Sights in Argentina
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Eco Yoga Park
And for something completely different – Eco Yoga Park, located about 1½ hours west of Buenos Aires, near Lújan.
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Cementerio de la Recoleta
Wander for hours in this amazing cemetery where ‘streets’ are lined with impressive statues and marble sarcophagi. Crypts hold the remains of the city’s elite: past presidents, military heroes, influential politicians and the rich and famous. Hunt down Evita’s grave, and bring your camera – there are some great photo ops here. Tours in English are available at 11am on Tuesday and Thursday (call to confirm). For a great map and information, order Robert Wright’s PDF map at www.recoletacemetery.com.
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Parque Lezama
Scruffy Parque Lezama was once thought to be the site of Buenos Aires’ founding in 1536, but archeological teams recently refuted the hypothesis. Today’s green park hosts old chess-playing gentlemen, bookworms toting mate (traditional Argentine tea) gourds and teenagers kissing on park benches. Don’t miss the striking Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa (Russian Orthodox Church) on the north side of the park.
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San Ignacio Miní
These mission ruins are the most complete of those in Argentina and impress for the quantity of carved ornamentation still visible and for the amount of restoration done. No roofs remain, but many of the living quarters and workshops have been reerected.
First founded in 1610 in Brazil, but abandoned after repeated attacks by slavers, San Ignacio was established at its present site in 1696 and functioned until the Jesuits finally gave in to the order of expulsion in 1768. The ruins, rediscovered in 1897 and restored between 1940 and 1948, are a great example of 'Guaraní baroque.' At its peak, the reducción had a Guaraní population of nearly 4000.
At the ruins (take an…
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Parque General San Martín
Walking along the lakeshore and snoozing in the shade of the rose garden in this beautiful 420-hectare park is a great way to enjoy one of the city's highlights. Walk along Mitre/Civit out to the park and admire some of Mendoza's finest houses on the way. Pick up a park map at the Centro de Información, just inside the impressive entry gates, shipped over from England and originally forged for the Turkish Sultan Hamid II.
The park was designed by Charles Thays, who designed Parque Sarmiento in Córdoba, in 1897. Its famous Cerro de la Gloria has a monument to San Martín's Ejército de los Andes for their liberation of Argentina, Chile and Perú from the Spaniards. On clear…
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Casa Rosada
Standing before this rosy Renaissance-style palace, you can easily imagine Eva Perón pontificating from the lower balcony. This is the Casa Rosada (Pink House), home to Argentina’s presidential offices. Construction began in 1862 on the site of Buenos Aires’ fort, and the building was painted pink shortly after. Visitors marvel at the picturesque coral hue without realizing the gritty fact behind it – at the end of the 19th century, ox blood added color and texture to ordinary whitewash.
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Plaza de Mayo
Founded in 1580 as the city’s first central plaza, Plaza de Mayo is the symbolic and physical center of Argentina’s rocky history. The square’s name commemorates the May Revolution (1810) that began Argentina’s process of independence from Spain. Plaza de Mayo has seen it all – spirited crowds cheering as Evita shouted from the Casa Rosada’s balcony, military bombings in 1955, the march of the Madres as they protest the ‘disappearance’ of their sons.
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Jardín Japonés
The Jardín Japonés is a peaceful paradise with koi ponds, teahouse and cultural offerings.
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Parque Nacional Iguazú
Without being unkind to Puerto Iguazú, the national park, and the indescribably arresting falls that form its centerpiece, is the reason people flock to the area. Lush, humid, teeming with endemic flora and fauna, this is the South American rainforest as you've always imagined it.
The national park (67,620ha/167,092 acres) was established in 1934, securing Unesco World Heritage status in 1984. Home to more than 2000 species of plant (including orchids, ferns and bromeliads), 450 species of bird, and rare mammals such as the jaguar, its importance as a reservoir of biodiversity can't be overstated.
Its unquestioned highlight is the falls, created where the Iguazú River…
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El Abasto
The bustling barrios of Abasto and Once, while a little dodgy at night, are part of the ‘real’ Buenos Aires that’s largely unaffected by the tourist trade. Walk west from Congreso along Av Corrientes, or take a quick taxi or Subte ride, to reach this cultural melting pot and commercial district crammed with colorful fabric shops and family-run Jewish and Peruvian eateries. The neighborhood’s centerpiece is the historic Mercado de Abasto, previously a massive fresh produce market and now a beautifully restored structure that houses the shopping mall called simply El Abasto. Nearby, on a gentrified street off Av Anchorena is the former home of tango legend Carlos…
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Laguna Torre
If the weather is good and the wind is down, make a hike to Laguna Torre a priority. The trail is accessed from El Chaltén, either from behind Hostería Los Ñires or from the artisans' market north of the town. After a gentle initial climb, it's a fairly level walk through tranquil beech forests and along the Río Fitz Roy until a final steep climb up the lateral moraine left by the receding Glaciar del Torre.
The Mirador Laguna Torre offers a breathtaking view of the majestic spire of 3128m Cerro Torre, rising out of the valley in the background. Look for the 'mushroom' of snow and ice that caps the peak. This precarious formation is the final obstacle for hard-core…
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'Che' Guevara's First Home
The apartment building at Entre Ríos 480, designed by Alejandro Bustillo, was where Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna lived in 1928 after the birth of their son, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, popularly known as 'Che.' According to biographer Jon Anderson, young Ernesto's birth certificate was falsified (he was born more than a month before the official date of June 14), but this was certainly Che's first home, although briefly.
