Alta Gracia's main attraction is the Jesuit estancia at its center. Although the town has attracted its fair share of the rich and famous over the years, none became quite so well known as a shy school boy with asthma known as Che. Museo Casa de Ernesto Che Guevara (Villa Nydia, Avellaneda 501; (tel. 3547/428-579; admission $1/55p; Mon-Sun 9am-9pm) is where the legendary revolutionary spent much of his childhood. There you can see some of his personal possessions and correspondence -- some addressed to his buddy-in-arms, Fidel Castro. For a good 5km (3-mile) walk, make for the Jesuit ruins of Los Paredones, past the poetic Park García Lorca. The walk includes a view of the Gruta de Lourdes, a shrine popular with pilgrims in February, and a replica of the famous French grotto. South of town by 37km (23 miles), a large reservoir known as Los Molinos is popular for watersports and with fisherman angling for trout and pejerrey.
Outside Town -- One of the province's biggest festivals is the Oktoberfest in Villa General Belgrano, 52km (32 miles) south of Alta Gracia. This German settlement's population was boosted by interned sailors from the Graf Spee in the war years. A quiet leafy resort town most of the time, it comes alive the first half of every October with a beer jamboree spiced up with a generous helping of genuine German sausage. For more information, try the village tourist office, Av. Roca 168 (tel. 3546/461-215; www.elsitiodelavilla.com).
