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    Insight Guides Argentina: Travel Guide eBook
    Insight Guides Argentina: Travel Guide eBook
    Insight Guides Argentina: Travel Guide eBook
    Ebook721 pages8 hours

    Insight Guides Argentina: Travel Guide eBook

    By Insight Guides

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    About this ebook

    This Argentina guidebook is ideal for travellers seeking inspirational guides and planning a more extended trip. It provides interesting facts about Argentina’s people, history and culture and detailed coverage of the best places to see. This Argentina travel book has the style of an illustrated magazine to inspire you and give a taste of Argentina. 

    This Argentina guidebook covers: Buenos Aires, Around Buenos Aires, Mar y Sierras, The Central Sierras, The Northeast, The Northwest, The Cuyo, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego.

    In this Argentina travel guidebook, you will find:

    • Unique essays – country history and culture, and modern-day life, people and politics
    • Argentina highlights – Iguazú Falls, Perito Moreno Glacier, Palermo Viejo, Quebrada de Humahuaca, San Antonio de Areco, Mendoza’s wine country, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Ruta 40, Península Valdés, The Beagle Channel
    • Practical travel information – getting there and around, budgeting, eating out, shopping, public holidays, information for LGBTQ+ travellers and more 
    • When to go to Argentina - high season, low season, climate information and festivals 
    • Insider recommendations – tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots
    • Main attractions & curated places – narrative descriptions of where to go and what to see, covered geographically
    • Tips and facts – interesting facts about Argentina and useful insider tips
    • High-quality maps of Argentina – must-see places cross-referenced to colourful maps for quick orientation
    • Colour-coded chapters – each place chapter has its own colour assigned to aid easy navigation of this Argentina travel guide
    • Striking pictures – rich, inspirational colour photography on all pages, capturing attractions, nature, people and historical features 
    • Fully updated post-COVID-19

    This Argentina guidebook is just the tool you need to get under the skin of the destination and accompany you on your trip.  This book will inspire you and answer all your questions while preparing a trip to Argentina or along the way. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateAug 1, 2024
    ISBN9781839054112
    Insight Guides Argentina: Travel Guide eBook
    Author

    Insight Guides

    Insight Guides wherever possible uses local experts who provide insider know-how and share their love and knowledge of the destination.

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      Book preview

      Insight Guides Argentina - Insight Guides

      How To Use This E-Book

      Getting around the e-book

      This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Argentina, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editor’s Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Argentina. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

      In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

      Maps

      All key attractions and sights in Argentina are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

      Images

      You’ll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Argentina. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

      About Insight Guides

      Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

      Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our inclusions are carefully selected to guide you to the best places in the destination, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

      © 2024 Apa Digital AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

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      Table of Contents

      Argentina’s Top 10 Attractions

      Editor’s Choice

      Sustainable travel

      Go south

      Landscapes and wildlife

      Decisive dates

      Pre-Columbian period

      From conquest to independence

      Travelers’ tales

      Caudillos, tyrants, and demagogues

      Crisis and recovery

      The Argentines

      The tango

      Insight: A tango tour of Buenos Aires

      The gaucho

      Insight: A day in the country – gaucho-style

      The arts

      Outdoor adventure

      Spectator sports

      Food and wine

      Places

      Buenos Aires

      Insight: The architecture of Buenos Aires

      Around Buenos Aires

      Mar Y Sierras

      The Central Sierras

      The Northeast

      The Northwest

      The Cuyo

      Insight: Bodega hopping in the Cuyo

      Patagonia

      Insight: Patagonia’s wildlife

      Tierra Del Fuego

      Transportation

      A-Z: A Handy Summary of Practical Information

      Language

      Further Reading

      Argentina’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction 1

      Iguazú Falls. Getting up close to these Niagara-beating cataracts, which run for 2.5km (1.5 miles) along the Argentina–Brazil border, is one of the most thrilling spectator experiences the natural world has to offer. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 2

      Perito Moreno glacier. Larger than Buenos Aires, and taller than that city’s Obelisk, this ice behemoth is Patagonia’s most awe-inspiring sight. Seeing shards break off the main wall and crash to the lake below is an unforgettable experience. For more information, click here.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      Top Attraction 3

