Santa Bernardina offers two very different starting points for planning your trip: Aeropuerto Internacional de Durazno and Pozo de los Deseos. At the airport, the focus is on the rules for different areas and possible group visits; at the well, it is on its former use as a water source and its later transformation into a wishing well.
Visits to Aeropuerto Internacional de Durazno
Visitors may enter all public areas of the airport. A different rule applies to passengers and crew members in restricted areas: for security reasons, they may enter these areas only when accompanied by authorised staff. Before your trip, check the airport operator’s latest guidance on access rules.
Guided visits for organisations or schools must be arranged in advance so that the necessary permits can be obtained. If you are planning such a group visit, confirm the current arrangements with the operator well ahead of time. This arrangement applies to guided visits; it should not be confused with access to public areas.
Pozo de los Deseos: from draw well to wishing well
Pozo de los Deseos, a popular spot for a stroll, is located on Avenida Carlos Reyles in Santa Bernardina. The well once served as a natural source of water where people could quench their thirst, and it also supplied water for the old steam locomotives. Its history thus links the everyday use of water with the town’s railway past.
On 8 February 2020, the abandoned draw well, which had previously been overgrown with grass, was inaugurated as a symbolic wishing well. This gave the former source of water a new meaning without erasing its earlier function from the story. An announcement from April 2022 described Pozo de los Deseos as open to the public around the clock and as one of Durazno’s tourist attractions. As this information about access dates from April 2022, please check the latest guidance before your visit.
More to explore in the wider Durazno destination
If you include the wider Durazno destination in your plans alongside Santa Bernardina, you can add nature and culture to your itinerary. The Eco Sendero “Riberas del RĂo Yi” was officially inaugurated in 2024. The 3,500-metre trail passes through natural areas in the RĂo Yi’s riverside forest and connects the beach in the Puerto de los Barriles neighbourhood with the Paraje Rebollo area, which includes a beach and sandy areas. Here, the focus is on a longer stretch of riverside landscape; Pozo de los Deseos, by contrast, tells the story of a single water source and its past.
Another nature experience is the Gruta de La Llorona in La Paloma. The sandstone formation, more than 20 metres high, formed around 380 million years ago in a marine environment during the Early Devonian. In the surrounding area, the steep terrain and humidity create a distinctive microclimate where native trees, ferns and culandrillos grow. While the Eco Sendero passes through riverside forest and leads to its named destinations, the Gruta is defined by its geology and the microclimate of its surroundings.
Other nature experiences in the wider Durazno destination include BioParque de Durazno, with its extensive open-air enclosures and more than 80 native and exotic animal species. For a cultural perspective, Museo HistĂłrico Casa de Rivera offers a different focus: it is housed in the former residence of General Fructuoso Rivera and has served as a museum since 1992. The Durazno Department Archive there houses a document archive, an archive of voice and music, and an image archive. The latter comprises several thousand pieces of the cultural heritage of the department and the country.
Museo Militar Tte. Gral. Pablo Galarza also adds to the cultural experiences in the wider Durazno destination. Its collections include historical paintings, old uniforms, military equipment, furniture and documents from that period. This gives you a choice of different focuses: the history of a place and its water supply in Santa Bernardina, landscapes and geology, or collections relating to regional history in the wider Durazno destination.
Discover more destinations: La Paloma, Durazno.
Return to the wider travel overview: Durazno.
