TOP EXPERIENCES (SUGGESTED BY THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM OF ARGENTINA)

BUENOS AIRES

Buenos Aires is one of the world’s biggest cities in which, including the suburbs, there are over 11,000,000 inhabitants. It is also the most elegant and active city in South America and the one that summarizes the heterogeneous essence of Argentines the best. With a modern, hip structure and dynamic activity, it has managed to preserve old traditions and endearing corners. Visitors feel fascinated because of its environment, because neighborhoods have all different personalities, and because people are warm and there is a wide range of shopping and cultural proposals. Buenos Aires is surrounded by the splendid Argentine nature and it is the great cosmopolitan door to South America.

The Province of Buenos Aires invites you to the countryside and its traditions, the sun and the sea, the serenity and the adventure, the delta and its mysteries. There are estancias (large cattle ranches) featuring a great deal of architectural styles, located in the middle of the Pampas Plains— a magical vast area of far-off horizons, where you may breathe history and Creole customs all around. Kilometers of sand caressed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, endless dunes, lonely and crowded beaches, sophisticated and busy nights— everywhere you will be amazed. The peaceful golf courses, the vertigo paragliding rides and the adventure of trekking— everything is possible in the hilly region of Tandil and Ventana. They are very different landscapes from each other and distant from the mouth of the Paraná River, where endless islands invite you to unwind and live unexpected adventures.

PATAGONIA

The Andean Mountain Range displays all its greatness in the Patagonian provinces. Thousand- year-old silent forests with native vegetation extend to the banks of the lagoons. On mountaintops, nature overflows in granite needles and icy fields brimming with glaciers in lakes of unique beauty. The paintings on the sides of the Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) have survived for about 10,000 years, and embody the oldest expression of the South American peoples.

Imposing mammals and sea birds go through some rough seasons on the Patagonian coasts where they spend part of their life cycle. Colonies of sea lions play and rest on small islands and sandbars. Southern elephant seals have their greatest continental station in the world on Peninsula Valdés. Nuevo and San José gulfs, separated by Carlos Ameghino isthmus, bear witness to the arrival of the Southern Right Whale, which punctually gets there for giving birth and breeding. Creole hares, rheas and guanacos (a lowland relative of the upper-Andean llama) run through the plains and in Punta Tombo the largest colony of Maguellanic penguin’s nests. The amazed look of the visitor beholds a cadence that has been repeating itself since time immemorial.

Farther south, you should visit Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia— the latter being the southern- most city in the world. They are both an open door to the immense solitude of mysterious Antarctica.

IGUAZU NATIONAL PARK

UNESCO declared the Iguazú National Park, located at eighteen kilometers from Puerto Iguazú, Natural Heritage of Humanity. The famous falls are inside this Park. The deep flowing waters of the river fall from a height of 70 meters through 275 falls over 2.7 Km. The frontier with Brazil goes through the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) where the falling water gives the illusion of magic rainbows. The National Park is full of the exotic subtropical vegetation which surrounds the falls and has 2,000 plant species - gigantic trees, ferns, lianas, orchids, - 400 bird species - parrots, hummingbirds, toucans - jaguars and yacarés (caimans).

THE IBERA MARSHLANDS

This humid zone of 700.000 hectares can be reached from Posadas, Concepción or Mercedes. In Guaraní Iberá means "Shining water". Its lagoons cover 31,500 hectares, its marshlands 52,000, and its inlands 260,000. This eco-system which gives life to turtles, yacarés (caimans), monkeys, swamp deer, capybaras - the largest rodent in the world - and up to 400 bird species, besides an extraordinary flora, extends over one million hectares.

THE NORTH

Northern provinces feature traces of pre-Columbian cultures, mingled with ruins of natives’ villages, as well as forts and constructions dating back to the time of the Conquest and Colonization. Time seems to stand still in the high plateau of the Puna, a land full of mountain ranges, steep mountain paths, and gorges. Villages have been built in the small valleys. Multi-coloured and monochromatic hills covered with huge cactuses on the slopes surround the village. This region offers landscapes full of contrast for tourists to enjoy, from the high peaks to the plains, the salt pans, and the subtropical rain forests, where Latin American culture took root.

CUYO

Cuyo - “desert country” in the Indian language - is the region of the high peaks, the snow- covered volcanoes, and the large wilderness spreading from the Andes mountain range and foothills to the steppe. The visit to Ischigualasto - Talampaya Natural Parks, is a true journey to the dinosaur’s era. Ischigualasto, also known as “Valle de la Luna” (Moon Valley) because of the amazing diversity of forms and colors of its landscape shaped by erosion, is one of the world’s most important paleontological sites. The Talampaya River Canyon reveals amazing multi-shaped layers in its high red walls.

Pink flamingos, Andean ducks, “vicuñas” and “guanacos” cohabit freely in parks and natural reserves, while condors fly over the area. The region displays the full splendor of the Central Andean Range. The Aconcagua (6.959 m) is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, and its steep slopes are renowned and respected by mountain climbers from all over the world. In the valleys of La Rioja, Mendoza and San Juan, among leaves of grapevines, farms and wineries, visitors can go along the Wine Road, an attraction of international renown.

CORDOBA

Córdoba is one of the most important economic centers in the country. It has with many contrasting features— it is both a cultural and tourist-like destination, a traditional and modern city, with an industrialized as well as a homemade production.

A hilly landscape and favorable weather conditions are distinctive in Córdoba, a place where natural sceneries are mixed with colonial monuments. Little towns, historical antiques and cave paintings are found in a pleasant valley landscape, high plains and gorges.

Cordoba’s hills rise toward the northwestern Pampas plains. They are part of the “Sierras Pampeanas” mountain range, reaching 2,790 m high in the Champaqui hill. All these hills are particularly appealing because of their fertile valleys, deserts and salt mines.

All along the way northward, you will find many 17th and 18th century chapels and farmhouses inherited from the Jesuits.

ROAD 40

The longest and most spectacular road in Argentina. The magical National Road 40 runs along over 5,000 Km along the feet of the Andes from Cabo Vírgenes (Santa Cruz) to La Quiaca (Jujuy). It goes up from the sea level to almost 5,000 meters. It crosses 236 bridges. It touches 13 big lakes and salts flats. It gives access to 20 National Parks and Reserves. It crosses 18 main rivers. It connects 27 Andean passes. The RN 40, created in 1935, runs from south to north along 11 provinces of 3 different regions in Argentina. Patagonia: Santa Cruz, Chubut, Río Negro and Neuquén. Cuyo: Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja. Norte: Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy. The National route 40, created in 1935, unites from south to north 11 provinces and regions of the country; Patagonia: Santa Cruz, Chubut, Río Negro y Neuquén. Cuyo: Mendoza, San Juan y La Rioja. Norte: Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta y Jujuy.