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Argentina: The Regions
Pampas And Sierras
Pampa is a word of Quechua origin that means “a plain without trees”. Honoring its name, most of its surface is represented by a vast region of fertile land where the figure of the gaucho is still present in the mores inherited by countrymen. In this region the main city is, without any doubts, Buenos Aires, “la Reina del Plata” (the Queen of the Rio Plata). However the cities of Cordoba and Rosario have no reason to be envious as far as architecture, natural beauties, cultural activities and history are concerned.
In Cordoba and San Luis provinces, beautiful sierras alternate with fertile valleys, where numerous towns were establishes attracted by their excellent climate. You will find all you are looking for in these cities; you may never finish discovering their enigma and may have the same wish as all who visited them once: to come back for more.
Mar del Plata is “the” beach of Argentina. Situated on the northern Atlantic coast, 400 km from the capital, beaches in this area sprawl for eight km, with sophisticated mansions (reflecting the area’s upper-class origins) mingling with the new middle-class resorts. Sea lions keep an eye on the fishing activities around the wharves, and a replica of the grotto of Lourdes is a kitsch paradise.
The Littoral
Also known as Mesopotamia because it is bordered by rivers, this is a region where the landscape surprises all the time with its color and movement. From the gentle slopes on Entre Rios to the wet marshes of Corrientes and the red hills of Misiones, everything causes amazement.
The climate of this area can be considered sub-tropical and it is moderated by the winds from the Atlantic Ocean, the frequent rains and the abundant vegetation.
The varied fauna completes its natural attractions, which make this one of the most captivating regions of Argentina. The main attraction of this area, undoubtedly, is Iguazú Falls. Most Jesuit ruins are also in this region: eight in Paraguay, seven in Brazil and fifteen in Argentina. Some of them are in good conditions and others are inaccessible.
The Northwest
One of the most attractive regions, with its gorges and small towns of beautiful colonial architecture, a region where the Inca roots have melted with modern life. Its valleys possess numerous archaeological remains belonging to different cultures that have lived in this area since time immemorial. Deep dry gullies climb up to the Puna (heights) via dusty routes to lost villages and ruins from Pre-Hispanic times in the land of the Inca or “Sons of the Sun”. This is why they say that here South America touches the sky.
The visitor plunges into a magical ambiance where the fresh air and the transparent atmosphere stress the presence of the colorful hills and the irregular geological formations of the gorge. Its warm weather and its nice people make the stay of the visitor really enjoyable. Home to abundant natural attractions and atmospheric relics from the pre-Columbian and colonial past, this is the more ‘traditional’ part of Argentina. It includes the provinces of Jujuy (numerous wildlife reserves), Salta (with the best preserved colonial city in the country, hundreds of archaeological sites, and colonial buildings), Tucumán, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero.
Cuyo And The Andes
Green valleys between imposing mountains and gorges are the highlights of this region where the Andes reach their maximum expression in the mythical Aconcagua Hill, the highest peak in the American continent. Cuyo means “the country of the sand” in Mapuche language and the name is due to its arid irregular land that lies next to the highest mountains. Today, Cuyo, is also the land of the sun and good wine.
The region has an excellent climate and the sky is hardly covered with clouds. Under clear blue sky, small villages let the seasons pass quietly by only interrupted by the carnivals, Indian markets and the worship of “Pachamama” or Mother Earth who provides maize and the pastures where the llamas and guanacos graze. This area offers numerous sporting activities to the visitors including: riding sailing carts at the foot of the Andes, rafting, windsurfing, spelunking, trekking, mountain biking and horse riding. Andinism can be practiced at all its levels, ranging from small hills to the mighty Aconcagua Mountain.
Towards the east, in the area of San Juan, Valle Fértil is one of the most beautiful and picturesque departments of the province, with a lovely landscape of sierras and cactus, and the gateway to the Ischigualasto Provincial Park, also known as “Valle de la Luna” (Moon valley)
Southern Lakes
The region of the lakes is a group of National Parks of incredible beauty. Vast extensions of virgin forests surround innumerable lakes with the remarkable frame of the Cordillera Austral Patagonica, where nature offers different scenery each season of the year. In winter (June to September), the captivating snowed hills make skiing a local passion. In the summer (December to March), the exuberant flora transforms everything into a symphony of colors. In autumn, the landscape changes as forest are covered with leaves of different shades of ochre, yellow and red contrasting with the remaining evergreen vegetation.
