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The initial attitude of those who come to Cariló for the first time is one of reverential fascination with nature. In reality, if nature had fulfilled its designs, today Cariló would only be a gigantic sand dune, a monotonous and arid desert on the shores of the sea. Cariló is one of the strongest examples of what the initiative of man can when, from the visionary proposal, he tries to modify nature without betraying its rules, improve it, transform it into habitable first and finally turn it into a possible and close paradise.



It was enough that a stubborn man, lyrical when it came to ideas and pragmatic when it came to action, resolved to set this story in motion. Everyone, at the time, listened at least with distrust to the plan that he obsessively proclaimed by Don Héctor Manuel Guerrero. A man who, at only 28 years of age, begins the fixation and afforestation of the living dune in the Estancia “Dos Montes”. At that time, this ranch contained the “Médanos” pasture, of about 1,700 hectares (5 km facing the sea and 3.5 km deep). A multiple challenge: against storms and the wind that blows without obstacles, against ants and hares, against the lack of adequate roads and transport, against the little that was known about sand afforestation, against the skepticism that even led to defections to your most immediate collaborators after the first inconveniences.



He had inherited from his father Carlos a huge open space with three ombúes. And, in a few years, he equipped it with a helmet, an unthinkable park designed by the famous Carlos Thays and a plantation of more than 200 hectares of fruit trees. There the Charles Cabin originated, famous among other things, because it introduced the Aberdeen Angus in the country. The case of the Dos Montes ranch was even more complex since the three ombúes did not even exist. And the 1,700 hectares that bordered the sea were of constantly moving sands, exposed to all inclement weather.



Guerrero begins to travel to all the deserts of the world, to discover and import seeds of the pastures suitable to stop the movement of the sands. He also brought plants from different parts of the country, and by dint of testing, he managed to set up his first nurseries in Charles, 17 km away from the “Médanos” pasture. From where the seedlings were transported daily, in wooden carts pulled by horses. Ten carts, each drawn by eight horses, were prepared to transport the suckers to the plantation site through swamps, lagoons, canyons and paths that were made by walking. All this involved 5 hours of exhausting travel. The herd had to be replaced on arrival by other horses capable of returning.



Already in 1935, after 18 years of effort, organization and continuous and important private investment, the plantation reached the sea. The change of habitat had begun to modify the zonal ecology. The local birds began to nest in what Guerrero baptized as "Cariló" (Médano Verde).



In 1938, the nurseries were moved from the "Charles Viejo" ranch to "Dos Montes" in order to speed up. Guerrero himself testified that in 1947 he had almost 700,000 plants ready to be sown. It is difficult to calculate exactly how many plants there are in Cariló today, but it would not be too risky to infer that this number exceeds 3 million copies. It was precisely in the mid-1940s that Héctor Guerrero began a new story: that of turning Cariló into one of the most beautiful spas in the world.



That is how in 1948, he inaugurated his main house known as “Divisadero” or “Casa Grande” on the dune and facing the sea with the forest in the background. And in 1970, the nurseries were raised as the fixing and afforestation of all private property had been completed. The children of the founder designate the streets of the lot with names of Plants (perpendicular to the sea) and Birds existing in the place (parallel to the sea), in alphabetical order.



Don Héctor Manuel Guerrero, in a communication to the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, announced his purpose and synthesized, with the humility of the pioneer, the engine of his undertaking:



“It is the hope of my last years to offer that effort to the country, as an example of the capacity of private initiative, giving my children and descendants the possibility of their continuation and, if possible, their improvement, forming a nucleus in such places. of population that will perpetuate the name of my elders allowing access to all economic possibilities ”.





Take the Buenos Aires - La Plata highway connecting with the Ruta 2 highway (attention: turn right where the large sign that says Mar del Plata is). Continue on Route 2 in Dolores. Here connect with Route 63 to Route 11 for 26 kilometers of highway to the corner of Crotto. Take Route 11 to General Conesa. Once you get to Conesa, take Route 56 that takes you to General Madariaga. Then, joining Route 11 again, it completes its route passing through Pinamar, Ostende and Valeria del Mar.





Cariló is part of the town of Pinamar located in the province of Buenos Aires on the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Federal Capital.



One of the advantages of Cariló as a tourist destination, at any time of the year, is that it is only 360 km from Buenos Aires on a safe, fast and very pleasant route to travel. It can also be reached by bus, train and plane (the latter only in high season).

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