Córdoba and Environs

While the rest of the country seems designed to take your breath away, Córdoba's the place to come to get it back. The region, roughly the size of the state of Florida, has long attracted visitors with the purported health effects of its cool, uplifting breezes, but now visitors from all over Argentina vacation here year after year to simply enjoy the peace of the natural surroundings with family and friends.

For the visitor from abroad, the unassuming natural charms of Córdoba face stiff competition from the waterfalls, glaciers, deserts, and jagged peaks found elsewhere in Argentina, but there are an increasing number of reasons to make Córdoba part of a wider itinerary through the country. And while avoiding frequently delay-ridden air travel in Argentina isn't the main reason to come here, it's admittedly a great excuse to fit Córdoba in—Córdoba City is an easy 10 or so comfortable hours via overnight bus journey from Buenos Aires and well placed for connections to Mendoza and the Northwest.

Some would argue that the main reason to come might be not the natural landscape at all but instead Córdoba's historical and intellectual landscape. A slew of Jesuit estancias, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, were first set up nearly 400 years ago to protect and support, among other things, the Jesuits' newly formed institution of higher learning, known today as the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). It's recognized as the first degree-granting institution in Argentina, and was one of the first in South America. Córdoba is a real university town, filled with lots of art, music, lectures, and other cultural pursuits. Love of life and learning isn't the only thing that unifies the people, though; many buildings in the city center are linked via a network of underground tunnels.

The natural backdrop found just outside the city may lack the drama found elsewhere in Argentina, but for a more meditative type of sightseeing, it has much to offer. Most of what you'll want is held between the two low chains of mountains running north-south, known as the Sierras Grandes and Sierras Chicas. North of the city, you'll find historical Jesuit estancias galore, hiking paths, otherworldly burnt-red rock faces prone to UFO sightings, and some of the best places in the world to paraglide. South of the city, the atmosophere's even more mellow, with fields that go on forever, crystal-clear mountain streams, swimming holes, lakes, gentle rambling opportunities, and hilltop views.

Regarding where to lay your head at night, there are few places in the world that can rival the setup, and the price, of Córdoba's estancias.

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