It is difficult to describe the beauty of the Andes Mountains in the provinces of Patagonia. Silent forests a thousand years old, where the vegetation reaches down to the shores of calm pools of water. On the heights of the most beautiful mountains on earth, Nature manifests itself in granite peaks and ice fields whose glacial tongues end in lakes of unequaled beauty. Here you will find the National Parks of Nahuel Huapi, Lago Puelo and Los Alerces with their beautiful vegetation and idyllic sceneries.
Lake Crossing - Bariloche is the starting point of the famous International Lake Crossing from Argentina to Chile (or vice versa). From Monday to Saturday (Sep 1 to Apr 30) you will be able to cross the Lake in 1 day from Bariloche to Puerto Montt. From Monday to Friday (Jan 2 to Feb 28 and May 2 to Aug 31) you will be able to cross in 2 days with an overnight in Peulla.
Central Patagonia
The history of the evolution of the earth left its footprints on this strip of land with particular formations that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes. Its coasts, with numerous geographical irregularities that form gulfs, bays, estuaries and cliffs that dive in the green water of the Atlantic Ocean, are one of the most interesting natural reserves in the world and the center of a wide variety of marine fauna. Whales, sea elephants, sea lions and penguins as well as numerous birds species permit the study and observation of their behavior. In its core, the plateau possess the biggest and oldest fossilized trees of the planet, that date back to the age when South America was linked to Africa and the Andes did not exist. This province features a glacier-dotted mountainous interior, unique coastal wildlife and Andean national parks.
The most important tourist cities of this area are Puerto Madryn, in the Peninsula Valdés area, with the biggest concentration of marine fauna and Trelew, with an important airport, gateway to the Peninsula Valdés area. The Comodoro Rivadavia, the national oil capital.
Peninsula de Valdes - PenÃnsula de Valdés offers large numbers of sea lions, elephant seals, guanacos, rheas, Magellanic penguins, sea birds, flamingos and right whales. The Moreno Glacier of Santa Cruz is one of the world’s few advancing glaciers: a 60-metre-high river of rising, toppling and exploding ice. In the Valdés Peninsula the sea elephants have the only continental enclave in the world, a magical place where the southern whales regularly come to the Nuevo and San José gulfs to breed. Patagonian hares, ñandúes (South American ostrich) and guanacos run about the steppes and the largest colony of Magellan penguins in the world nest at Punta Tombo. Wildlife calendar at PenÃnsula Valdés
Southern Patagonia
The southwest extreme of Patagonia offers resources unique in the world. A thousand emotions invade the spirit when discovering this region where the visitor will be enraptured by such beauty. Due to its geographical position, it is exposed to strong winds, a proof of that being the short height of the constructions and the lack of vegetation in the cities, whose only trees grow in the direction of the wind and are called “flag-trees” due to the shape they adopt.
The Los Glaciares National Park heads the long list of places that, passing by the mythical Tierra del Fuego and the Islands of the Atlantic Ocean, ends in the captivating white continent Antarctica. On the heights of the most beautiful mountains on earth, Nature manifests itself in granite peaks and ice fields whose glacial tongues end in lakes of unequaled beauty. Impressive mammals and sea birds, half way between real life and fantasy, spend certain seasons on the rough coasts of Patagonia where they complete part of their life cycle. Colonies of seals play on the islets and sandbanks. A visit to these regions allows us to discover the wonders of nature in constant creation. It is difficult to describe the beauty of the Andes mountains in the provinces of Patagonia. Silent forests a thousand years old where the vegetation reaches down to the shores of calm pools of water. And to the South, Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia the most southern enclave in the world and the open door to the immense and mysterious Antarctic.
Sail To The End Of The Earth - From Ushuaia you can take a cruise to the Antarctic or go on a catamaran trip along the Beagle Channel where you can see seals, Magellan penguins, cormorants and other sea birds.
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