Things to Do in Argentina

The Martial Glacier sits high above Ushuaia, but it's still only a few kilometers away. It’s open year-round, too, but the different seasons do bring about a striking change of scenery.

In the summer, the chairlift that runs from the end of Martial Glacier Road to the glacier itself is little more than a sightseer’s ticket to the alpine environment, where several hiking trails lead either across the glacier ice or into the nearby mountains. The black gorge trail offers stunning views of the Beagle Channel, while it’s also possible to skip the chairlift ride down and slowly descend with panorama-views of Ushuaia.

Throughout the winter, there is a little-used ski center that access terrific off-piste terrain for experienced backcountry skiers. There is also a Club Andino Ushuaia refugio, which often becomes a basecamp for skiers looking to truly explore the surrounding areas, including the Andorra Valley and Vinciguerra Glacier.

Los Cardones National Park is located in the central part of the Salta Province, and it occupies approximately 160,000 acres. It was established in 1996 to protect the high elevation vegetation located in the colorful sierras and dry gorges of this area. The cardones are column-like cactus plants that thrive in high altitudes and are found throughout the national park, which is where the park got its name. The area also boasts small forests of the leguminous Churqui. Many animals live in the national park, including more than 100 species of birds.

Three different environments are represented in the park. They include the mountainous area of the sierras, the piedmont and low lands, and the basin. Fossils from many extinct animals, including dinosaur tracks, have been found in the park. Other attractions in the park include pre-Inca cave art. 

Completely surrounded by the Guanaco and Piramides Mountain Ranges, both sub ranges of the Andes, Lago Roca is a stunning emerald-green lake protected by Argentina’s Tierra Del Fuego National Park.

The Lago Roca hostel and campground is the easiest starting point to explore this section of the national park. Fishing is popular on the lake, while several trails lead around the lake and into the surrounding mountains. The Cerro Guanaco Trail is a steep climb to a mountain summit. The views from the top are massive, overlooking Lago Roca, the Beagle Channel, and across the border into Chile.

It’s a lake with an identity crisis, too, as Lago Roca – named for former Argentinean president Julio Argentino Roca - is just the most recognized of its three names. The western most portion of the Lake crosses the international border into Chile, where the lake is known as Lago Errazuriz, after Chile’s former President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren. Roca and Errazuriz share a history in Patagonia, as both were recognized for the Abrazo del Estrecho (the hug of the Strait of Magallanes) when they met in Punta Arenas to find a friendly solution to conflicting Patagonian land claims. 

Prior to being renamed Lago Roca and Errazuriz (depending on which side of the border you visit), the lake was known as Lago Acigami, the yagan native name.  

Lapataia Bay is where Argentina’s RN 3 road ends, a road that is a continuation of the Pan-American Highway, which stretches all the way to Alaska. Roadies are always stopping to pose next to the sign here in Lapataia Bay, and it’s worth thinking about how far they’ve come to get there! According to the sign, the distance between this spot and Alaska is a whopping 11,090 miles (17,848 kilometers).

 

Most visitors don’t take the land route to Lapataia Bay, however, and instead fly into Argentina. The bay is within Parque National Tierra del Fuego, a popular day trip from Ushuaia, which sits only 10 miles away. The park offers a chance to get out into nature, overlook azure lakes and bays, walk through native beech forests and in season, catch both the firebush, which blooms bright red, and the spooky-looking orange “pan de indio,” golf ball-sized mushrooms that grow on some of the trees. 

If you have more time, try out some of the other trails in the park, which covers almost 150,000 acres of this island off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland.

Because its waters are warm and teem with fish, Lake Gutierrez is one of the most popular destinations near the Argentinean resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche. Situated within Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina’s oldest protected land, the lake has two common access points that sit on opposite shores. 

Villa Los Cohiues is the closest access point to the city and it’s where most people access the lake. Swimming, kayaking, and sport fishing are popular on the lake itself, while both hiking and horseback riding offers visitors the chance to explore the surrounding forests. 

Fishing is best at the opposite end of the lake, where the Torrontegui river flows into Lake Gutierrez. Declining fish populations encouraged the national park service to restock the lake, so rainbow, brown and brook trout are plentiful once again. Two seabirds—the Kelp Gull and Blue Eyed Cormorant—also live on Lake Gutierrez and throughout Nahuel Huapi National Park. It’s an unknown curiosity, as this region is the only known fresh water habitat for either species. 

