Andean Ridge Hike from Mendoza with Cacheuta Hot Springs and Lake Potrerillos Views

Dawn draws a thin line over the Andes as Mendoza’s vineyards slip into the rearview and the Mendoza River begins to muscle through a canyon of rust and ash. Forty-five minutes later, the road bends into Cacheuta and the mountains step closer, shouldering the sky. The trail rises almost immediately—rocky singletrack that winds through scrubby jarilla and thorny algarrobo as the river chatters below, daring you to keep pace. With each switchback the reservoir of Potrerillos spreads wider, a turquoise sheet pinned by concrete at one end and granite at the other.