No-Man's Land and the Pass
After Chilean processing, the road continues across approximately 67 km of no-man's land to the Argentine facilities — the two border posts are not co-located, and the crossing between them takes the better part of two hours. The pass itself crests at 4,780 metres, the highest vehicular border crossing between Chile and Argentina. At the summit the landscape is entirely stripped: bare scree, glacial remnants on the upper ridgelines, thin cold air, and a silence that feels physical. Take it slowly in both directions — for altitude and for the road.
Aduana Las Flores — Argentine Border
The Argentine customs post at Las Flores handles entry into San Juan province. Argentina's SENASA conducts a routine baggage check here for animal and plant products — declare anything you're carrying and the inspection is straightforward.
Arrival: Rodeo
Rodeo is a small town in the Departamento Iglesia, at around 1,900 metres in a broad valley ringed by arid cordilleran peaks. It is a functional overnight rather than a destination — but it has one quietly remarkable thing nearby. The Embalse Cuesta del Viento, a reservoir a few kilometres from town, sits in a valley that narrows into a natural funnel, accelerating the afternoon winds to extraordinary speeds. With more than 300 days a year exceeding 20 knots, the reservoir is considered one of the finest windsurfing sites in the world; the turquoise water set against dark volcanic rock is striking even if the wind holds no particular interest. Arrive, settle in, eat early, drink water. The descent from 4,780 metres to under 2,000 metres in a single afternoon is physiological work, and rest is the correct response.