Punta del Este

Punta del Este is a resort city on a narrow peninsula at the southeastern tip of Uruguay, where the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean converge, creating calm western beaches and open ocean eastern shores on the same narrow isthmus. The sculpture La Mano — five giant fingers emerging from the sand at Playa Brava — is the most replicated image of the city and an unavoidable photographic reference point. The city draws the South American cultural and economic elite in January, when its population expands from 10,000 to over 200,000.