      Palermo Viejo. A seemingly endless array of pleasures awaits in Buenos Aires’ most fashionable barrio (neighborhood), from browsing the racks in hip boutiques to sampling the city’s most adventurous cuisine. For more information, click here.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      Top Attraction 4

      Quebrada de Humahuaca. This gorge of many colors in northwest Argentina was once part of the Camino Inca and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 5

      San Antonio de Areco. With its quiet streets lined by one-story buildings housing pulperías (a kind of rural bar), silversmiths, fodder, and fertilizer stores, and, increasingly, B&Bs, San Antonio is the archetypal gaucho town. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 6

      Mendoza’s wine country. Irrigated by melt water from high up in the Andes, Mendoza’s wineries now produce world-class wines along with the rough stuff that accompanies every good asado (barbecue). Many of the best of them are open to tourists. For more information, click here.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      Top Attraction 7

      Ruta 40. Traversing the country from tip to toe, this legendary 5,000km (3,107-mile) route is one of the longest in the world. Several stretches, including ones in the provinces of Salta and Santa Cruz, pass through some of the country’s most sublime landscapes. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 8

      Península Valdés. Jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, this bleak promontory is one of the world’s greatest marine wildlife sanctuaries. Southern right whales (in season), penguins, sea lions, and (if you’re very lucky) orca are among the animals you may spot here. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 9

      Nahuel Huapi National Park. Extinct volcanoes, turquoise lakes, thick temperate forests, ski resorts, luxury accommodations, and Patagonia’s liveliest city, Bariloche – just a few of the attractions in this, Argentina’s most popular national park. For more information, click here.

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      Top Attraction 10

      The Beagle Channel. Cutting through the heart of Tierra del Fuego, this wild and beautiful strait joins the world’s two great oceans. A boat trip along the channel from Ushuaia is an exhilarating voyage to the end of the world. For more information, click here.

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      Editor’s Choice

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      The imposing facade of MALBA, Buenos Aires.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      BEST NATIONAL PARKS

      Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, southern Patagonia. This well-managed park is home to some of the country’s most spectacular natural landmarks, including the Perito Moreno glacier and the Fitz Roy mountain peak. For more information, click here.

      Parque Nacional Lanín, Neuquén Province. Named for its most imposing feature, the cone-shaped Lanín volcano, this park protects some of the northern Lake District’s most gorgeous landscapes. For more information, click here.

      Parque Nacional Talampaya, La Rioja. With its red sandstone cliffs rising sheer from the desert floor, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is worth taking the trouble to reach. For more information, click here.

      Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. Trails lead through southern beech forests to hidden lakes in this huge coastal reserve, which can be reached from Ushuaia on the Tren del Fin del Mundo. For more information, click here.

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      Trekking on the Perito Moreno glacier.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      BEST MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

      Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA). This world-class museum exhibits an unrivaled collection of 20th-century Latin American art and its temporary shows always make waves. For more information, click here.

      Fundación PROA, Buenos Aires. An avant-garde venue in an old-world barrio (La Boca), PROA hosts the city’s best temporary exhibitions and has a terrific restaurant and library. For more information, click here.

      Museo Evita, Buenos Aires. This museum details the life of Eva Perón through artifacts, photographs, and film, as well as exquisite items from her wardrobe. For more information, click here.

      Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña, Salta. The museum houses the perfectly preserved remains of three Inca children found frozen at the peak of Mount Llullaillaco in 1999. For more information, click here.

      Museo de la Patagonia, Bariloche. This old-school museum, with its dioramas, scale models, and information panels, is one of the best places to learn about Patagonia’s history, culture, and wildlife. For more information, click here.

      Museo James Turrell, Bodega Colomé, Salta. This purpose-built space set high in the mountains among vineyards exhibits many of Turrell’s most hauntingly beautiful light and space installations. For more information, click here.

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      Trekking up into the Andes.

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      BEST FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

      Festival Nacional del Folklore. January is the month for Argentina’s most important folkloric music festival, which takes place in Cosquín, Córdoba. For more information, click here.

      Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia. Beginning in February and climaxing in March, Mendoza’s annual wine harvest festival offers a full program of cultural activities. For more information, click here.

      Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente. Held in April, Buenos Aires’ annual independent film festival draws international award-winning films, getting bigger and better every year. For more information, click here.

