costanera sur

There is a park on the east side of the city called the Reserva Ecológica de Buenos Aires, also known as Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve. It is an 865- acre tract of  lowland. It opened in 1918, when the “Municipal Riverside Resort” hosted thousands of locals that came to enjoy the seaside. Eventually coffee shops and variety shows added to the attraction. By the 1950’s though, it had more or less been abandoned due to the contamination of the river. In the early 1970s, a new project was created to reclaim the land, but it was never fully completed. However, Mother Nature took over and plants, birds and animal populations found a nice place to settle. It has been officially protected since 1986 and has became a meeting point for joggers, cyclists, students, naturalists and even foreign bird watchers passing through Buenos Aires. In the summer of 2009, it caught fire, however it has rebounded once again.