Hill Town

Question: What South American capital city’s name translates to "I saw a hill!"?

Answer: Montevideo, Uruguay

As the story goes, when a Portuguese sailor spotted the hill of Cerra in present-day Montevideo from the sea, he cried out "Monte vide eu!" (I saw a hill!). His excitement was understandable. As the best natural port in the region, the location was coveted by every European conqueror to reach its shores—from the Spanish to the Portuguese to the British.

While Portugal would be the first to establish a colony in the region at nearby Colonia del Sacramento in 1680, rival Spain colonized Montevideo. After battling it out, Spain won possession of the region in 1726. In 1815, José Gervasio Artigas set Uruguay on the path to independence, but wars with Brazil would delay full independence for another decade. But in 1830, Montevideo became the capital city of newly independent Uruguay—or its official name, the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

Wait, why is it called the Oriental Republic? It’s because the Uruguay River forms a natural boundary with Argentina, and Uruguay is the country located east of the river. Speaking of names, Uruguay comes from the Charrúa word for the Uruguay River, which translates to either "river where the bird lives" or "river of the painted birds." Sadly, Uruguay’s indigenous people, Charrúa, were pretty much wiped out during the years of colonial occupation.

Are Uruguay and Montevideo one and the same?

Uruguay is small. Wedged between Argentina and Brazil, it covers just 72,000 square miles. And half of the country’s 3.5 million people live in its capital, Montevideo. The rest are scattered along picturesque coastal towns or in ranches in the countryside—where dusty gauchos herd cattle along the Uruguayan pampas. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that the city and country are spoken of almost in the same breath.

Where’s the beef?

With four times more cattle than people, Uruguay’s livestock industry is extremely important to the economy. This prompted Uruguay to become the only country in the world to track 100% of their cattle. When a waiter slaps that piece of perfectly charred beef on your plate, they can tell you exactly where the cow came from and how it was raised. It's no wonder Uruguay has gained the reputation as the world's premier supplier and producer of quality beef.

But don’t think with such a focus on traditional cattle culture and other vestiges of an earlier era, Montevideo—and Uruguay—got left behind by more forward-thinking countries. Quite the opposite. Tiny Uruguay has the distinction of being one of the most progressive nations—not just in South America—but in the world.

"Because here nobody is better than anybody else"

That simple 19th-century expression of democratic spirit pretty much sums up the way Uruguayans continue to feel about their homeland. It also goes a long way in explaining why Uruguay is ranked as the least corrupt and most democratic country in Latin America. On indices that measure civil liberties and electoral processes around the world, Uruguay scores perfect 10s—a feat only matched by Norway and New Zealand.

To give you an idea how ahead of the curve Uruguay has been on progressive issues, consider this: They were the first country in Latin America to give women the right to vote, legalize divorce, implement free public education (including college), and establish labor unions—all in the early 1900s. And in 2009, Uruguay became the world’s first country to provide every schoolchild with a free laptop and Wi-Fi access

We wish you a merry family day!

In the world’s most populous Catholic continent, Uruguay also bucks the trend on religion. A strict separation between church and state was written into their 1919 constitution, which also banned religious instruction in public schools. Uruguay has even "secularized" religious holidays—Christmas is called Family Day; Easter is known as Tourism Week; and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Uruguay is better known as … wait for it—Beach Day!

With homosexuality legalized in 1934 and other laws passed in recent years, Uruguay is also viewed as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly countries in the world. On top of all that, Uruguay is consistently rated near the top of the world’s safest countries—and at the very top of the safest countries in South America. It comes at a price however, as Uruguay is also rated as the most expensive country in South America.

If it all sounds too good to be true, there are one or two blemishes in Uruguay’s historic record that still resonate. One was a repressive military regime that began in 1973 until a civilian government returned in1985. Another was during the colonial era, when the port capital of Montevideo served as a hub for South America’s slave trade. Today, the country has a large Afro-Uruguayan community—and about 10% of its population is descended from slaves. You may be surprised at who left a much stronger cultural influence on the population of Uruguay, however—Italy. As a result of a large immigration from Italy between 1870 and the 1960s, about 45% of Uruguayans claim Italian ancestry, and that goes up to 65% in Montevideo. Spanish may be the country's official language, but Uruguayans are said to speak it with a noticeable Italian lilt.

Someone with no reservations about recommending Uruguay

Wedged between Argentina and Brazil, tiny Uruguay is often overshadowed by its giant neighbors. As a result, it often flies under the radar as a travel destination. But the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain knew a good thing when he saw it. After visiting Uruguay on an episode of No Reservations in 2008, he returned for another visit in 2018 for an episode of Parts Unknown. This is what he said about Uruguay in his field notes …

Welcome to the tiny, overlooked but enchanted land of Uruguay, one of my favorite places to visit and easily one of the top underappreciated travel destinations on earth. It has beautiful beaches, breathtaking countryside, and a capital that evokes old Havana or Buenos Aires—but without the crowds.

10 more fascinating facts you may not know about Uruguay:

• Let’s walk off that big meal—You’ll burn off plenty of calories at La Rambla, Montevideo’s seaside promenade. Spanning 13 miles, it is the longest uninterrupted sidewalk in the world.


• Everybody stand … keep standing—At about five minutes in length, Uruguay’s national anthem is the longest in the world. And it could have been lot worse—since many of the verses insulted previous colonizers Spain, Portugal, and Brazil, only the chorus and first verse are now sung.


• It’s a hard gnocchi day—The 29th day of each month in Uruguay is officially called Dia de Ñoquis—Gnocchi Day. A nod to the strong Italian influence in Uruguay, you often find gnocchi specials on restaurant menus on the 29th.


• Pass the … oh never mind—You won’t find any saltshakers at restaurants in Uruguay. As a health measure, Uruguay’s government passed laws making salt less accessible, banning it from schools and on tables in restaurants. If you must have it, however, you can ask the waiter to bring some. That goes for ketchup too!


• A winning bar bet—Ask someone if they can name the only country in the world whose name in English has the same letter repeated three times in its first five letters.


• High times—In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize marijuana for recreational use.


• But did he like it?—Anthony Bourdain had some opinions about chivito, a Dagwood-type sandwich that is Uruguay’s national dish. He called it "the best sandwich I’ve tasted in my life… Really, the chivito is too good to be true. In any other country, men would weep, priests would renounce their gods, children would run crying to their mothers …"


• This is for the Lucy two streets over—Unlike pretty much every country in the world, there are no street numbers on the homes in Uruguay. They name their homes instead!


• You sank my Battleship—After an engagement with the British Navy in 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo, a neutral port during the war. To avoid certain defeat, the German captain scuttled the ship and committed suicide two days later. In 2006, the eagle figurehead of the Admiral Graf Spee was recovered from the bay—and as it was being pulled from the water, the swastika was covered to protect anyone who might be sensitive to this symbol of Nazi Germany.


• Mighty Montevideo—Uruguay hosted and won the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final. Treated as national heroes, each player was presented with a plot of land and a new home (presumably naming it was left up to the players) by the municipality of Montevideo. By far the smallest country to ever win a World Cup, they did it again in 1950. They’re still waiting for number three.

Explore Montevideo during the Buenos Aires & Uruguay’s Colonial Past pre-trip extension to our New! Brazil in Depth: Rio de Janeiro, Amazon Cruise & the Pantanal adventure.