Attractions of Argentina

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls can lay reasonable claim to being the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. Certainly, the sheer breadth of them, 275 distinct waterfalls across 2.5km, is without parallel while they are higher than Niagara Falls with heights of up to 80 metres. Located at the confluence of the Rio Iguazu and the Rio Alto Parana, the Falls can be viewed from both the Argentine and Brazilian side of the border - the Brazilian side gives great panoramic views, especially of the Devil's Throat area, with the Argentine side allowing you to get closer to the waters from above and below. The single most impressive waterfall is the Devil's Throat, reached on the Green Train or by a hike through the park. After walking across several bridges, you reach a platform right beside the spectacular and deafening cascade of water. Back towards the centre of the park, there are two circuits (Upper and Lower) that allow you to get very close to some of the other falls (Salto Bossetti is a particularly impressive and dampening experience) as well as giving some fantastic panoramic views. Depending on water levels, you can take a boat to Isla San Martin for a different perspective or a speedboat ride right up to the Falls themselves to get properly soaked. Iguazu is truly one of the must-see sights in the world and warrants extensive exploration of the National Park.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Iguazu National Park

Jesuit Mission of San Ignacio Mini

Five Jesuit missions were built in the land of the Guarani Indians in the 17th and 18th centuries, four of these are in present day Argentina and one in Brazil. The ruins at San Ignacio Mini are the best preserved of these. The missions were all laid out in the same pattern with a large open square surrounded by the church, residence of the Fathers and houses of the Indians. The Jesuits purpose was to educate the natives and convert them to Christianity and they also sought to protect them from capture and abuse from Spanish and Portuguese colonists.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil)

Cordoba is Argentina's second largest city and a university town with a strong colonial history, dating back to its founding in 1573. The Jesuit Block in Cordoba is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, comprising the university built around a central open space with a colonnaded courtyard, the huge domed church of the Society of Jesus with its richly decorated interior and the college. These buildings demonstrate the fusion of European and indigenous culture from this key period in Argentine history. The World Heritage Site also includes the Jesuit estancias of Jesus María and Santa Catalina outside the city. Cordoba's large student population (there are seven universities here) mean the city has a vibrant atmosphere and great nightlife. Just outside Cordoba lies Alta Gracia, where the young Ernesto Guevara lived - his former house has been converted into a museum focusing on his early life.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba

Quebrada de Humahuaca

The Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Gorge) is located in northern Argentina along the valley of the Rio Grande from its source in the High Andes to its confluence with the Rio Leone 150km to the south. It has been a major cultural and trade route for thousands of years, known as the Camino Inca, and was used for 200 years to transport the silver mined at Potosi back to Spain. The valley features traces of several historical periods, from prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities, to the Inca Empire of the 15th and 16th centuries and the fight for independence in the 19th and 20th centuries. The scenery is this region is spectacular and the villages of Purmamarca, Humahuaca and Uquia are picturesque settlements in beautiful mountainous settings.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Quebrada de Humahuaca

Ischigualasto and Talampaya Natural Parks are located in north-western Argentina and cover some 2,750 km². They contain the most complete continental fossil record known from the Triassic Period (245-208 million years ago) with a wide range of ancestors of mammals, dinosaurs and plants revealing the evolution of vertebrates and the nature of palaeo-environments during this period.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks

The Península Valdés is located on Argentina's east coast in the province of Chubut. Covering 4,000 km², the peninsula has a 400km coastline with a variety of landscapes and habitats - gulfs, rocky cliffs, shallow bays, lagoons, mudflats, beaches and sand dunes. The peninsula is one of the most important wildlife reserves in South America, which can be explored from a base in the Welsh-influenced town of Trelew. Boat trips to the southern Golfo Nuevo between October and December allow you to see southern right whales, about 1,500 of whom come here each year to breed. There are over 1,000 southern elephant seals, in their only South American colony. The coastal area of Punta Tombo is the largest continental nesting ground of Magellanic penguin, with about 40,000 active nests in five colonies. The trail here allows you to walk through large numbers of the penguins to observe their behaviour up close. Other marine mammals on the peninsula include orcas and southern sea lions in addition to land mammals like guanacos, rheas and red foxes.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Península Valdés

El Chalten / Fitzroy Mountains

The Fitzroy Mountains are dramatic peaks located at the northern end of Los Glaciares National Park. From a base in the frontier town of El Chalten, there are excellent trekking trails around the mountains, in particular to the base camps of Cerro Fitz Roy (3441m) and Cerro Torre (3102m). From the base camps, the views of these peaks, which attract international climbers, are spectacular and often shrouded in cloud. Laguna de los Tres is also an excellent destination, where the three main peaks of the range are reflected in the waters of the glacial lake. El Chalten is also a good base to explore the nearby glaciers, in particular the Viedma Glacier reached by a boat trip across Lake Viedma. Here you can don crampons for a trek across the surreal ice-scapes of the glacier and for the adventurous, grab a couple of ice-picks and attempt to climb a sheer wall of ice on the glacier.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Los Glaciares

El Calafate / Perito Moreno Glacier

Located at the southern end of Los Glaciares National Park, El Calafate is a busy seasonal town that is a base to explore the region, in particular the spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier. One of the few glaciers in the world still expanding, Perito Moreno is an astonishing site and one of the highlights of South America. The glacier is over 30km long and 5km wide at its leading edge where it rise to between 60 and 80 metres in height. Inside the park, there are extensive walkways at several levels on the peninsula opposite the glacier's snout to which it advances and often nearly attaches. Here, you can get very close to the wall of ice and regularly hear thunderous cracks as great chunks of the glacier fall off and splash into the water. Other options of experiencing the glacier include boat trips to its base or a glacier walk with crampons and pick-axes.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Los Glaciares

Cueva de las Manos

Cueva de las Manos, or Cave of the Hands, is a fascinating collection of cave art located in the valley of the Rio Pinturas in the Patagonian steppe. Estimated to be between 9,500 and 13,500 years old, the art include thousands of stencilled outlines of human hands in addition to paintings of animals like guanacos and hunting scenes. The cave art is remarkably well preserved given its age and is likely to have been produced by ancestors of the hunter-gather communities of Patagonia encountered by the first European settlers.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas