way to travel this route is to rent your own car and create your own itinerary.
When you visit a place, make sure it is open. The ideal is to book or make a phone call in advance. Most cooperatives are closed on weekends!
If you want to make things easier for yourself, it is possible to go through an agency.
There are a few in the region, or even in Buenos Aires, that organize trips on the mate route.
As its name suggests, this route allows you to discover what mate is by visiting plantations, factories, and many museums.
But it mainly allows you to have a real experience.
Visitors can stay in inns, eco-lodges, or even in former mate producers' houses, where they will share typical moments with local families.
It is also possible to enjoy excellent Argentine gastronomy (meat, wine...) as well as dishes seasoned with mate!
And for nature lovers, the region is surrounded by tropical forests and mountains.
The mate route involves nearly 200 local businesses in the "matero" sector.
They showcase their plantations and share their knowledge about mate.
It is possible to see both small family plantations and vast farms.
They open their doors to tourists to show the process of mate production, from harvesting to packaging.
These can be private establishments and cooperatives that work in an artisanal, industrial way, or even producers of organic mate.
Established routes allow visiting several places while minimizing the distance to be traveled.
Here are some of them:
It allows visiting the Don Leandro establishment as well as citrus plantations. It also passes through the town of Concepción de la Sierra where it is possible to visit the Jesuit ruins of Santa María la Mayor. It ends in the town of Apostoles where the Juan Szyckosky museum of the La Cachuera establishment is located.
This circuit starts all the way north in the region, near Puerto Iguazú where it is possible to visit the Andresito establishment and learn how to prepare mate.
It continues to the mouth of the Paraguay River where the yerba mate producer "Buen Dia" is located. Further south, at the end of the itinerary, is the Montecarlo cooperative. It is possible to eat dishes and desserts made with yerba mate there.
Paraguay River
It heads from the north towards the center of the province, towards the Don Jacobo Ortas establishment.
This itinerary is also an opportunity to see the nearby waterfalls Enchanted Falls and Paredón Falls as well as to visit the indigenous community Cuñá Piurú.
Enchanted Falls
The main interest of this circuit is to see behind the scenes of one of the largest producers in Argentina: Piporé (Cooperativa Productora de Yerba Mate Santo Pipó).
This route starts in the city of Posadas, the capital of the province. It allows you to visit the mate production facility Kraus as well as the Piporé establishment.
It's the one and only circuit in the province of Corrientes, but it allows you to discover the Las Marias plantation, which is one of the largest (perhaps even the largest?) in Argentina.
Discovering mate is great. But if you go to this region, there are a few places you shouldn't miss.
Here are a few:
The Iguazú Falls are a must-see if you find yourself in the region.
Located at the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, they are immense waterfalls in the middle of the rainforest.
They are indeed part of the 7 natural wonders of the world!
A little less impressive, the Saltos del Moconá are still natural wonders. They are located on the border of Brazil and Argentina, at the level of the Uruguay River.
Declared a World Heritage Site, the Jesuit missions (or Guarani Jesuit reductions) form a group of 30 villages founded in the 17th century by the Jesuits.
Esteros del Iberá is a wetland of 12,000 km² in northern Argentina (the second largest in the world after the Pantanal) where it is possible to see many animals and enjoy nature.
This place is the ideal destination for those who wish to spend a few days in nature.
Less known and more recent than the mate route of Argentina, there is also a mate route in Paraguay (named "Ka'a Rape" in Guarani).
You can access it from the city of Encarnación, near the Argentine border, at the city of Posadas (the city where the Argentine mate route begins). For the biggest mate enthusiasts, it is therefore easy to combine the mate route in Argentina and that of Paraguay!
It is obviously possible to see mate plantations.
And as in Argentina, it is possible to visit Guarani Jesuit missions there.
And the least known of all: the route of mate in Brazil. It is called "Rota da Erva Mate" or "Rota do chimarrão", because mate is known as "chimarrão" in Brazil.
It is located in the south of Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and extends over 80 km. It is very little known, and is not even referenced in tourist guides and other travel blogs that can be found on the internet.
At La Bombilla, we know this route for having crossed it "by chance" while going to meet local producers.
It is therefore an ideal destination for adventurers and those who like to get off the beaten tourist paths!
Escola do Chimarrão, in other words "school of chimarrão"
To access it, the easiest way is to leave from Porto Alegre, the capital of the state. The different cities and stops of the Rota da Erva-Mate are quite remote and no tourism agency offers excursions to get there.
You will need to rent a car to cross the mate road. No need for a 4x4 as the roads are in good condition. A small car will do just fine.
A few basics of Portuguese can be useful. Tudo bem?
Many people go to Argentina without actually going to the north of the country.
So if you go to Argentina, and more specifically, to the capital, you will be able to learn more about mate.
How?
There is a mate museum in Buenos Aires!
It is located in the Tigres neighborhood, north of the city.
You need to allow some time to get there as it is slightly out of the way.
It is generally open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 11 AM to 6 PM, but the hours may vary (you can check them here before you go).
And if you don't have the chance to be on vacation, to live in Argentina, or if you simply don't plan to go there, we give you the opportunity to discover mate in France (but without the landscapes, sorry!).
We regularly publish articles on Le BombiBlog, our mate dedicated blog. You will find all kinds of information about mate there!
