Category: Argentina

The pace of life slows waaaay down in this alpine-styled village, nestled in the forest in the Valle de Calamuchita. The tranquility is largely thanks to the town’s pedestrian-only policy. It’s a great place to kick back for a few days and wander the forest trails leading to swimming holes, waterfalls and scenic lookouts.

With a very tangible sense of history, the northwest is Argentina’s most ‘indigenous’ region, and the sights and people here show much closer links with the country’s Andean neighbors than the European image of its urban centers.

This humid but appealingly laid-back riverside town 38km northeast of Corrientes is a popular summer and weekend destination for correntinos (people from Corrientes) and chaqueños (people from Chaco). It’s a sizable settlement stretching along the Río Paraná near its confluence with the Paraguay, but the population is small outside of high season.

Something of a frontier town, Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, its full cumbersome name, is well out in the Chaco, and is the gateway to the ‘Impenetrable’ beyond. It’s known for its thermal baths, fortuitously discovered by drillers seeking potable water in 1937, and makes an appealing stop, with a rugged, friendly feel to the place.

About 600km from Buenos Aires – and a long way from pretty much anywhere else – Santa Rosa is unlikely to be of interest unless you find yourself traveling overland, in which case it’s a convenient stopping point and transport hub. While Santa Rosa itself offers scant charms, it serves as a base for exploring Parque Nacional Lihué Calel, an isolated but pretty park that’s home to a surprising assortment of vegetation and wildlife.

The biggest place by some distance here­abouts, enchanting Cachi is nevertheless little more than a village, albeit one surrounded by stunning scenery. Overlooked by noble mountains, it boasts fresh highland air, sunny days and crisp nights. The cobblestones, adobe houses, tranquil plaza and opportunities to explore the surrounds mean that it’s the sort of place that eats extra days out of your carefully planned itinerary.

Comfortably down-at-heel and unpretentious, likable Paraná seems surprised at its own status as capital of Entre Ríos province. Perched on the hilly banks of its eponymous river, it’s a sleepy, slow-paced city with little in the way of nightlife. The nicest part of town is the riverside where a pretty park slopes down to the costanera, where there are beaches, bars, boat trips, and hundreds of strollers and joggers. After the defeat of Rosas at the battle of Caseros, Paraná was the capital of the Argentine Confederation (which didn’t include Buenos Aires) from 1853 to 1861.