Argentina

Argentina is well known for its rich culture, celebrated wine and delectable cuisine. And as the second largest country in Latin America, it is a wonderfully diverse place to explore for those after something closer to nature.

Its western frontier is defined by the Andes. Starting in the northern altiplano, high altitude deserts that resemble the surface of Mars, head south through Salta and Mendoza’s vineyards. The mountain slopes turn green and their summits white as you follow them down to the Lake District’s cool waters and beech forests, entering Argentina’s portion of Patagonia where you can see glaciers calve into great lakes and hike under near vertical peaks.

The interior is defined by its lack of topography with a wide desert steppe dissected by river canyons and pampas grasslands dotted with traditional estancias. In the north, the enormous Iberá wetlands are Argentina’s largest protected area and home to maned wolves, capybaras and wonderful birdlife. Thanks to rewilding efforts supported by ecotourism, reintroduced jaguars, tapirs and giant anteaters roam this vital biome once more. Take the Paraná River upstream and be met by the breathtaking Iguazú, the largest waterfall in the world.

Where Argentina meets the Atlantic, see southern right whales congregate en masse to breed as orcas try their luck beaching themselves after sea lions and elephant seals. And at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, the stunning city of Buenos Aires stands as one of South America’s most vibrant and best-loved cities.