History

Before the Spanish arrived in America the area was visited by the Querandí natives who inhabited the Pampa Húmeda (Humid Pampa) and went to the coast to fish.
The land next to the sea coast belonged to General Félix de Alzaga who had received it from the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, for having led the regiment El Restaurador.
When he died his son Martín, married to Felicitas Guerrero, inherited the property. Once a widow she was murdered by a rejected suitor in 1870.
As the matrimony had no children Felicita’s father, Carlos Guerrero, inherited the property. When he died his seven sons received the property. The land was divided among them in 1886 and the 25 km of beaches and dunes became part of the estancias (rural establishments) Martín García, La Invernada, El Rosario and Manantiales.
In 1918 Héctor Manuel Guerrero, owner of the estancia called Dos Montes, started a forestation from the continental land towards the dunes at the sea coast. He had inherited a huge waste land with three ombúes where he settled the estancia Charles Viejo. The bovine race Aberdeen Angus was raised there for the first time in Argentina. The landlord started a plantation of over 200 hectares (494 acres) of fruit trees. 
The situation of the area called Dos Montes was more complicated because the 1700 hectares (4200 acres) next to the sea were sand in constant movement and exposed to the elements. Guerrero defied Nature. He visited all the deserts in the world to discover and import seeds of grasses to stop the movement of the sand. He also collected plants from different parts of the country and started his first nurseries at Charles, 17 km.(10,5 miles) from the dunes. The sprouts were transported daily on ten big carts each drawn by eight horses to the plantation site. It took them five hours to go through swamps, lagoons, canyons and trails that were opened when they passed. Not till 1938 were the nurseries moved to the area of Dos Montes.
In 1935 the plantation reached the coast. The environment was favorably modified. Birds started to nest in what Guerrero called Cariló that in Araucano language means “green dune”.
This was the first massive forestation on the Atlantic coast. In the ‘40s over one million trees of a hundred species had been planted. It was then that this pioneer started a new adventure: to turn Cariló in to one of the most beautiful sea side resorts in the world. In 1948 he inaugurated his house known as Divisadero or Casa Grande on a dune facing the sea and with the forest as backdrop.
The nurseries were closed in 1970 when the fixation of the dunes was completed and the private forestation finished. The descendents of Cariló’s founder named the streets perpendicular to the sea after plants and the parallel streets after birds.
The Municipio Urbano Pinamar (Pinamar Urnan Municipality) was created on the 1st of July of 1978. Montecarlo, Pinamar, Mar de Ostende, Ostende, Valeria del Mar and Cariló are part of that jurisdiction that is a tourist oriented district.

Geography

Location

Cariló is in the province of Buenos Aires, by the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Buenos Aires city.

How to get there

The entrances to Cariló are: Route Nr. 11 and the Boulevard Divisadero, next to Valeria del Mar. The new accesses are: Jilguero and Chorlo Streets.
You can get to Cariló by train, bus and in high season by plane. Cariló counts with an aerodrome and the nearest airport is at Villa Gesell.

Distances from Cariló to:

Buenos Aires: 370 km. (230 miles)
Pinamar: 10 km. (6 milles)

Economy

Cariló counts with an exclusive tourist infrastructure. Over 50 hotels and apart hotels satisfy the demands of the visitors that are looking for nature and comfort.
Its shopping centers, carefully designed, offer high quality products.
The gastronomy is very attractive featuring excellent restaurants, coffee shops, bars and home made ice cream parlors.

Climate

Climate is humid with mild temperatures in summer. The wind chill factor temperature goes between 22°C (71,6 °F) and 34°C (93,2°F) during the hot months. During winter temperature varies between -1°C (32,2 °F)  and 17°C (62,6 °F).

Topography

Cariló features beaches that are 300 m. (980 feet) wide and slope down softly to the sea.

Areas

Cariló presents two areas: the residential area and the forest reservation.
The residential area is flanked by Sequoia Street (limit with Valeria del Mar), Constancia and Zorzal streets and the sea. It covers the east and north part of Cariló and has sub areas for sports, shopping centers and hotels. Its main feature is a quite dense forest scattered with streets and houses. The plant diversity is constantly increased as a result of the new species used in gardens.
The forest reservation area features forests, dunes and beach. It covers 3000 m. (9840 feet) of sea coast and is 2500 m. (8200 feet) average wide from Route Nr. 11 where Cariló has its border with Partido General Madariaga. The dunes mark the limit with Villa Gesell to the southwest. The forest has trails where you can ride horses.
It is said Cariló is the place where most lanterns are sold. The forest is dark. As the area is quite safe people prefer it that way: just the lights in the houses and the moon to illuminate the night.

Flora

The sea pine covers open spaces due to the spontaneous germination of its seeds. Not as dense is the presence of the cone pine tree and the insigne pine tree. Cypresses grow in certain places.
When you gaze at the coast dunes you realize that the tamarisks, the acacias and grasses such as garra de león play a fundamental roll in the fixation of the sand and the moderation of the damaging action of the erosive sea breeze.

Environmental care

The house owners and the City Government have agreed on an Urban Order Code that says the land plots must be of generous sizes and so must be the free of constructions spaces in the plots. The aim is to keep the building density low and preserve the forests.
The Cariló Foment Society seeks to defend nature, preserve fauna and flora and control the urban development. Only three sea coast establishments (that rent parasols and tents) and one snack bar at the beach have been authorized in order to preserve the virgin aspect of the beach.