Tacuarembó

Tacuarembó lies in the rolling cattle country of the interior and is the heart of Uruguayan gaucho culture, a working town of estancias, saddleries and horses rather than a resort. Each March the Fiesta de la Patria Gaucha fills a field outside town with thousands of riders competing in rodeo and horsemanship, the largest gathering of its kind in the country. The town claims Carlos Gardel as a native son and keeps a museum arguing the case. Nearby the Valle Edén valley and the Batoví hill break the grassland with rock and forest. Outside the March festival the town keeps its ordinary working rhythm.