"Birdwatching and beach: Chuy, Sierra de San Miguel" Rocha by Faustina_

The Sierra de San Miguel area of Rocha is so close to the frontier with Brazil that the view from the hotel terrace encompased both countries. The posts indicating the demarcation agreed on by Spain and Portugal in colonial times are still clearly visible. This is a less "touristy" area than the Rocha beaches, with many people simply driving by on their way to or from Brazil, but the natural beauty of the spot deserves a visit. Our hotel, Fortin de San Miguel, was built at the time of the reconstruction of the Santa Teresa and San Miguel fortresses and with the same kind of stones. Nearby are rocky-hill forests with typical indigenous flora and also vast wetlands, so this is an excellent place for birdwatching.

Sunset on the way back from Cerro Picudo

Walking distance from our hotel were both the historic fort (Fuerte de San Miguel) and the Cerro Picudo (a rocky hill in a protected natural area, which includes a herd of "native" cattle, of the breed originally introduced by Hernandarias in the 1500's). These two spots alone justify the visit. By car we visited the Barra del Chuy beach, on the Brazilian side of the border and the Coronilla beach in Uruguay. The latter has suffered somewhat with a canal which drains water from the rice fields, but in compensation it is practically desolate and is excellent for walking. We saw a large turtle and scores of marine birds.

Palm trees near Castillos, Rocha

On the way back to Montevideo we made a short detour and took route 14 from the customs house on the main road (Route 9) due north for just over 20 km and then (rural) route 16 back south to Castillos, thus circling Laguna Negra. This allowed us to see the "palmares" which are large areas covered with "butiá" palms.

• Pros:Amazing natural landscape
• Cons:Not the place for city life
• In a nutshell:For nature lovers