Slow-paced little Belén feels like, and is, a long way from anywhere, and will appeal to travelers who like things small-scale and friendly. It’s got an excellent place to stay and is one of the best places to buy woven goods, particularly ponchos, in Argentina. There are many teleras (textile workshops) dotted around town, turning out their wares made from llama, sheep and alpaca wool. The nearby ruins of El Shincal are another reason to visit.
This pleasant agricultural service town on the Río Uruguay won’t keep you spellbound for weeks at a time, but makes a convenient stop for a night. It’s a working rather than a tourist town with a fine central plaza, interesting cathedral, and riverside beaches and fishing. It also offers a border crossing, via the Represa Salto Grande hydroelectric project, to the Uruguayan city of Salto.
A favorite getaway for Córdoba dwellers and foreigners alike, La Cumbre packs a lot of character into a small space. It’s an agreeable little town due to its wide streets and mild mountain climate, and there are plenty of adventures to be had in the surrounding hills. The town gained worldwide fame when it hosted the 1994 World Paragliding Cup, and enthusiasts of the sport have made La Cumbre their home, giving the town an international feel. The launch site, 380m above the Río Pinto, provides a spectacular introduction to the sport and there are plenty of experienced instructors around, offering both classes and tandem flights.
Northeast Argentina is defined by its water. Muscular rivers roll southward through flat green pastureland that they flood at will, the crashing roar of spectacular waterfalls reverberates through the surrounding jungle, and fragile wetlands support myriad birdlife, snapping caimans and cuddly capybaras. The peaceful Iguazú river, meandering through the tropical forest between Brazil and Argentina, dissolves in fury and power in the world’s most awe-inspiring cataracts – a sensual feast that cannot be missed. The river then merges gently into the Río Paraná, one of the world’s mightiest watercourses which surges southward, eventually forming the Río de la Plata near Buenos Aires. Along its path are some of the country’s most interesting cities: elegant Corrientes, colonial Santa Fe and booming Rosario, as well as Posadas, gateway to the ruined splendor of the Jesuit missions, whose humane dreams of social utopia in the jungle eventually foundered on the rocks of colonial realpolitik. The Paraná is joined by the Río Paraguay, west of which stretches the dry scrubland of the Chaco –whose more remote parts are tantalizingly named ‘El Impenetrable’ – and, eventually, the Río Uruguay, whose course down the Brazilian and Uruguayan border is interrupted by the unusual and spectacular Saltos del Moconá falls. Along its length are also several relaxed waterside towns: Colón, perhaps the region’s most attractive settlement, and Gualeguaychú, whose exuberant Carnaval goes on for weeks.
Also known fittingly as Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon; admission AR$35), this park takes its name from the Diaguita word for land without life. Visits here are a spectacular step – or drive, as the case may be – into a world of surreal rock formations, dinosaur remains and glowing red sunsets. The park is in some ways comparable to North American national parks like Bryce Canyon or Zion, except that here, time and water have exposed a wealth of fossils (some 180 million years old, from the Triassic period).
Poised on the edge of the barely populated wilderness of the Chaco (of which province it’s the capital), baking-hot Resistencia isn’t the most likely candidate for the garland of artistic center of northern Argentina. Yet it has strong claims to that title; its streets are studded with sculpture – half a thousand by the time you read this – and there’s a strong boho-cultural streak that represents a complete contrast to the tough cattle-and-dust solitudes that characterize the province.
There’s quite a contrast between Santa Fe’s relaxed center, where colonial buildings age gracefully in the humid heat and nobody seems to get beyond an amble, and a Friday night in the Recoleta district where university students in dozens of bars show the night no mercy. Capital of its province, but with a small-town feel, Santa Fe is an excellent place to visit for a day or two.
A humble little crossroads town on the way to the Chilean border, Uspallata is an oasis of poplar trees set in a desolate desert valley. The polychrome mountains surrounding the town so resemble highland Central Asia that director Jean-Jacques Annaud used it as the location for the epic film Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt.
Sexy, alive and supremely confident, this beautiful city gets under your skin. Like Europe with a melancholic twist, Buenos Aires is unforgettable.
Stately Corrientes sits below the confluence of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers just across the water from its twin city, Resistencia. One of the nation’s most venerable cities, Corrientes has dignity, with elegant balconied buildings dating from the turn of the 20th century lending a timeworn appeal to its colorful streets. Like many such cities, the costanera is everybody’s destination of choice for strolling, licking ice creams or sipping mate with friends.