Capilla del Monte

Capilla del Monte is a small city in the northeastern part of the province of Córdoba, Argentina, located by the Sierras Chicas mountain chain, in the northern end of the Punilla Valley. It has about 11,281 inhabitants as per the
Tourism is the main source of income in Capilla del Monte. The most popular tourist attraction in the area is the Cerro Uritorco, a small mountain only 3 km away from the city, famed around Argentina as a center of alleged paranormal phenomena and UFO sightings. There are many other locations in Capilla del Monte that attract tourists from all over the country. The city also features the tall El Cajón Dam and its large reservoir. Capilla del Monte was founded on October 30, 1585. Its name means "Chapel on the Hill" in Spanish. The area has been used as a special stage for Rally Argentina.

The origins of Capilla del Monte can be traced back to the late 16th century, when Lucía González Jaimes, the daughter of the Spanish conqueror Bartolomé Jaimes, inherited lands in this area. This granting of land took place on October 30, 1585, which is considered to be the founding date of the city. Between 1695 and 1719, Captain Antonio de Ceballos built the first chapel that was founded in the area and that eventually gave the city its name, which means “Chapel on the Hill” in Spanish. According to the official records, the chapel was rebuilt in 1908 under the Presbyterian priest Arturo Gómez Morón and rechristened Church of San Antonio de Padua. The new church is located just a few meters away from the current city center. It is situated on a hill about half a kilometer away from the original train station of the Tren de las Sierras. However, some locals claim that the chapel that gives the city its name is a different one, located in another area that hasn't yet been urbanized. In 1878, Adolf Döring, a German Argentine chemist, zoologist and geologist, arrived in Capilla del Monte and settled there. He purchased a ranch and he was responsible for urbanizing the area surrounding it until his death in 1925. He built a sewage system and designed the outline of the current city center, which is why he is considered to be the founder of Capilla del Monte as we know it today. Many of the mansions which are characteristic of the city were built during this period as well. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Capilla del Monte saw its growth in size and popularity as a consequence of the arrival of new inhabitants. New businesses opened and the population further increased. The Los Alazanes Dam was built in the 1940s because a broader supply was needed to provide the new inhabitants with water. The 1970s saw a recession in tourism, mostly because of the National Reorganization Process of 1976 1983, a dictatorship that struck Argentina and prevented the population from moving freely across the nation. Until the 1970s, the city's population was located mostly around the train station. That building now houses the Center of Tourist Information.

On January 9, 1986, the famous Huella del Pajarillo incident took place. That night, a dark, circular footprint of 100 meters in diameter appeared on Mount Pajarillo, resembling a UFO landing. Although this event is believed to have been staged, it marked a fundamental change in the idiosyncrasy of Capilla del Monte. After the news of the event spread, the city began to attract all sorts of people interested in UFOs, magic, mysticism, and other esoteric phenomena. Ever since then, the city dwellers have adapted their businesses to suit the interests of this new demographic group. As a result, most shops in the city center area sell items that reflect this new identity, such as UFO and alien themed souvenirs, energy stones, dreamcatchers, and other such paraphernalia. In 2012, the Alien Festival was created in the city, and it has been celebrated almost every February since then. The participants in this festival embrace and promote this new identity by dressing up as extra terrestrials or fictional characters from popular science fiction sagas such as Star Wars and Star Trek.

The city extends along the western foothills of the mountains Cerro Uritorco and Cerro Las Gemelas to the lake El Cajón, which forms from the river Río Dolores. It centers around the highway Ruta Nacional 38. Urban development has grown from the late 1980s, encouraged by the arrival of families from other cities, especially those from Buenos Aires, Rosario, and Córdoba. Development was dominated by residential construction. The urban area has grown to include areas that still maintain predominantly natural characteristics, such as the rock formation El Zapato, the Los Paredones hills, and the banks of the Calabalumba River.

Capilla del Monte has a subtropical highland climate, with an average annual precipitation of Summers are pleasant and winters are chilly and drier. Snowfalls are uncommon. This climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cwb.