Mercedes

Mercedes is the most convenient access point for Colonia Carlos Pellegrini and the Esteros del Iberá, with regular overnight buses from Buenos Aires. It is 120 km from Pellegrini (but note that this takes two hours on the gravel roads) and 250 km southeast of Corrientes. A chirpy little town, with some quaint 1900s buildings,

and you're likely to see gauchos hanging around in the distinctive outfits of Corrientes province, their red berets. A few kilometres west of town,

on the road to Corrientes, is a shrine to

at the place where it's said he was killed. Shrines to Gil can be seen all over the country, with their distinctive red flags.