Mt. Fitz Roy, the highest mountain in Los Glaciares National Park, rises 11,171 feet (3,405 meters) above the snow-blown landscape of Southern Patagonia to a granite peak that only serious climbers should consider. This recognizable landmark was named after Sir Robert FitzRoy, who once guided Charles Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle.
With a variety of midrange and upscale international brands, Galerias Pacifico is one of Buenos Aires’ most atmospheric shopping centers. Inspired by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the beaux arts building was constructed during the 1890s as the Argentinean headquarters of Le Bon Marché.
At Temaiken Biopark—the only AZA accredited zoo in Argentina—more than 7,400 animals representing 300 different species live in enclosures that represent their natural habitats. Unlike traditional zoos, there are no bars or cages between you and the animals, only natural barriers such as moats or hedges.
The largest of Buenos Aires’ two main stadiums—the other is La Bombonera (home to the Boca Juniors)—Monumental Stadium (Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti) is the home stadium of the River Plate football (soccer) team. This venue also hosts home matches of Argentina’s national team.
Dazzling shoppers on Buenos Aires’ central Florida Street, Guemes Gallery (Galería Güemes) is one of the city’s finest gallerias, recognized for its elegant art nouveau–style architecture. The shopping arcade’s domed atrium towers 285 feet (87 meters) over downtown BA and offers panoramic city views from its 14th-floor observation deck.
This natural stone bridge, once used by local Inca communities to cross the Río de las Cuevas in Mendoza, stands above the ruins of an old hot springs spa. It was formed by glacial melt, with sediments from the ice creating bright orange and yellow hues that make it a photogenic pit stop on the way to Aconcagua Park.
Presiding over the historic town of San Isidro in the northeast region of Buenos Aires Province, the San Isidro Cathedral is the crown jewel of suburban Buenos Aires. It is a popular pilgrimage site for those taking the famous Train of the Coast (Tren de la Costa) along the Rio de la Plata.
Argentina’s answer to Napa Valley, Mendoza ranks as the largest winemaking region in Latin America, with more than 800 wineries. Some of the best wines come from Uco Valley, an area with 250 annual days of sun, little rain, and a cool microclimate that's known for malbec, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and tempranillo grape varieties.
With almost 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of forested trails, lakes, and flower-filled gardens, the Palermo Woods (Bosques de Palermo)—also known as February 3 Park (Parque Tres de Febrero)—is one of Buenos Aires’ largest and most picturesque green spaces, dominating the northern district of Palermo.
Stretching over 1.8 million acres, Nahuel Huapi National Park is Argentina’s oldest national park. Centered around the region’s largest lake, Nahuel Huapi, and encompassing the popular resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche, this enormous park offers mountain and forest hikes, and the opportunity to cruise the lakes.
The Esmeralda Lagoon hike is a popular afternoon and evening activity just outside of Ushuaia. Set in a wide valley in the Fuegian Andes, Esmeralda Lagoon is ringed by native coihue and lenga forests. The hike traverses several peat bogs, which cover much of Tierra Del Fuego’s low-lying lands, before arriving at the shore of the lagoon.
Iguaçu Falls (or Iguazú Falls) are famously shared between three nations: Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay (which doesn't actually claim any part of the falls, only the rivers). Though the actual border lies unmarked at the deepest part of the confluence of the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers, all three nations have erected monuments overlooking the spot.
Housed in an ornate building on the banks of the Luján River in Tigre, the Tigre Art Museum (Museo de Arte Tigre) is known for its stunning architecture and impressive collection of Argentine paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum was declared a National Historic Monument in 1979.
A desert-like expanse of snow-white salt plains await you at the Great Salt Flats (Salinas Grandes), which are located at an altitude of 11,320 feet (3,450 meters). Covering 132 square miles (212 square kilometers), they’re the third-largest salt flats in the world and among Argentina’s most impressive natural landscapes.
For the ultimate end-of-the-earth adventure, ride the world’s southernmost train to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Leave from outside Ushuaia and follow the historic convict train route, passing beech forests, peat bogs, and reminders of the timber-felling worksites of Ushuaia prisoners from 1901 to 1941.
