Argentina

---

TRAVEL GUIDE

Buenos Aires

Glamorous and gritty, Buenos Aires is two cities in one. What makes Argentina's capital so fascinating is its dual heritage—part European, part

Palermo

Trendy shops, bold restaurants, elegant embassies, acres of parks—Palermo really does have it all. Whether your idea of sightseeing is ticking

Centro

The historic heart of Buenos Aires, El Centro is still the focus of contemporary civic and commercial life. Plaza de Mayo is the original main

Recoleta

Recoleta wasn't always synonymous with elegance. Colonists, including city founder Juan de Garay, farmed here. So did the Franciscan Recoleto

San Telmo

San Telmo, Buenos Aires' first suburb, was originally inhabited by sailors, and takes its name from their wandering patron saint. All the same

Mendoza City

Mendoza’s streets are shaded from the summer sun by a canopy of poplars, elms, and sycamores. Water runs along its sidewalks in acéquias, disappears

Salta

It's not just "Salta" to most Argentineans, but "Salta la Linda" ("Salta the Beautiful"). That nickname is actually redundant: "Salta" already

Bariloche

Bariloche is the gateway to all the recreational and scenic splendors of the northern Lake District and the headquarters for Parque Nacional

El Calafate

Founded in 1927 as a frontier town, El Calafate is the base for excursions to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, which was created in 1937 as

San Salvador de Jujuy

Founded by Spaniards in 1593, San Salvador de Jujuy (known as Jujuy to most Argentineans and as "S.S. de Jujuy" on signs) is a compact city

Ushuaia

At 55 degrees latitude south, Ushuaia (pronounced oo-swy-ah) is closer to the South Pole than to Argentina's northern border with Bolivia. It

San Juan

Easygoing San Juan makes a good base if you want to combine active pursuits (a good selection of which can be found in and around the Ullum

San Rafael

San Rafael (population 175,000) is the second largest city in Mendoza. Wide avenues lined with leafy sycamores and tall poplars fed by streetside

Iguazu Falls

Iguazú consists of some 275 separate waterfalls—in the rainy season there are as many as 350—that plunge more than 200 feet onto the rocks below

Puerto Madryn

Approaching from Ruta 3, it's hard to believe that the horizon line of buildings perched just beyond the windswept dunes and badlands is the

Cafayate

Thanks to a microclimate and fertile soil, Cafayate and the surrounding area is one of Argentina's booming wine regions. The town itself is

San Martin de los Andes

Surrounded by lakes, dense forests, and mountains, San Martín de los Andes lies in a natural basin at the foot of Lago Lácar. It's a small,

San Antonio de Areco

There's no better place to experience traditional provincial life in the pampas than this well-to-do farming town. Grand estancias dot the land

Villa La Angostura

Sitting on a narrow angostura (isthmus) on the northern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi, Villa La Angostura was once a mere hamlet. But, having

El Bolson

El Bolsón ("the purse") lies in a valley enclosed on either side by the jagged peaks of two mountain ranges. You catch your first glimpse of

Lujan de Cuyo

Bordering both banks of the Mendoza River, Luján de Cuyo is known as the home of Malbec because it was here that the variety first started showing

La Plata

Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego

This park is one of the main reasons that travelers make a trip to the tip of Argentina. Its deep forests, glistening lakes, and wind-whipped

Tilcara

Founded in 1600 and witness to many battles during the War of Independence, Tilcara is on the eastern side of the Río Grande at its confluence

Almagro

Almagro lies southwest of Recoleta but feels like a different world. Traditionally a gritty, working-class neighborhood, it spawned many tango

Puerto Madero

A forest of skyscrapers designed by big-name architects like Sir Norman Foster and César Pelli is sprouting up in Puerto Madero, a onetime port

Tupungato

Tupungato is a sleepy agricultural town most of the year. During harvest (February and March), though, the roads in and around it overflow with

Gaiman

The most Welsh of the Atlantic Patagonian settlements, sleepy Gaiman (pronounced Guy -mon) is far more charming than nearby Trelew and Rawson

Uspallata

At the crossroads of three important routes—Ruta Nacional 7 from Mendoza across the Andes, Ruta 57 from Mendoza via Villavicencio, and Ruta

Tafi del Valle

Purmamarca

Nestled in the shadow of craggy rocks and multicolored, cactus-studded hills—with the occasional low-flying cloud floating by—the colonial village

Pinamar

Villa Traful

If there were a prize for the most beautiful lake in the region, Lago Traful would win for its clarity, serenity, and wild surroundings. Small

Trelew

Trelew (pronounced Tre- leh -ew) is a commercial, industrial, and service hub that contains the region's main airport. Its biggest attractions

Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi

Created in 1934, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is the oldest national park in Argentina. It’s also one of the largest, encompassing more than

Mar del Plata

Maipu

Lying south and slightly east of Mendoza City, Maipú—the province’s oldest wine region—is spread over the districts of General Gutierrez, Coquimbito

Belgrano

Once rural villages far removed from urban life, Belgrano and neighboring Núñez now mark the transition from the city proper to the sprawling

Tunuyan

Twice the size of Tupungato, Tunuyán makes a good base for touring the Valle de Uco wineries. Downtown consists of two traffic circles on either

El Chalten

Founded in 1985, El Chaltén is Argentina's newest town, and it's growing at an astounding rate. Originally just a few shacks and lodges built

Mar de las Pampas

Humahuaca

Humahuaca—at an altitude of 2,957 meters (9,700 feet)—is the gateway to the Puna. Its narrow stone streets hark back to pre-Hispanic civilizations

Cachi

This small colonial village on Ruta 40 is fast becoming a base for exploring the north of Calchaqui Valley. Cachi itself has a charming church

Los Esteros del Ibera

Amaicha

Sarmiento and the Bosque Petrificado

Built in a fertile valley formed by the Río Senguer and its two interconnected lakes, Lago Musters and Lago Colhué Huapi, the Sarmiento area

Camarones

After driving or riding for hours along the empty coastal road (or via Ruta Provincial 30 from Ruta 3), the tiny town of Camarones—a collection

Costanera Norte

It’s said that Buenos Aires was built with its back to the Río de la Plata, but the exception is the riverside strip of Costanera Norte, where

Barreal

Beyond the streets of Barreal, hiding in the shade of sauce llorones (weeping willows) and alamos, lie apple orchards, vineyards, and fields

La Boca

Although La Boca is more touristy, it shares much of San Telmo's gritty history. La Boca sits on the fiercely polluted—and thus fiercely smelly

Las Leñas

Las Leñas is the largest ski area served by lifts in the Western Hemisphere—bigger than Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, and larger than

Molinos

Molinos, a village with about 5,000 inhabitants, has a photogenic 17th-century church and a small vicuña-breeding farm ( vicuñas are similar

Parque Nacional Lanin

The dramatically beautiful Parque Nacional Lanín contains 35 mountain lakes, countless rivers, ancient forests, and the Volcán Lanín. Tucked

Parque Nacional Lago Puelo

Parque Nacional Lago Puelo is one of the smallest national parks in the southern Andes and one of the warmest spots in the region. The oh-so

Comodoro Rivadavia

Argentina's answer to Houston, Comodoro Rivadavía is the town that oil built. Unlike Houston, however, there's not much here apart from oil

Las Cañitas

Not quite as cool as Palermo but much less staid than Belgrano, Las Cañitas sits between the two both geographically and conceptually. In the

Punta Tombo

This protected area is home to one of the world's biggest colonies of Magellenic penguins; they come for the season to lay eggs and feed their

Bahia Bustamante

Spending time in Bahía Bustamante is like having your own private Península Valdés. In 1953 it was founded by Lorenzo Soriano, who searched

Buenos Aires

Glamorous and gritty, Buenos Aires is two cities in one. What makes Argentina's capital so fascinating is its dual heritage—part European, part

Mendoza City

Mendoza’s streets are shaded from the summer sun by a canopy of poplars, elms, and sycamores. Water runs along its sidewalks in acéquias, disappears

Salta

It's not just "Salta" to most Argentineans, but "Salta la Linda" ("Salta the Beautiful"). That nickname is actually redundant: "Salta" already

Bariloche

Bariloche is the gateway to all the recreational and scenic splendors of the northern Lake District and the headquarters for Parque Nacional

San Salvador de Jujuy

Founded by Spaniards in 1593, San Salvador de Jujuy (known as Jujuy to most Argentineans and as "S.S. de Jujuy" on signs) is a compact city

Ushuaia

At 55 degrees latitude south, Ushuaia (pronounced oo-swy-ah) is closer to the South Pole than to Argentina's northern border with Bolivia. It

San Juan

Easygoing San Juan makes a good base if you want to combine active pursuits (a good selection of which can be found in and around the Ullum

San Rafael

San Rafael (population 175,000) is the second largest city in Mendoza. Wide avenues lined with leafy sycamores and tall poplars fed by streetside

Iguazu Falls

Iguazú consists of some 275 separate waterfalls—in the rainy season there are as many as 350—that plunge more than 200 feet onto the rocks below

Puerto Madryn

Approaching from Ruta 3, it's hard to believe that the horizon line of buildings perched just beyond the windswept dunes and badlands is the

Cafayate

Thanks to a microclimate and fertile soil, Cafayate and the surrounding area is one of Argentina's booming wine regions. The town itself is

San Martin de los Andes

Surrounded by lakes, dense forests, and mountains, San Martín de los Andes lies in a natural basin at the foot of Lago Lácar. It's a small,

San Antonio de Areco

There's no better place to experience traditional provincial life in the pampas than this well-to-do farming town. Grand estancias dot the land

Villa La Angostura

Sitting on a narrow angostura (isthmus) on the northern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi, Villa La Angostura was once a mere hamlet. But, having

Lujan de Cuyo

Bordering both banks of the Mendoza River, Luján de Cuyo is known as the home of Malbec because it was here that the variety first started showing

El Bolson

El Bolsón ("the purse") lies in a valley enclosed on either side by the jagged peaks of two mountain ranges. You catch your first glimpse of

