Perito Moreno Glacier
Why this is the first thing I do every time I land in Argentina.
Read MoreSan Telmo tango nights
A closer look at one of Argentina's most rewarding experiences.
Read MoreMendoza’s Malbec vineyards
Where to go next once you have seen the headline sights of Argentina.
Read MoreArgentina is a country of extremes that somehow feels coherent. Buenos Aires gave me some of my finest evenings anywhere, a milonga in San Telmo where couples twice my age danced tango with a precision that made conversation unnecessary. Drive south and the pampas give way to Patagonia’s glacial silence, where Perito Moreno calves into turquoise water with a sound like distant thunder. The Andes rise along the western spine, Mendoza’s vineyards sitting in their shadow producing some of the world’s great Malbec. I’ve eaten steak in a parrilla that humbled every other steakhouse I’ve known, and I’ve stood shivering at the base of a glacier that predates any human memory. Argentina does not choose between grandeur and intimacy; it insists on both.
Chapter One
Buenos Aires after dark
Porteños live late, and the city rearranges itself accordingly. Dinner rarely starts before ten, milongas run past midnight, and the parrillas stay smoky and full well into the small hours. I love wandering Palermo’s tree-lined streets by day, ducking into design shops and coffee bars, then crossing into San Telmo for its Sunday antiques market, all cracked leather and silver mate gourds. The Teatro Colón deserves an evening regardless of what’s on the program, its acoustics reportedly among the finest of any opera house on earth. Buenos Aires carries a European bearing filtered through something distinctly its own, nostalgic and a little melancholic, but never dull.
“Patagonia teaches humility before you’ve even finished lacing your boots.”
Chapter Two
Patagonia’s glacial hush
El Calafate is the gateway to Perito Moreno, a glacier still advancing while most of its neighbors retreat, and standing on the viewing platforms as chunks calve into Lago Argentino is genuinely startling, the crack arriving seconds after the ice already fell. Further south, El Chaltén offers some of the finest trekking on the continent, with Monte Fitz Roy’s jagged spire dominating every trail. The wind here has a personality of its own, relentless and cold even in summer. I’ve learned to pack for four seasons in a single afternoon and to trust the guides who know exactly when the light will make the peaks worth the climb.
The Short List
Do not miss in Argentina
At a glance
Argentina in numbers
- Capital
- Buenos Aires
- Language
- Spanish
- Currency
- Argentine Peso (ARS)
- Best time
- March to May, September to November
Did you know
Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still growing rather than retreating.