Mendoza: Horseback Ride & Gaucho Roast with Wine in Andes Foothills

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.91 (394 reviews) 94% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/22

Duration8h

GroupUp to 16

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Horseback riding in Mendoza’s foothills, mate rituals and gaucho barbecue

You’ll ride gentle horses through Mendoza’s pre-Andes foothills with local guides, share mate at a family-run gaucho post, spot wild animals from mountain viewpoints, and finish with an open-fire roast dinner and local wine under big skies. It’s not polished—it’s real, warm, and full of small surprises you’ll remember long after.

Step-by-step itinerary

Horseback riding and mountain roast

Arrive at gaucho post
Enjoy mates and horse preparation
Receive horseback riding briefing
Ride horses for 3 hours
Stop at 2000m viewpoint
Take photos of landscape
Return to gaucho post
Enjoy typical country roast and wine
Return to Mendoza city

The Experience

I’ll be honest, I was nervous about the horses at first. We’d just bumped along the last bit of dirt road out from Mendoza city, dust swirling behind us, and suddenly there were these gentle-eyed horses waiting by the old gaucho post. The air smelled like dry grass and woodsmoke. Before anything else, our hosts—actual family, not just staff—handed us steaming mate. I tried to sip it like they showed me (don’t stir the straw, they said), but mostly I just watched them joke around while they saddled up the horses. It felt like we were guests at someone’s weekend gathering instead of some organized tour.

The ride itself was longer than I expected—three hours or so, winding through hills that looked soft from far away but up close were all rocks and little bursts of yellow flowers. Our guide, Martín, kept pointing out things: condors circling way above us (I nearly missed them), a shy guanaco darting off between scrubby bushes. At one point my horse stopped dead to sniff something invisible; Martín just grinned and said she was “gossiping.” The wind up there is sharp on your cheeks but it wakes you up in a good way. When we finally reached the viewpoint—somewhere around 2000 meters high—I got off mostly to stretch my legs but then just stood there staring at the city below. You could hear nothing except maybe your own breath.

Coming back down felt easier somehow, maybe because I was already thinking about food. Back at the post there was this smoky smell drifting from the grill—beef and pork roasting right over coals, vegetables charred around the edges. We ate outside at a long wooden table while Martín poured glasses of Mendoza wine that tasted deeper than what I’m used to back home. Someone tried to teach me how to say “asado” properly; Li laughed when I butchered it in Spanish. By then it was getting dark and cooler, but nobody seemed in a hurry to leave.

I still think about that view sometimes—the silence up there—and how sharing food with strangers can feel oddly familiar after a day like that. If you’re looking for a horseback riding tour near Mendoza that’s more about people than perfect photos… well, this one stuck with me.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup from Mendoza city out to a family-run gaucho post where you’ll be welcomed with mate tea before saddling up for a guided three-hour horseback ride through hills and plains; after exploring mountain viewpoints you’ll return for an open-fire roast dinner with fresh salads, roasted vegetables and unlimited local wine before heading back in the evening.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditions

Operated by El Relincho Cabalgatas