      Arte BA. Held each August and September in Buenos Aires, this art fair has grown to become one of the most important cultural events in South America. www.arteba.org For more information, click here.

      Día de la Tradición. This celebration of gaucho poet José Hernandez and gaucho culture is on November 10, with San Antonio de Areco the epicenter of festivities. For more information, click here.

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      White-water rafting near Uspallata, Mendoza province.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      BEST OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

      Lake safaris in Esteros del Iberá. Covering large swathes of Corrientes province, the Iberá wetlands are an essential destination for wildlife lovers. For more information, click here.

      Trekking near El Chaltén. This mountain village in Santa Cruz province is Argentina’s official trekking capital. A day’s hike will get you to the base of Mt Fitz Roy, while longer, more arduous walks take you deep into the back country. For more information, click here.

      Horseback riding in the Lake District. There’s no better way to explore the lakes and valleys of the Andean foothills than on horseback. Book excursions in Bariloche and San Martín de los Andes. For more information, click here.

      Skiing at Las Leñas. Mendoza’s top ski resort is one of the best in South America and a top destination for snow lovers fleeing the northern hemisphere’s summer. For more information, click here.

      White-water rafting in Mendoza. The Atuel Canyon has a number of exciting rapids to shoot, classified between Class II and IV. For more information, click here.

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      Gaucho in San Antonio de Areco.

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      BEST ESTANCIAS

      Estancia Los Dos Hermanos, near Buenos Aires. One of the best day trips from the capital is to this small but handsome ranch, where horseback rides across the pampas are followed by a belt-busting asado (www.estancialosdoshermanos.com).

      Estancia Villa María, near Buenos Aires. If you want to watch the gaucho lifestyle rather than sample it, this luxurious mock-Tudor country estate could be what you’re looking for (www.estanciavillamaria.com).

      Dos Lunas, Córdoba. This is one of the best ranches for serious horseback riders in the Americas. There’s no better place than the saddle from which to view Argentina’s central sierras (http://doslunas.com.ar).

      Rincón del Socorro, Corrientes. Offering plush amenities and delicious organic food, this modernized ranch is the perfect base for exploring the amazing biodiversity of the Esteros del Iberá wetlands (www.rincondelsocorro.com.ar).

      Peuma Hue, near Bariloche. Activities ranging from yoga to kayaking are on offer at this renowned lakeside estancia, which feels much more remote than it really is (www.peuma-hue.com).

      SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

      Argentina has long been one of South America’s leaders in sustainable travel. You’ll find pristine landscapes in national parks and protected wildlife throughout the country.

      The wilds of Patagonia in the south and the jungles around Iguazú in the north have drawn travelers to Argentina for centuries. They are reason enough to visit, but there’s so much more. Sustainable wineries in Mendoza are leading the way for better agricultural practices, Buenos Aires is promoting development that has triple impacto, and more land is being protected throughout the country year on year. All kinds of projects are evaluated on their economic, social, and environmental impacts.

      Rewilding Successes

      Rewilding Argentina is one of the most successful wildlife protection programs in the world. This NGO’s main goal is to reintroduce wild animals in habitats where they’ve gone extinct, or where the population is endangered. They work with iconic species like jaguars and penguins in projects in the Iberá wetlands, the Chaco, Patagonia, and the Atlantic Ocean. Rewilding Argentina accepts volunteers for a wide range of opportunities, from feeding animals and maintaining environments to undertaking surveys and monitoring threats – for more information see https://www.rewildingargentina.org.

      Forestry Opportunities

      Argentina’s diverse landscapes are getting a boost from Say Hueque, a tour company that plants ten trees for each client. The native species they plant in Patagonia are the cypress and the coihue. If you want to help reforest Patagonia, contact them to volunteer for their tree planting campaigns twice a year. You can also add a day planting trees to any Iguazú trip with them. To learn more about what they do visit https://sayhueque.com

      Rockhopper penguin, Puerto Deseado, Patagonia.

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      Sustainable Wineries

      Every year more wineries in Mendoza are committing to sustainability in both grape growing and wine production. Discover wines made with organic grapes and wineries powered by renewable energy. You can take tours that include wine tasting along with tours of the winery that explain their sustainability practices. A simple search for sustainable wineries in Mendoza will give you plenty of options.