Once the tallest building in South America, the towering architecture of the Barolo Palace (Palacio Barolo) in Buenos Aires has stood the test of time. Built by Italian architect Mario Palanti in 1923, the building’s fanciful style was inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, a poem in three parts that in turn represent Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
With its jagged cliffs and red-rock formations, Shells' Ravine (Quebrada de las Conchas) is one of Northern Argentina’s most impressive natural wonders. Located just outside Cafayate, the ravine is the star attraction of the Calchaquí Valley and is a must-see sight for first-time visitors and budding photographers.
Purmamarca, in Jujuy Province, just north of Salta, is considered one of Argentina’s most beautiful villages. The town’s adobe houses and Spanish colonial church are all pretty in their own right, but the backdrop of the spectacular Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors ) makes the area particularly picturesque.
Located in the pampas of Buenos Aires Province outside the capital city, Estancia Santa Susana (Santa Susana Ranch) provides a taste of traditional gaucho (cowboy) culture and the opportunity to get out of the city and into the Argentine countryside.
Visitors to the Palermo Woods can’t miss the Galileo Galilei Planetarium (Planetario Galileo Galilei), with its futuristic silver dome towering over the surrounding park and lake. Inaugurated in 1966, the planetarium remains a popular family attraction, hosting a space-themed museum and daily shows.
With a surface area of 210 square miles (338 square kilometers) and extending over the Chilean border, Nahuel Huapi Lake is Argentina’s largest. At the heart of the Lakeland region, visitors come to explore the beaches, islands, and lakefront towns of Nahuel Huapi against a backdrop of the Andes Mountains.
The largest lake on Tierra del Fuego Island, Lake Fagnano (or Lake Cami stretches more than 62 miles (100 kilometers, all the way across the Chilean border. Flanked by virgin Patagonian forest and rolling steppe to the north and the steep peaks of the Fuegian Andes to south, it’s a thrilling introduction to Patagonia’s wild landscapes.
Separating the country from neighboring Chile, the Andes Mountains are Argentina’s backbone. The chain stretches some 4,300 miles (7,000 kilometers, from Venezuela to the southern tip of Argentina, and encompasses the continent’s tallest peak—Mt. Aconcagua.
Argentinian Patagonia’s Lago Escondido (which translates as hidden lake) may no longer be a secret, but you'll still have to make an effort to get to this beautiful place. Glacier-fed, it glows turquoise, is ringed by the mountains of Tierra del Fuego (the land of fire), and is well worth the day trip from the world’s southernmost city.
Following the Rio Grande along the ancient Inca Road, the Humahuaca Ravine (Quebrada de Humahuaca) is known both for its natural wonders and historic importance. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ravine boasts magnificent scenery—sweeping desert valleys and jagged cliffs striped in shades of pink, red, lavender, and gray—dotted with ancient ruins and Quechan villages.
Located in northwestern Argentina’s Jujuy province, the Calchaquí Valley is known for its wineries, waterfalls, and myriad red rock formations, the most famous of which is the 160-foot-high (49-meter) red rock gorge known as the Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo).
Rising 11,660 feet (3,554 meters), Tronador Hill (Cerro Tronador) is Bariloche’s highest mountain. It sits on the border between Argentina and Chile, nestled between two national parks. The mountain’s name comes from the Spanish word for thunder, a reference to the rumbling icefalls from the area’s seven glaciers, which are audible from a safe distance.
Only reachable via one of Patagonia’s most iconic treks, Laguna de los Tres is an ultra-marine lake with a backdrop of jagged mountains. The glacier lake sits in the shadow of Mt. Fitz Roy, a mountain that threatens one of the planet’s most-challenging ascents. The trek to the lake is 1 miles (25 kilometers long.
The Evita Museum (Museo Evita) is devoted to Eva Perón, the subject of the stage and film musical of the same name and one of Argentina’s most polarizing historical figures. A series of exhibits, including personal effects and memorabilia, chronicle Evita’s life, from her childhood through her political career.
With over 12,400 acres (5,000 hectares of vineyards reaching altitudes of up to 5,500 feet (1676 meters; Bodegas Salentein is one of Mendoza’s largest wine estates. At the heart of the Uco Valley, the modern Bodega is known for its pioneering wine-growing methods and a range of fine Argentinian wines that are exported around the globe.
