Gallop gaucho-style over the Pampas, taste fine wines with the snow-capped Andes as a backdrop and experience Patagonia's city-sized glaciers close-up. Most visitors arrive in Argentina via its capital, Buenos Aires, and few fail to be charmed by its faded grandeur, proud traditions and buzzing nightlife.
Buenos Aires is the home of tango, and there is nowhere better on earth to see the sensual dance than at a smoky backstreet milonga dance event. Outside the city, enjoy nature at its show-off best at the thunderous Iguazú Falls, set amid tropical rainforest. Or travel to the Perito Moreno glacier, where enormous chunks of blue ice carve off into the lake below. Remote Patagonia has other outdoor attractions for all tastes, from skiing and trekking to close encounters with whales and penguins.
Packed with lively cafes and palm-filled plazas, capital Buenos Aires is a great place to wander. The most famous square is the central Plaza de Mayo, overlooked by the pink presidential palace, the Casa Rosada. It was from here that Evita waved to the adoring masses. Trace Argentina's colonial heritage amid the Jesuit and Spanish architecture in Córdoba. You'll find Mendoza in the lap of the Andes, surrounded by the country's productive and famed vineyards.
To the west of Buenos Aires stretch the Pampas, home of the iconic Argentine gaucho cowboy. Peppered with sleepy agricultural towns and luxurious estancias ranches, you can enjoy country living at its finest. Or stay at a working estancia where guests muck in at harvest time. The high altitude northwest around Jujuy is riven with multi-coloured gorges, such as the Quebrada de Humahuaca, while the watery Litoral region allows for river trips and birdwatching.
