Minas de Corrales -96 km from the city of Rivera and 60km from the city of Tacuarembó -attracts visitors due to its history, natural features and distinctive identity traits.
The town’s uniqueness stems from the combination of small-town traditions and the nature of the mining industry. The sight of locals on horseback riding by mining company-owned special vehicles evidences a striking contrast between the traditional and the modern.
Along the length of the median strip on Minas de Corrales’s main street, Avenida Dr Davison, there are various 19th Century local mining artifacts on display.
The beauty of Cerros Miriñaque and Vigilante (Miriñaque and Vigilante Hills) is also bound to catch the visitor’s eye. From the top, varieties of dwarf palm trees that only grow in this region can be spotted.
The San Gregorio Mining Company, just 5 km from the center of Minas de Corrales, is a mandatory stop for those interested in mining activities. We are talking about Uruguay’s largest gold mining company.
Also, there are galleries of former mining operations on the banks of Corrales creek. The cool, damp, dark setting will give you an idea of how hard life was like for miners in the past.
Minas de Corrales also features the Gold Museum, a space which houses an exhibition on the different aspects of the gold extraction process and the history of its founder, Don Tito Pereira.