Lake Fagnano sits directly above the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault, which marks the boundary between the Scotia and South American tectonic plates. The 98km long lake also sits upon the Chile/Argentina border; however, the majority of the lake belongs to Argentina. It’s also the largest lake on Tierra del Fuego. 

Lake Fagnano is surrounded by virgin Patagonian forest but there is still a striking landscape change between the south and north shores. The south is marked by the steep Fuegian Andes, while the northern shore is much gentler as Tierra de Fuego transforms into rolling steppe. While boat trips and sport fishing are popular on the lake, most visitors still opt to visit Lake Fagnano the same day they visit Lake Escondido, on a lengthy daytrip from Ushuaia.

The small town of Tolhuin sits on the lake’s easternmost point. Although little more than a stopping point between the two larger cities of Ushuaia and Rio Grande, the Panaderia La Union bakery has become famous. Its walls are lined with autographed photographs of Argentinean and international celebrities who’ve visited as they traveled through the area. 

Luján de Cuyo is another part of the Mendoza wine-producing region (in addition to Maipú), and was the first Argentine wine-producing region to establish its own appellation of origin. It has a long history of wine production, and is best recognized for Malbec, which is made from a grape that is originally from Bordeaux. In Luján de Cuyo, they also produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, San Giovese, Barbera and other red wines including Pinot Noir. Among whites, there are several for which they are well known, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

In the area of Luján de Cuyo, there is also cultivation of olives and almonds, and there is some adventure tourism, including rafting, rappelling, horseback riding, parasailing and hiking, though of course some of the main activities here is visiting wineries and enjoying the local foods. Luján de Cuyo has a high concentration of vineyards, and has more than 35 wineries that are open to the public. 

Most wine tourism to Luján de Cuyo starts in Chacras de Coria, a town popular with wine and food lovers, which maintains its traditional character, including wide boulevards overhung with old trees. 

The Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse marks the dangerous rocks at the entrance to Ushuaia Bay in the Beagle Channel. Locals often wrongfully call this the Lighthouse at the End of the World, which is technically incorrect because the lighthouse Jules Verne made famous in his novel lies further east, but it’s oddly accurate, too; it’s the last mainland reference most sailors see on their way to Antarctica.

Located just five miles from Ushuaia, Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is a common destination for short tourist sailing trips. The waters surrounding the lighthouse are a sea-goers dream, as penguins and both South American and fur sea lions are spotted regularly. Bird life is abundant, too, with black eyebrow albatrosses, steamer ducks and upland geese often seen on the nearby islands. Many tours also include landing on Karelo Island.

It’s worth mentioning that the region is stunning, but harsh. The weather – and most commonly the wind - can be fierce, but it’s all part of the southern Patagonian experience. 

Covered in native Araucaria trees and riddled with dozens of lakes, Lanin National Park is a Patagonian treasure in the Argentine state of Neuquén. This park was established in 1937 at a time when the border with neighboring Chile was still hotly disputed. Both of the nations could agree, however, that given the area’s biodiversity and magnificent natural beauty, it was an area deserving of preservation for hundreds of years to come.

Today, Lanin National Park holds some of Argentina’s best hiking, fly fishing, and camping. The park stretches out over a total area that’s larger than the state of Rhode Island, and the dormant, snowcapped, Lanin volcano dominates the vista from a lofty height of nearly 12,300 feet. The two-day climb up Lanin volcano is one of the park’s most popular activities, but shorter day hikes and biking trails are available for summer visitors. 24 shimmering, forest-lined lakes are found within the park, including Lake Lacár, Lake Huechulafquen, and the famous “Road of the Seven Lakes” that’s one of Argentina’s best drives. In summer, bask on sandy Catritre Beach on the shores of Lake Lacár or explore the backcountry in search of puma or the elusive Andean Condor. Camping is available at designated spots throughout Lanin National Park, and from its southern border with Nahuel Huapi National Park to the summit of Volcán Lanin, this park is a Patagonian utopia of beauty and recreational fun.

Before Patagonia was peppered with glaciers and jagged, snow-capped peaks, it was a vast plain of lush forests where dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Granted, that was 100 million years ago, and Patagonia today is vastly different from those early days of its founding. 