La Plata

Tilcara

Founded in 1600 and witness to many battles during the War of Independence, Tilcara is on the eastern side of the Río Grande at its confluence

Tupungato

Tupungato is a sleepy agricultural town most of the year. During harvest (February and March), though, the roads in and around it overflow with

Uspallata

At the crossroads of three important routes—Ruta Nacional 7 from Mendoza across the Andes, Ruta 57 from Mendoza via Villavicencio, and Ruta

Tafi del Valle

Purmamarca

Nestled in the shadow of craggy rocks and multicolored, cactus-studded hills—with the occasional low-flying cloud floating by—the colonial village

Gaiman

The most Welsh of the Atlantic Patagonian settlements, sleepy Gaiman (pronounced Guy -mon) is far more charming than nearby Trelew and Rawson

Pinamar

Trelew

Trelew (pronounced Tre- leh -ew) is a commercial, industrial, and service hub that contains the region's main airport. Its biggest attractions

Villa Traful

If there were a prize for the most beautiful lake in the region, Lago Traful would win for its clarity, serenity, and wild surroundings. Small

Mar del Plata

Maipu

Lying south and slightly east of Mendoza City, Maipú—the province’s oldest wine region—is spread over the districts of General Gutierrez, Coquimbito

El Chalten

Founded in 1985, El Chaltén is Argentina's newest town, and it's growing at an astounding rate. Originally just a few shacks and lodges built

Tunuyan

Twice the size of Tupungato, Tunuyán makes a good base for touring the Valle de Uco wineries. Downtown consists of two traffic circles on either

Mar de las Pampas

Cachi

This small colonial village on Ruta 40 is fast becoming a base for exploring the north of Calchaqui Valley. Cachi itself has a charming church

Humahuaca

Humahuaca—at an altitude of 2,957 meters (9,700 feet)—is the gateway to the Puna. Its narrow stone streets hark back to pre-Hispanic civilizations

Amaicha

Sarmiento and the Bosque Petrificado

Built in a fertile valley formed by the Río Senguer and its two interconnected lakes, Lago Musters and Lago Colhué Huapi, the Sarmiento area

Los Esteros del Ibera

Camarones

After driving or riding for hours along the empty coastal road (or via Ruta Provincial 30 from Ruta 3), the tiny town of Camarones—a collection

Barreal

Beyond the streets of Barreal, hiding in the shade of sauce llorones (weeping willows) and alamos, lie apple orchards, vineyards, and fields

Las Leñas

Las Leñas is the largest ski area served by lifts in the Western Hemisphere—bigger than Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, and larger than

Molinos

Molinos, a village with about 5,000 inhabitants, has a photogenic 17th-century church and a small vicuña-breeding farm ( vicuñas are similar

Comodoro Rivadavia

Argentina's answer to Houston, Comodoro Rivadavía is the town that oil built. Unlike Houston, however, there's not much here apart from oil

Punta Tombo

This protected area is home to one of the world's biggest colonies of Magellenic penguins; they come for the season to lay eggs and feed their

Bahia Bustamante

Spending time in Bahía Bustamante is like having your own private Península Valdés. In 1953 it was founded by Lorenzo Soriano, who searched

The Northwest

This region flourished under the Inca, then attracted treasure-seeking Spaniards during colonial times; now it’s luring an international contingent

Patagonia

Patagonia is a wild and rugged land filled with breathtaking landscapes and eye-catching wildlife. There are few other places in the world where

Wine Regions

Exceptional wine, top-quality cuisine, exhilarating outdoor activities, and the skyscraping Andes framing almost every view: it’s easy to see

The Lake District

The northern Lake District has become Patagonia’s most popular tourist region. Spread over three states and encompassing more than a million

Side Trips from Buenos Aires

To hear porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires) talk of their city, you'd think Argentina stops where Buenos Aires ends. Not far beyond it

Buenos Aires Province

Plains fan out where the city of Buenos Aires ends: this is the beginning of the pampas, which derive their name from the native Quechua word

The Atlantic Coast

Peninsula Valdes

The biggest attraction in Península Valdés is the ballena franca (southern right whale) population, which feeds, mates, and gives birth here

Tigre and the Parana Delta

A coastal train ride or a drive through the shady riverside suburbs of Buenos Aires takes you to the riverport town of Tigre, the embarkation

El Calafate

Founded in 1927 as a frontier town, El Calafate is the base for excursions to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, which was created in 1937 as

Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego

This park is one of the main reasons that travelers make a trip to the tip of Argentina. Its deep forests, glistening lakes, and wind-whipped

Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi

Created in 1934, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is the oldest national park in Argentina. It’s also one of the largest, encompassing more than

Parque Nacional Lanin

The dramatically beautiful Parque Nacional Lanín contains 35 mountain lakes, countless rivers, ancient forests, and the Volcán Lanín. Tucked

Parque Nacional Lago Puelo

Parque Nacional Lago Puelo is one of the smallest national parks in the southern Andes and one of the warmest spots in the region. The oh-so