Carmelo and its wineries

The Spanish built the short-lived Fort of San Lázaro in this area in 1527, and in the colonial period it formed part of the great Estancia de las Vacas, whose main establishment was at the Calera de las Huérfanas, where the Jesuits burned lime in the eighteenth century. In 1816 José Artigas ordered the village of Las Víboras to be moved to the mouth of the Arroyo de las Vacas, and Carmelo counts 12 February 1816 as its foundation day; it is the only surviving town founded by Uruguay's national hero.

The swing bridge was made in Germany and assembled under the engineers Juan Smith and Eduardo Chiappori, opening on 1 May 1912. Vessels swept by the current struck it in 1951 and again in December 2018, when three boats pushed its 160-tonne central span off its pivot; it was repaired and reopened on 23 February 2019 with new lighting.

Carmelo is the second-largest town in Colonia Department, with about 20,000 people at the 2023 census. Its economy has long been tied to the river, quarries and agriculture, and today winemaking and tourism are part of everyday life. The departmental events calendar includes a Fiesta de la Uva, a grape festival held in late January.