      Indigenous People

      About a million Argentines belong to one of 38 Pueblos Originarios recognized by the Argentine government. From the Quechua and Atacama peoples in the north to the Selk’nam and Yaghán people in the south, almost anywhere you go in Argentina you can meet and learn from Indigenous people. Support Indigenous-owned businesses like Batea Mahuida, one of Argentina’s ski resorts with activities year-round. Ask at local history museums for activities or tours with the area’s Indigenous people.

      Sustainable Cities

      Summer heat waves in Buenos Aires drive many residents to head south and inspire others to design buildings with natural cooling systems and more green spaces. Community gardens like Luna de Enfrente in the Palermo neighborhood have activities for residents and visitors. It’s not just the capital. Look for sustainable ratings when you book lodging and tours anywhere in Argentina. If you’re into architecture, check for tours of the most sustainable buildings in any major city.

      El Palmar National Park.

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      A Walk in the Parks

      Since the first national park was created in 1903 at Iguazú, Argentina has created one of the best park systems in the world, and more land is protected every year. In 2023 alone Parque Nacional Laguna El Palmar was established in Chaco Province and National Reserves were created in both Buenos Aires and Córdoba. Visiting national parks is a great way to see the best natural places in Argentina and support the country’s conservation efforts. Many national parks began as private nature preserves which can still be found throughout the country. Most are open to the public and charge nominal fees to support their conservation efforts.

      Blue Argentina

      Argentina has about 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) of coast, making the Atlantic Ocean one of the most important ecosystems in the country. Whales and penguins are usually the biggest draws for international visitors who want to see this spectacular coastline. Tierra del Fuego and Península Valdés are the best places to visit to see all kinds of marine wildlife. Tierra del Fuego was the first place in the world to ban the salmon farms that poisoned their fisheries and threatened the Beagle Channel’s centolla (king crab) harvest. Salmon is native to the northern hemisphere and escapees from salmon farms pose a serious threat to species native to the southern hemisphere. It’s a good idea to check for sustainable tour operators when you’re on the coast – look online and ask around – and don’t order the salmon.

      San Telmo Market, Buenos Aires.

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      Fiesta de la Tradición, San Antonio de Areco.

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      Les Eclaireurs lighthouse in the Beagle Channel.

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      Tango in the street, Buenos Aires.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      GO SOUTH

      Slip on your tango shoes, your walking boots, or your riding spurs, and lose yourself in one of the world’s most beautiful countries.

      Argentines have a lovely habit of making international visitors feel like guests rather than tourists. They are solicitous and sociable (How do you like Argentina? so often leads into Why don’t you come round for a barbecue?) and they never tire of hearing travelers tell them how wonderful their country is. And travelers never tire of telling them. Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, and surely one of the most beguiling and diverse. A fantasy itinerary makes the case. If you were to leave Buenos Aires (something many people find hard to do) and move counterclockwise around the country, you would pass through dry plains and muggy jungle, see – and hear – one of the world’s greatest waterfalls at Iguazú, traverse the cactus-studded uplands and deep valleys of the Northwest, roam down the Andean mountain range whose highest peaks look up only to the Himalayas, kayak through marble caves in lakes that were once glaciers, climb over some of the remaining glaciers, hike through the primeval forests of Tierra del Fuego, and complete the circuit by returning northwards along the austere Atlantic coastline, much of whose marine wildlife is in the bucket list category.

      That this itinerary is less implausible than it sounds is a testament to how far Argentina’s tourism industry has progressed over the last decade. The country has not rested on its clichés. The steaks you can cut with a spoon and the remote estancias where you can hang out with gauchos are still here (and still celebrated). But they have been joined by all manner of high-concept gastronomy, including untraditional vegetarian and vegan cuisine, and lavish designer hotels.

      Put another way, Argentina is ready for prime time. But it is far from tamed. The pampas grasslands, proverbially flat, are still best crossed on horseback. The perpetual gales that flay the Patagonian steppe can cause the hardiest gaucho to grimace. Even Buenos Aires, that most grandiose of South American cities, charms with its unpredictability. So don’t expect to conquer Argentina. Better to let it conquer you.

      Hikers on their way to Lago Torre, Patagonia.