At La Leona Petrified Forest, however, visitors have the chance to literally walk through prehistoric Patagonia. This 2,000-acre depression in the Earth is amazingly frozen in time, where massive trees and dinosaur bones still lie on the dusty Earth. There’s an enveloping silence in the desert plains, and only the wind and crunch of your boots seem to break the eerie silence. Nearby, at La Leona Hotel, even more mystique is added to the visit by viewing a place where legendary outlaws hid to escape the law. The towering peak of Mt. Fitzroy can often be seen in the distance, and from walking past fossilized dinosaur dung to hiking in a lunar landscape, this easy daytrip from El Calafate can seem like another world. 

The Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve is an important conservation spot and stopover for many migrating bird species. It’s also home to dozens of Patagonian bird types, and in all, there are about 80 species that can be seen here. Most notable are the flamingoes and black-necked swans, but visitors are also likely to see geese, silvery grebes, ibis and hawks, among others.

The reserve has a walking path of about a mile and a half that runs in and out of vegetation with full vantage of the two lagoons in the middle. There are two shelters from which you can observe the birds in relative secrecy, and the reed-filled areas of the lagoons are almost always bustling with activity. The best time to visit this area is very early in the morning or later in the evening around sunset, when birds return to rest for the evening.

Maipú is a small city in the Mendoza province of Argentina, with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. It is located about 10 kilometers from the city of Mendoza. Maipú is one of the most important wine-growing regions in Argentina, and produces up to 2/3 of the country’s wine. It is located on the eastern side of the Andes, and specifically, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua, which is the tallest mountain on the continent, at over 22,000 feet. Mendoza has wineries at altitude of between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level, assuring the warm daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures essential to wine production.

Maipú represents the greatest concentration of wineries is in Argentina, with more than 150 wineries, nearly 30 of which accept visitors.  It is also where the oldest winemakers in the region, such as Trapiche, which dates back to 1883, are located. 

The area around Maipú is warm and dry, and is of great historical importance, having been named for a famous battle with Chile. It is also home to a museum to wine and the wine harvest, called the Museo Nacional del Vino y la Vendimia.

The MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires) is Buenos Aires’ leading modern art institution. Since opening in 2001, the museum has amassed a varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and installation works by artists from all corners of Latin America.

A MALBA admission ticket includes access to the museum’s vast permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, and guided tours are available in both English and Spanish. Many people combine a visit to the MALBA with other Buenos Aires art museums such as the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art (Museo de Arte Moderno), the National Museum of Fine Art (Museo de Bellas Artes), and the Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Art Collection (Coleccion de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat). You can also explore the MALBA as part of a city tour that includes neighborhoods like Palermo, La Boca, San Telmo, and Recoleta. 

The MALBA museum is located along Av. Pres. Figueroa Alcorta in the Palermo neighborhood. Several buses stop outside the museum, and the Saldias train station is about a 10-minute walk away. The closest Subte (underground) station is Facultad de Derecho (Line H), about a 20-minute walk away.

The museum is open daily except Tuesdays year-round. On Wednesdays, entry is half-price and the museum stays open until 9pm. To beat the crowds, opt for an early-afternoon visit on a weekday. 

Founder Eduardo Constantini's private collection, more than 220 19th- and 20th-century pieces displayed chronologically throughout the first-floor galleries, is the focal point of the museum. A portfolio of the modern art movement, the collection also portrays a strong sense of geographical identity through a number of evocative political and cultural works. Highlights include art by Argentines Xul Solar and Antonio Berni, Chilean Roberto Matta, a Frida Kahlo self-portrait, Brazilian Tarsila Do Amaral’s much-celebrated Abaporu, and innovative installations by Julio Le Parc. The top-floor gallery, meanwhile, houses temporary exhibitions and a small cinema that shows art-house movies, mostly in Spanish.

Lago Escondido, which translates to Hidden Lake, is surrounded by the Fuegian Andes just north of Ushuaia, Argentina. Many tourists choose to visit on a day-trip from Ushuaia; however, Hosteria Petral provides a lakeside basecamp for anybody interested in taking advantage of its status as a popular sport-fishing destination.

Brown and Rainbow trout can be caught in the lake itself, while brook trout are most often landed near stream inlets or around the many beaver dams that surround the lake. 

Other popular activities in the area include horseback riding along the lakeshore, boat and kayak tours on the crystal-clear waters, and, oddly, Canadian-style wildlife watching. Lago Escondido is an excellent place to watch Canadian beavers, which were introduced to southern Patagonia in 1946 with false hope to spur a declining fur trade. 

