Whatever your preconceptions are of Argentina, they’ll be wrong! There is no easy way to describe the worlds 8th largest country. A vibrant land that covers 2,766,890 square kilometres with a population density of 13 people per square kilometre. “Awesome” doesn’t come close! For most the first taste comes in the cosmopolitan and bustling capital city of Buenos Aires home to 3 million “portenos”. More European than South American in flavour, Buenos Aires' heart boasts bustling streets, grand avenues, old-time cafes and stylish restaurants. The locals are renowned for their flair and cockiness, even in times of adversity. It's a city of tragedy and elation; a vibrant, cosmopolitan capital.
The vastness of the country becomes apparent as you venture further. From the legendary Iguazu’ Falls between the borders with Brazil and Paraguay where water tumbles through 275 separate cascades and drops 20 storeys amid 2100 square kilometres of national park, teeming with abundant bird and animal life including jaguars, to the peak of Aconcagua, at 6960 metres the highest peak outside the Himalayas. Further south and you enter the wine producing region of Mendoza, home to over 2000 Bodegas (wineries) with a history of wine production going back 500 years. Vineyards and Olive groves stretch as far as the eye can see in the province the “Mendocino’s” call “La Tierra de Sol y Buen Vino”, the Land of Sun and Good Wine. In winter you can mix with “portenos” skiing in Las Lenas, a European class resort at a fraction of the price and there’s always excellent rafting on the Rio Atuel. Over on the east coast you pass through the Pampas, birthplace of the gaucho and home of the world class Argentinean steak, you’ll never forget your first Argentine Asado or Parrilla! Along the coastline you can stay at one of the many coastal resorts or move further inland and stay on a working Estancia, watching the Gaucho’s in their natural element, on the back of a horse.
The unrelentingly flat Pampas is Argentina's agricultural heartland. Comprising the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa and major parts of Santa Fe and Córdoba, its varied environments include forested hills, extensive grasslands and flamingo-flecked salt lakes. The Parque National Lihué Calel is a popular detour, with wildlife including puma, guanaco, rhea, native hares and a variety of wild chinchilla called a vizcacha. The cities of La Plata, Luján (whose basilica to La Virgen de Luján receives 4 million pilgrims a year), Rosario and Santa Fe are worth seeing for their many museums, churches and faded colonial buildings.
Further south still brings you to Peninsula Valdez, one of South Americas finest wildlife reserves. The area is home to sea lions, elephant seals, guanacos, rheas, penguins and many other sea birds. The main attraction however is to see the southern right whale which comes to breed between June and mid December and if you’re really lucky you can watch Orcas carry out high tide attacks on sea lions between February and April.
Along the West coast you pass through Bariloche and the Lake District, one of Argentina’s most popular travel destinations. Each year thousands come to ski, hike, climb, camp, fish, swim and generally enjoy a spectacularly beautiful area, ditching the briefcase for a back pack and disappearing into the hills!
Providing you don’t get too lost in the hills you can venture south, further into Patagonia. Often along the famous Route 40 (which runs for 4000 kms from Bolivia to Tierra Del Fuego) running alongside the majestic Andes Mountains and into the Fitz Roy range. A land of jagged mountains, crashing glaciers and roaring rivers. Which eventually leads you to Tierra Del Fuego, the only place you really can discover what it feels like to be at the ends of the earth, the next stop is the Antarctic!
But perhaps Argentina’s biggest attraction is her people. Open and warm and ever willing to help, whether it be a lift to a Gomeria for the very regular tyre repair or being invited into someone’s house to share mate, Argentina is about family, friendship and friends. Coming from an English or American background it can be a little alarming to be greeted by your male friends with a kiss on the cheek but you very quickly relax into it and do the same! 97% of the population are of European ancestry (mostly Spanish and Italian) which explains why sometimes you can be sat outside a café in Mendoza and think you’re in mainland Spain. The people as a rule are very well educated with the CIA world fact book putting literacy rates at 97.1% something the British Government would do well to aspire to.