      Getty Images

      Llama in Purmamarca, Jujuy.

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      LANDSCAPES AND WILDLIFE

      From the humid subtropics to the windswept Patagonian steppe, Argentina’s diverse landscapes contain a dazzling array of exotic plants and animals.

      Argentina is enormous – the eighth largest country in the world. If it could be stretched out over Europe, with its northwest corner positioned over London, the country’s easternmost point would lie near Budapest. Its southernmost tip, Tierra del Fuego, would be roughly over Timbuktu in Mali, about a third of the way down the African continent.

      As one might expect, a country covering this much terrain possesses a great diversity of topography and climate. This may come as a surprise to anyone crossing Argentina by car or (more rarely these days) train, who will find themselves frequently looking through the window and wondering if there are any trees in South America. Most of the country is flat and featureless; the pampas grasslands dominate much of Argentina’s central region, the Patagonian steppe, and much of the south. It is on the fringes of these great plains that Argentina is at its most photogenic and where you’ll find astounding biodiversity.

      We have divided the country into seven geographical zones reflecting the areas tourists are most likely to visit: the fertile central pampas, of which Buenos Aires (both the city and the province) is a part; the marshy Northeast or Litoral, which encompasses the Iguazú Falls, the Jesuit ruins, and what little the loggers have spared of the once-mighty Atlantic rainforest; the forested Chaco region of the central north; the high plateau of the Northwest, including Salta and the Quebrada de Humahuaca; the mountainous west, known also as the Cuyo, where the winegrowing region of Mendoza shelters in the lee of the highest peaks outside the Himalayas; the Patagonian Andes range, which stretches from Neuquén through Río Negro, Chubut, and Santa Cruz before ducking its head beneath the waves of the South Atlantic off the coast of Tierra del Fuego (it re-emerges further south to form the Antarctic Peninsula); and the rugged Atlantic coastline, famous worldwide for its marine wildlife.

      Condor over Iguazú Falls.

      Shutterstock

      The pampas

      Even those going no further than Buenos Aires can, on a day trip, get out into the terrain for which Argentina is best known – the pampas. These fertile alluvial plains were once the home of the legendary gaucho (cowboy), and today they are the base for a large percentage of the nation’s wealth. They cover much of central Argentina, stretching south, west, and north in a radius of 970km (600 miles) from the capital.

      The pampas have two subdivisions: the humid pampa (pampa húmeda) and the dry pampa (pampa seca). The humid pampa lies in the easterly part of the country, mostly in the province of Buenos Aires. This wetter area supports much of the nation’s agriculture: grains, primarily wheat and (increasingly) soya, are grown here. The humid pampa is also the heart of the cattle industry. The grass-feeding of cattle gives Argentine beef its celebrated flavor and tenderness. The cattle business took a large leap with the British building of a railroad system during the late 19th century and the importing of British cattle breeds.

      Virtually all the pampa húmeda has been carved up and cultivated, and the original wildlife of this area – described evocatively by the writer W.H. Hudson (for more information, click here) – has struggled in the face of these changes. Many of the birds mentioned in Hudson’s writings are still to be seen, but mammals have coped less well with the alterations produced by over a century of intense farming, and, as a consequence, many of them are now scarce.

      Cows grazing in the pampas.

      Shutterstock

      FAR AWAY AND LONG AGO

      The book Far Away and Long Ago, written by the novelist and naturalist William Henry Hudson, gives an insight into what life was like for the earliest European settlers on the pampas. Hudson was born near Buenos Aires in 1841 and grew up on a sheep farm. In his book, he describes what often sounds like an idyllic childhood, with a vast natural playground full of wildlife on his doorstep, waiting to be explored. The memoir stands the test of time as a tribute to the natural world and beautifully captures the character of the landscape. However, as with many books of that time, racism is a frequent undercurrent.

      Perhaps the most representative pampas left today, largely because the wetlands complicate development, is the area surrounding General Lavalle and south to General Juan Madariaga. Between Lavalle and San Clemente del Tuyú there is a wildlife sanctuary, where some of the last surviving pampas deer can be seen in the wild.

