I visited Fray Bentos in March 2022. It is a unique site among the world heritage properties. Indeed, it is a slaughterhouse and an industrial complex derived from the processing of beef. Previous reviewers have already explained well the importance of this complex and the immense influence it had on Uruguay and the rest of the world, mainly through the Oxo cubes consumed by both soldiers and great explorers. I was not familiar with this industry and its legacy before my visit, and I found it really fascinating.

I reached Fray Bentos from Argentina, from Gualeguaychu (a city I had reached from Posadas on an overnight bus). The bus connection between Gualeguaychu and Fray Bentos described by Nan was not back to normal in March 2022. So I took a cab from the Gualeguaychu bus station to the border. I then tried to hitch a ride to Fray Bentos, but finally got there on foot before anyone picked me up (it was only about 10 kilometers to my hotel and there were very few cars crossing the border at that early hour). I also walked to the Bario Ingles from the center of Fray Bentos.

Shandos describes the opening hours and the schedule of guided tours very well in her review (fortunately, because I forgot to note those details). However, it was very difficult to find this information up to date in March 2022. It should be noted that Argentina and Uruguay had only reopened their borders to tourists a few months before and that we were still few. Both my hotel and the tourist information office at the entrance of the industrial site gave me contradictory and erroneous information. So I showed up at the site, not really knowing if I was going to bump my nose against a closed door or enjoy a visit. Luckily, I arrived only a few minutes after a guided tour of the site had begun and was able to join the group as they exited the engine room, the first part visited. Unlike what Shandos reports, the guide was giving a bilingual tour, explaining everything first in English and then again in Spanish. I guess it depends on the language skills of the different guides and the visitors, though.

I think it is essential to take a guided tour to fully appreciate this site. Indeed, it is the only way to discover the bowels of the slaughterhouse and to pass the stage of the photogenic industrial site. The visit allows us to see the room where the meat was transformed into protein cubes. The guide explained this process well, with machines to support it. Then we visited the slaughterhouse itself, from the animal cleaning facilities to those for butchering (pictured). We then went through the refrigerators, followed by the administrative rooms where the visit ends in the museum. The guide was kind enough to return to the engine room to show me what I had missed at the beginning. He explained to me that this was his favorite part of the tour, and it is true that it is quite impressive! You can see the electrical and mechanical installations that kept the whole factory running. I completed my visit by going back to explore the museum, but it is mostly in Spanish and not that interesting. You should definitely check out the period photos that adorn the walls of the factory though!

One of the aspects that impressed me the most about the site, was the company's desire to waste nothing and make all the beef products profitable. For example, they were making soaps from the fat, paint brushes from the hair, and fertilizer from the ground bones and the residue from the protein extraction process.

In the end, I found the factory to be a fascinating and unique industrial site that definitely deserves its place on the list. The integrity of the site is absolutely outstanding, as everything has been left exactly as it was when it closed. You can see the huge pile of hooks on which the pieces of meat were hung, as well as the contents of the offices in the museum. Nevertheless, I agree with Nan that the state of conservation is poor. The guide explained to us the will of the administrators to preserve the heritage and the aspect of the site and to avoid reconstructions, but it will be necessary nevertheless to avoid that the buildings collapse with the years. Those dedicated to the manufacture of fertilizers are particularly in a lamentable state.

I completed my visit by going to the docks, walking around the complex to take the exterior photos and walking around Bario Ingles. None of this was really interesting after the factory tour. I understand that the workers' houses and the facilities around them are part of the history and the site, but they don't have much to offer visitors. I left Fray Bentos on one of the frequent buses to Montevideo.