It's now a private flat, so you can't go inside, but fans of this revolutionary figure will still enjoy such trivia, and may want to also check out the Guevara family home in Córdoba, which is now a museum.
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Laguna de los Tres
Follow the main trail from Laguna Capri, which continues gently to Río Blanco, base camp for the Cerro Fitz Roy experience. From here it's a very steep climb to Laguna de los Tres (four hours one way). Bring loads of water and supplies - it's a toughie. But the extraordinary close view of Cerro Fitz Roy, as well as the eerily still glacial lake itself, make the effort worthwhile.
Be prepared for high, potentially hazardous winds and allow time for contemplation and recovery. Then scurry down 200m to the left of the lookout for an exceptional view of the emerald green Laguna Sucia.
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Reserva Faunística Península Valdés
Lying on Argentina's barren eastern Patagonian coast, this oddly shaped peninsula is home to some of the country's richest wildlife. Elephant seals, Magellanic penguins, right whales, guanacos, armadillos and foxes are almost guaranteed sightings during their high seasons. This is where orcas have been filmed snatching pinnipeds (genus including seals and sea lions) off the beach.
Elephant seals, sea lions and dusky dolphins lounge around all year long. While the orca phenomenon occurs during high tide from February to April, note that sightings are very rare - you may be disappointed!
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Galerías Pacífico
Covering an entire city block, this beautiful French-style shopping center dates from 1889 and boasts vaulted ceilings with paintings done in 1954 by muralists Antonio Berni, Juan Carlos Castagnino, Manuel Colmeiro, Lino Spilimbergo and Demetrio Urruchúa. All were adherents of the nuevo realismo (new realism) school of Argentine art. For many years the building was semiabandoned, but a joint Argentine-Mexican team repaired and restored the murals in 1992.
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Monumento Nacional a La Bandera
Manuel Belgrano, who designed the Argentine flag, rests in a crypt beneath the colossal 78m-high Monumento Nacional a La Bandera, a chillingly nationalistic construction in pitiless stone. The monument’s redeeming attributes are its location near the Paraná waterfront, with stirring views of the river and its islands from the tower, accessed by elevator (no disabled access). The museum contains the original flag embroidered by Catalina de Vidal.
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Parque Temaikén
Outside Buenos Aires is the exceptional zoo, Parque Temaikén. Only the most charming animal species are on display (think meerkats, pygmy hippos and white tigers), roaming freely around natural enclosures. An excellent aquarium comes with touch pools, and plenty of interactive areas provide mental stimulation. Taxis from the center cost around AR$120 and take 40 minutes, or grab bus 60 marked ‘Escobar’ from Plaza Italia.
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Museo de la Memoria
A chilling testament to the excesses of Argentina’s military dictatorship, this museum occupies a space formerly used as a clandestine center for detention and torture. It was operated by the dreaded Department of Intelligence (D2), a special division created in Córdoba dedicated to the kidnap and torture of suspected political agitators and the ‘reassignment’ of their children to less politically suspect families.
The space itself is stark and unembellished, and the walls are covered with enlarged photographs of people who are still ‘missing’ after 30 years. There’s not much joy here, but the museum stands as a vital reminder of an era that human-rights groups hope…
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Museo Histórico Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte
It’s worth dropping into this museum, one of the most important historical museums in the country, if only to see the colonial house it occupies: an 18th-century home that once belonged to Rafael Núñez, the colonial governor of Córdoba and later viceroy of the Río de la Plata. It has 26 rooms, seven interior patios, meter-thick walls and an impressive wrought-iron balcony supported by carved wooden brackets.
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Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur
The beautifully marshy land of this nature preserve makes it a popular site for weekend outings, when hundreds of picnickers, cyclists and families come for fresh air and natural views. If you’re lucky you may spot a river turtle or a coypu; bird-watchers will adore the 200-plus bird species that pause to rest here. You can rent bikes just outside the park entrance on the weekends (daily in summer).
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Cerro La Movediza
At the north edge of town, where Tata Dios gathered his supporters over a century ago, the Piedra Movediza (a 300-ton 'rocking stone') once teetered precariously atop Cerro La Movediza for many years before falling in 1912. A 'replica,' non-moving stone was built in 2007, and a theme park is planned. Take blue bus 503.
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Balneario La Florida
The widest beach is at Balneario La Florida, with services including umbrellas, showers, clothing check and outdoor bars. The sidewalk stops at La Florida and picks up again at its northern edge at Costa Alta, where there are more beaches and a pier with boats to the islands.
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Museo de la Ciudad
In a restored galpón (sheepshearing shed), the Museo de la Ciudad has impressive exhibits, from logging to military displays, postal communications to cartography, indigenous artifacts to yet another milodón, an extinct giant sloth.
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Catedral
The enormous and spectacular neo-Byzantine 1899 catedral contains the image of patron saint Nicolás de Bari, an object of devotion for both riojanos (people who live in La Rioja) and the inhabitants of neighboring provinces.
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Museo del Hombre Chaqueño
The Museo del Hombre Chaqueño had just moved at the time of research and wasn't yet open, but focuses on the colonization of the Chaco and provides information and exhibits on the provincial indigenous cultures.
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