Argentina

Argentina stretches over 3,600 kilometers from the subtropical north to the sub-Antarctic south, embracing an extraordinary range of landscapes: the thundering Iguazu Falls, the vast grassy Pampas, the wine country and high desert of the northwest, the glaciers and granite spires of Patagonia, and the towering Andes, crowned by 6,961-m Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere.

A land of gauchos, tango, and football, Argentina pairs world-class trekking and wildlife with sophisticated cities and a deep café-and-asado culture, offering some of the most dramatic mountain and ice scenery on the planet.

Trek the granite peaks of El Chaltén and Torres del Paine's neighbor ranges, witness the calving Perito Moreno Glacier, climb Aconcagua, watch whales and penguins at Península Valdés, ride with gauchos on the Pampas, and stand before Iguazu Falls. Wine touring in Mendoza adds another dimension.

Patagonia and the Andes are best in the southern summer (December–March); the northwest and Iguazu are pleasant in spring and autumn, and Buenos Aires is mild much of the year. Whale season at Valdés peaks June–December.

Argentina's wildlife ranges from Andean condors, guanacos, and pumas to the southern right whales, orcas, elephant seals, and Magellanic penguins of Península Valdés, plus the rich birdlife and capybaras of the northern wetlands and Iguazu's subtropical forest.

Argentina runs along the Andes, raised by the subducting Nazca Plate (with Aconcagua its highest summit) and dotted with volcanoes, dropping to the flat, fertile Pampas and the windswept Patagonian steppe and Southern Patagonian Ice Field, one of the largest outside the poles.

Inhabited by diverse Indigenous peoples, Argentina was colonized by Spain and won independence in 1816. Waves of European (especially Italian and Spanish) immigration shaped its culture, cuisine, and the tango, while gaucho traditions define the rural Pampas.

Argentine culture centers on the asado (barbecue), mate, tango, and a passion for football, blended from Indigenous, Spanish, and Italian roots, with the gaucho horseman as a national symbol of the Pampas.

Visit Patagonia in the southern summer and pack for fierce wind; explore the northwest and Iguazu in the shoulder seasons. Book El Calafate and El Chaltén ahead in peak season, savor the steak and Malbec, and allow for Argentina's vast distances.