Located 140 km east of the capital city, Montevideo, lies the upscale resort of Punta del Este in the southern end of Uruguay. Although Punta del Este has a small population, each year this top notch resort is visited by the rich and famous Americans and Europeans who come here for a summer vacation. This is the time of the year when Punta del Este is busy with tourists and the whole resort comes alive with people.
The Spanish were the first to settle in Punta del Este in the beginning of the 16th century, but colonization only started around the 18th century when the Portuguese were expanding their settlements. There is not much of the ethnic population living here, which surprisingly consists of people of an European descent of Spanish and Italian ancestry. Most of the European population arrived in Punta del Este in the late 19th century.
Punta del Este is popular for its spectacular white as well as golden sandy beaches and the picturesque coasts that are of two types, the Brava and the Mansa. It is the only place where you can see beaches along the river coast as well the sea coast in the same place. It has the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Ŕio de la Plata or the Silver River on the other side. All the beaches here are accessible to the public and people can choose from beaches with soft waves and those with strong waves.
La Barra, which is on the eastern side of Punta del Esta offers some spectacular beaches that provide great water sport activities and fishing and is therefore a popular centre for tourists. The city has a fine combination of colonial as well as modern architecture, though the basic infrastructure is very modern with casinos, cinemas, shopping centers, restaurants and commercial galleries. Casapueblo, a fascinating sculpture by Carlos Páez Vilaró, sits pretty atop Punta Ballena.
This gigantic masterpiece is a major attraction here. It consists of several rooms that overlook the sea while it houses some of the great works of the sculptor himself. One can see the beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean and the equally mesmerizing sunset over the Silver River from Punta Ballena. Other attractions that tourists can visit are the Punta del Este Lighthouse which can be climbed up via its 150 steps going up the spiral staircase, the Parcue El Jaguel, an art museum and the Gorriti Island, which is a natural port.
Punta del Este has its own airport that receives both domestic as well as international flights. It can also be accessed by car as well as by bus and because of its close proximity to the capital city; Punta del Este is well served as far as transportation is concerned.
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