      Northwards from Buenos Aires, Parque Nacional El Palmar (for more information, click here), near Concordia in Entre Ríos province, gives a flavor of a different kind of habitat, a shift from open pampas to palm-studded savannah. The park preserves only a few sq km of the palm-and-grassland landscape, but its wildlife makes the trip well worthwhile. Among its inhabitants are viscachas, rodents related to chinchillas that were once common throughout the pampas. They can weigh up to 9kg (20lbs), and their nighttime calls are loud, varied, and unnerving. The viscachas at El Palmar are unusually tame, but campers here must be tidy, as the animals may steal anything that is left out at night and cart it quickly off to their dens.

      The Litoral

      The isolated northeast area of Argentina – the Litoral – is occasionally referred to as Mesopotamia (Greek for between rivers), as most of it lies between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. The whole area is cross-cut by waterways, and much of the land is marshy and low, receiving a lot of rainfall.

      El Palmar National Park.

      Shutterstock

      The southern sector, comprising the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, with their swamps and low, rolling hills, has an economy supported by sheep farming, horse breeding, and cattle raising. This is also one of the major citrus-producing areas of the country.

      Toward the north, into Misiones province sandwiched between Paraguay and Brazil, the climate becomes subtropical and very humid. The economy in the north is based on agriculture, with the principal crops being yerba mate (for more information, click here) and various types of fruit. Enormous tracts of primary forest have been destroyed by a lumber business that has become increasingly important to the Argentine economy.

      Toward the northern tip of Misiones province in the Northeast, a plateau of sandstone and basalt rises from the lowlands. The landscape here is characterized by a rough relief combined with fast-running rivers. Straddling the northern border with Brazil are the magnificent Iguazú Falls (for more information, click here), which have more than 270 separate cascades, falling more than 60 meters (200ft) through the lush sub-tropical forest.

      Once the thrill of watching the cataracts has worn off, the surrounding forest has much to offer: some 2,000 species of flowering plants, nearly the same number of butterflies and moths, 100 species of mammals including the elusive jaguar, and nearly 400 kinds of birds including hummingbirds and toucans. However, this kind of habitat is notorious for hiding its inhabitants, so seeing its richness requires time and patience. If you want to train your binoculars on the wildlife, your best strategy is to book a stay in a jungle lodge such as Yacutinga (for more information, click here).

      The Gran Chaco

      The Gran Chaco is a vast low-lying region that straddles northern Argentina, as well as parts of Bolivia and Paraguay. The climate here becomes drier from east to west, splitting the Chaco into two merging parts. The Dry Chaco, in the west, is likely to appeal only to the most adventurous of travelers. Its wildlife is hugely diverse – including some exceptionally large snakes – but, even for reptile-lovers, getting about in this region is a daunting task. The country is covered with dense thorn thickets crossed by very few roads, and there are no amenities for visitors.

      The Wet Chaco to the east is easier to visit. Although it has undergone some major clearance for agriculture over the past 25 years, it still contains some beautiful tracts of woodland interspersed with marshes and is rich in wildlife. Traveling west from Corrientes or Resistencia, RN16 is worth exploring at least as far as Chaco National Park.

      Yacare caiman, Esteros del Iberá wetlands.

      Yadid Levy/Apa Publications

      REWILDING

      Rewilding Argentina is one of the most succesful rewilding projects on the planet, having reintroduced native species in the Gran Chaco, Iberá, and Patagonia, on land and at sea. They protect some of South America’s most iconic animals, from jaguars and ocelots to pampas deer and giant anteaters. The national park named El Impenetrable – home to maned wolves, white-lipped peccaries, tapirs, and giant armadillos – is one of seven created or expanded by the NGO. It was founded in 2010 as the Argentine branch of Tompkins Conservation, created by Douglas Tompkins of the American outdoor company The North Face.

      The wet season in the summer (from December to March) is best avoided, for the heat is intense and the roads become impassable. Between April and November, conditions are drier, making it a good time to visit the national park. There are howler monkeys and many other mammals, but the main attraction for most visitors is the park’s bird life, which includes guans, chachalacas, whistling herons, jabirú storks, jacanas, and ducks galore.

      From Corrientes, both east and south, there are some very rich woodlands interspersed with wide-open grasslands and enormous marshes. RN12 is paved in both directions, but the tougher earth roads which run northeast–southwest between the paved stretches, through places such as Mburucuyá and San Luis del Palmar, generally venture into far more interesting wildlife habitats.