With its shimmering blue waters and forest-lined shoreline, Lake Lacár is one of the most popular attractions in San Martin de Los Andes. In the peak of summer, when the temperature can regularly reach 70 degrees and the sun hangs high in the sky, bask on a beach beneath snowcapped peaks over 200 miles from the ocean. Enjoy the 15-minute stroll from the center of town to dramatic Bandurrias Lookout, and then continue on foot for 30 minutes to La Islita beach. Hire a canoe and paddle the waters surrounded by mountains and silence, or hop on board a sightseeing cruise to motor past islands and virgin forest towards the neighboring Chilean border.

On a full day cruise, disembark at the port of Chachín to hike 30-minutes to Chachín waterfall as it powerfully spills through the forest. On the ride back towards San Martin de los Andes, admire a shoreline pockmarked with caves where the indigenous Mapuche once thrived, and soak in the vistas that arguably rank as some of the best in Patagonia. Or spend a day at Quila Quina on the lake’s southern shore, a lakeshore village that’s full of watersports and native Mapuche crafts.

Mascardi Lake is a glacial lake in the province of Rio Negro south of Bariloche, Argentina. It was named for a Jesuit priest named Nicolas Mascardi who did missionary work in the area during the 17th century. The lake is within Nahuel Huapi National Park, which is the oldest national park in Argentina and covers an area of almost 2 million acres. Mascardi Lake is divided into two sections by a peninsula. From the lake, you can admire several peaks of the Andes Mountain range. There are several good beaches along the shores of the lake, and swimming is a popular activity here. Other activities include boating, kayaking, fishing and hiking around the lake. 

Many animals can be found near Mascardi Lake and in Nahuel Huapi National Park. These include river otters, deer, foxes, cougars, and guanacos. There are also several species of birds, such as ducks, geese, swans, Austral Parakeets, cormorants, and Andean condors. Some sections of the park are covered by temperate rain forests, and most of the trees you will see in the area are the lengas, coihue and the ñires. 

If you’re visiting El Calafate, there’s no way to miss the vast Lago Argentino. The city sits on the shore of this massive lake, the largest freshwater source in Argentina. It covers 566 square miles and is a result of glacial meltwater, which causes its milky blue color. The lake is part of Argentina’s Glacier National Park and is home to one of the area’s only advancing glaciers, Perito Moreno, which calves into Lago Argentino.

But Perito Moreno is not the only thing to see at Lago Argentino, and many visitors choose a full day of sightseeing on the lake, starting from El Calafate. Visits up the north arm to Upsala usually give visitors a chance to see calving glaciers up close, and the Spegazzini Glacier is the tallest one in the area, at almost 450 feet. Most visits also include the Onelli Glacier, and visitors are sometimes allowed to disembark along the shores and hike among native beech forest and red-blooming firebush. On clear days, the glaciers spear stark and white, while overcast days show off their bluer tones.

There’s a sultry, sleek, and sexy beauty to Argentinian tango, and no place does is better at capturing that mood than the tango halls of San Telmo. Here in the old, cobblestoned barrio of downtown Buenos Aires, tango went from a local dance to a passionate craze that circled that globe and gripped a generation. Today that flare for the dance lives on, and La Ventana tango show combines an evening of sleek performance with succulent local cuisine. Set inside a conventillo, or historic tenement building, La Ventana has entertained audiences since 1982. More than just simply a tango, however, the evening features a look at traditional gaucho life in the mountains, and also includes an inspired tribute to the leader, Eva Perón. To absorb even more of the Argentine flavor, opt for a show that also includes a 3-course dinner and wine, before kicking back and losing yourself in the passionate beats of San Telmo.

There’s no doubt the small town of El Chaltén has incredible scenery. Located about three hours from the city of El Calafate, it is known as the hiking capital of Argentina, with the trail to Laguna Torre as a hard-to-beat spot. 

The trailhead is easy to find and begins with a gentle uphill walk through native beech forests. The Fitz Roy River flows alongside, and just 15 minutes into the hike, you’ll come to the first viewpoint over the Cascada Margarita waterfall. The hike continues uphill for a couple of hours, until the final ascent up the steep moraine that arrives at the Cerro Torre Mirador lookout. From this point you can see Cerro Solo, the Adela range, the 10,000-foot, near-vertical Cerro Torre with its distinctive surrounding “mushroom” of snow and also Mount Fitzroy. 

To get closer, continue to the DeAgostini base camp. After about another 15 minutes in, you will come to Laguna Torre itself, which sometimes has icebergs floating in it.