Visit Argentina and discovery…While Argentina’s big cities have a lot of urban pleasures to offer (think cafes, purple jacaranda flowers draped over sidewalks,
stylish residents of Buenos Aires, and handsome stone facades), their real purpose is to springboard travelers into the country’s greatest attraction: the natural world.
From mighty Iguazú Falls in the subtropical north to the thunderous, crackling advance of the Perito Moreno Glacier in the south, Argentina is a vast natural wonderland.
Visit Argentina and discovery…
Iguazú Falls
The Iguazu (also called Iguassu) Falls are composed of 275 separate cascades, which make it the largest broken waterfall in the world.
Made up of a chain of waterfalls that are fed by the Iguazu River, this powerful phenomenon sits on the border of Argentina and Brazil.
Quebrada de Humahuaca
Quebrada de Humahuaca is one of the must-see places when touring northwestern Argentina.
It is 170 kilometers on both sides of the Rio Grande (Big River) and has more than 10,000 years of history. Quebrada de Humahuaca is a beautiful place due to its nature and its colorful mountains.
It is ideal for people who like to enjoy hiking mountain routes, visiting colonial villages, knowing other traditions and customs, etc.
Glaciar Perito Moreno
As glaciers go, Perito Moreno is one of the most dynamic and accessible on the planet, but what makes it exceptional is its constant advance – up to 2m per day.
Visitors can get very close to the action via a complex network of steel boardwalks.
Its slow but constant motion creates an audio-visual sensation as building-sized icebergs calve from the face and crash into Lago Argentino.
A typical way to cap off the day is with a huge steak dinner back in El Calafate.
Cementerio de la Recoleta
A veritable city of the dead, Buenos Aires’top tourist attraction is not to be missed.
Lined up along small ‘streets’ are hundreds of old crypts, each uniquely carved from marble, granite and concrete, and decorated with stained glass, stone angels and religious icons.
Small plants and trees grow in fissures while feral cats slink between tombs, some of which lie in various stages of decay.
It’s a photogenic wonderland, and if there’s strange beauty in death you’ll find it in spades here.
Hiking the Fitz Roy Range
Mt. Fitz Roy is the tallest mountain in the Argentine Patagonia,
boarding Chile and Argentina near the town of El Chalten and it’s one of the most technically difficult for mountaineering.
However the Fitz Roy day hike in Patagonia is do-able for moderately fit person (or even non-fit individuals as long as they take it slow).
What I like the most about the Fitz Roy hike is that it’s super beautiful along the way, making it one of the most beautiful hikes in Patagonia.
Wine Tasting Around Mendoza
Visit Argentina and discover Mendoza. Mendoza is the region of endless vineyards and of wineries that supply the whole of Argentina with excellent Malbec.
If you experience wine tastings and tours in Mendoza, you will get to sip a glass of wine while looking at the tall Andes on the horizon.
Mendoza is a fascinating region and the capital city, Mendoza, will not leave you indifferent with its art déco buildings and modern architecture.
These and many other fascinating things are ready to be discovered during your wine tastings and tours in Mendoza.
Ushuaia
Shimmed between the Beagle Channel and the snow-capped Martial Range, the bustling port of Ushuaia is the final scrap of civilization seen by Antarctica-bound boats.
But more than the end of the earth, Ushuaia is a crossroads for big commerce and adventure.
Snow sports brighten the frozen winters and long summer days mean hiking and biking until the wee hours.
Happening restaurants, the boisterous bars and welcoming B&Bs mean you’ll want to call this port home for at least a few days.
Península Valdés
Península Valdés in Patagonia is a site of global significance for the conservation of marine mammals.
It is home to an important breeding population of the endangered southern right whale as well as important breeding populations of southern elephant seals and southern sea lions.
The orcas in this area have developed a unique hunting strategy to adapt to local coastal conditions.
Los Esteros del Iberá
These protected wetlands offer astonishing wildlife-watching opportunities around shallow vegetation rich lagoons.
Head out in a boat and you’ll spot numerous alligators, exotic bird species, monkeys, swamp deer, and possibly the world’s cutest rodent, the capybara – but no, you can’t take one home.
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is on the southwest coast of the Argentinian sea. It is the second most touristic city in the country after Buenos Aires.
You can go to Mar del Plata by plane, by bus, by train or by car. It is 400 km from Buenos Aires approximately.
You can take route 2 if you are driving, but you must pay a toll.
There are magnificent beaches, wide bays and wonderful cliffs, which alternate in 47 km of coast line.
At night you can go to the theatre and then choose a good restaurant. If you want to dance, the city has several discotheques in the ‘Playa Grande’ area.
San Telmo
San Telmo is the barrio that lies six blocks from Plaza de Mayo, bounded to the north and south by the Microcentro and La Boca, and to the east and west by Puerto Madero and Avenida 9 de Julio.
It’s the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires. It dates back to the 17th century, when it was first home to dockworkers and brick-makers, and later became an industrial area.
San Telmo was a poor area, and one attempt to address this was the establishment of the Parish of San Pedro González Telmo in the area in 1806.
‘San Telmo’ is the patron saint of seafarers, and he is of course the namesake of the barrio today.
A portrait of Argentina
Bounded by the towering Andes in the west and the waters of the Atlantic to the east, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, second in size only to Brazil in Latin America.
About a third of the country’s popu lation lives in the bustling capital, Buenos Aires, and its sprawling sub urbs.
The rest of the country is thinly populated, and lonely swathes of the rural interior, especially in Patagonia, are almost devoid of settlement.
Evidence of the country’s Spanish past abounds across Argentina. In the 16th century, Jesuits followed in the wake of the conquistadors,
con verting natives and building magnificent monuments to their faith. Córdoba, Mendoza, and La Plata most strongly reflect their influence.
Following land-grabbing military campaigns in the 1870s and 1880s in the central and southern provinces, many of Argentina’s indigenous peoples were wiped out.
A wave of immigrants, mainly from Italy and Spain, swept into the country, making it Latin America’s most Europeanized nation.
The country’s history is intricately linked to the five nations with which it shares its borders.
The landscapes and peoples of Argentina, however, are utterly distinct, with most argentinos bearing a strong sense of national identity.
The peoples of Argentina
Argentina is the most Europeanized of all Latin American nations and the majority of its 40 million people are of mainly Spanish or Italian descent.
There are also small but significant British, German, French, Armenian, and Levantine communities, and Argentina has opened its doors to Jewish refugees from Russia and Poland.
Official statistics suggest that only 404,000 Argentinians are indigenous, the majority of whom are the Mapuche,
although research by the University of Buenos Aires suggests that up to half the population is mestizo.
Religion in Argentina
Argentina’s most prominent religion is Christianity, with a large majority of Roman Catholic followers.
Native reli gions were unable to resist the combined force of the Spanish sword and Jesuit teachings, but a certain degree of syncretism took place and a native version of Catholicism evolved,
replete with saints, super stitions, and native iconography.
Besides traditional religious practices, popular cult or folklore figures such as Difunta Correa, Gauchito Gil, and Ceferino Namuncurá are still venerated throughout the country.
When to go?
We consider Argentina springtime (October to mid-December) and autumn (April to mid-June) to be the best times to visit Argentina, avoiding the tourist crowds and peak season prices.
HIGH SEASON
(Nov–Feb)
Patagonia is best (andmost expensive) December to February.
Crowds throng to the beaches from late December through January. For ski resorts, busiest times are June to August.
LOW SEASON
(Jun–Aug)
Good time to visit the North. Many services close at beach resorts,
andmountain passes can be blocked by snow. July is a winter vacationmonth, so things get busy.
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Great post!