      In Corrientes, in the region of the headwaters of the Esteros del Iberá wetlands (for more information, click here), where seas of grass stretch from horizon to horizon, visitors sometimes catch a glimpse of the rare maned wolf. More closely related to foxes than to wolves, this slender member of the canine family has very long legs, making it look like it’s on stilts. Marsh deer also survive here – albeit in small numbers – and on larger estancias that are run with conservation in mind, the endangered pampas deer can be seen.

      The Andean Northwest

      The provinces of Jujuy, Salta, and Tucumán have a mixture of extraordinary scenery and fascinating wildlife, spread over a dizzying range of altitudes. All three have wet, subtropical regions, while Salta and Jujuy also contain much higher and drier areas as the land rises to the Andes mountains. Along with cattle ranching, there are vineyards, olive and citrus groves, and tobacco and sugarcane plantations. Vegetable farms lie in the valleys and piedmonts.

      Parque Nacional Calilegua lies on the eastern slopes of the Andes, between 600 and 4,500 meters (2,000–15,000ft), in the province of Jujuy. Visits are best during the dry season (June through October or November) as the roads are frequently washed out the rest of the year. The road through the park rises steeply, crossing through a series of vegetation zones in rapid succession. The lowest is the Chaco vegetation, with its silk floss trees (Chorizia), known locally as palos borrachos. This zone also has jacarandas and tabebuias – trees that burst into bloom while they are still leafless, toward the end of the dry season. Their spectacular lilac, yellow, or pink flowers are an impressive sight, attracting pollinating insects and hummingbirds. Higher up, the journey continues through a jungle dominated by tipa trees (Tipuaria) and into the cloud forest of coniferous podocarp trees (Podocarpus) and moisture-loving alders (Alnus).

      The forest’s animal life also changes with altitude, although many of the larger predators range throughout the park. Wildcats, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and jaguarundi all live here, although it takes skill and luck to spot them. They prey on deer, tapirs, peccaries, agoutis, and even capuchin monkeys, as well as many local birds.

      The higher parts of Salta and Jujuy are best approached slowly to avoid altitude sickness, or soroche, and an ideal way to do it is to travel up the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy (for more information, click here). The journey begins in lush subtropical farmland and ends in the thin and stunningly clear air of the Altiplano, higher than 3,000 meters (10,000ft). In this part of the Andes water is often in short supply, and plants and animals have to cope with drought as well as intense sunlight by day and extreme cold at night.

      One animal – the vicuña – is quite at home in these conditions. Despite its dainty appearance, this smallest wild relative of the llama can survive at over 5,000 meters (16,400ft), and run effortlessly in mountain air that leaves visitors gasping for breath. For a grazing animal, its hearing is not particularly good, but its large Bambi-like eyes give it superb long vision, allowing it to spot movement from a great distance.

      The road up the quebrada (gorge) eventually leads to the dusty town of Abra Pampa, where the level landscape is ringed by distant mountains. At this altitude, the climate is too harsh for trees to thrive, but there is no shortage of wildlife. The region’s woodpeckers and owls are particularly interesting, because they have had to adapt to a habitat without any cover. The owls dig burrows, while the woodpeckers peck nest holes into earth banks – both can often be seen from the road.

      Argentina has over 40 national parks and reserves, containing everything from astonishing waterfalls and glaciers to teeming bird life. They make a good place to start exploring wild Argentina.

      Talampaya National Park.

      Shutterstock

      Dinosaur country

      Roughly 800km (500 miles) south of the Abra Pampa region is an equally spectacular part of the Argentine Andes that sees far fewer visitors from abroad. In this stark landscape, erosion has carved out bizarre formations in sediments laid down millions of years ago. At Parque Nacional Talampaya in La Rioja province, deep-red cliffs flank a precipitous gorge – ideal country for the condors that soar overhead. In neighboring San Juan, the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto contains a moonscape of eroded clay with rocky pillars and cliffs (for more information, click here).

      Country like this has yielded a treasure-trove of fossilized animals over many decades. Discoveries at Ischigualasto have included Herrerasaurus, an early meat-eating dinosaur that lived over 200 million years ago, and many other reptiles alive at that time. Further east on the pampas, Argentine

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