Argentina has a vast territory and a variety of climates and microclimates ranging from tundra and polar in the south to the tropical climate in the north, through a vast expanse of temperate climate. Natural sights include the Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas, the widest river and estuary of the planet (the Río de la Plata), the Iguazú Falls, the Humid Pampas, and the Argentine Sea.
The Argentine territory stretches from the highest peaks of the Andes in the west to colitis del Norte rivers and extensive beaches of the Atlantic Coast in the east; from the tropical rainforest of the Yungas north to the valleys, glaciers, lakes and cold forests of Andean Patagonia in the south, and to Argentine Antarctica. Through the warm landscapes of tropical climates contrasting, in a huge gradient microclimate, the polar climates or extensive and very fertile grasslands with the World's most flatter plains contrasting with the highest mountains outside Asia, contrasted with also vast desert areas plethoric of geoforms for the annual running extensive and extreme Dakar rally race, the high mountain ranges, the pleasant Pampeanas mountains and the extensive Atlantic Coast beaches. The huge distances require in most cases air travel. The Misiones rainforest, Argentine Yungas, and areas of the Andean Patagonia are scientifically considered as biodiversity hotspots large areas worldwide. The great biodiversity and a large number of different landscapes and climates make Argentina a diverse country.
Argentina received 5.80 million tourists in 2011 according to the World Tourism Organization, the first most visited country in South America and the second most visited of all of Latin America, after Mexico.Volume 6 No. 2 Page 30
+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions
Main destinations
City of Buenos Aires is in the midst of a tourism boom, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, www.wttc.travel Retrieved on 10 March 2008 it reveals strong growth for Argentina Travel and Tourism in 2007 and in coming years, and the prestigious travel and tourism publication; Travel + Leisure Magazine, a monthly publication leader in the worldwide market of travel magazines, travelers voted Buenos Aires the second most desirable city to visit after Florence, Italy. Travel +Leisure Magazine worldsbest/2007 Retrieved on 10 March 2008 Buenos Aires, regarded as the “Paris of South America,” offers elegant architecture, exquisite cuisine, legendary nightlife, and fashionable shopping.
The most popular tourist sites are found in the historic city core, comprising Montserrat and San Telmo. The city was originally constructed around the Plaza de Mayo, the administrative center of the Spanish Empire. To the east of the square is the Casa Rosada, the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina. To the north, the Catedral Metropolitana which has stood in the same location since colonial times, and the Banco de la Nación Argentina building, a parcel of land originally owned by Juan de Garay. Other important colonial institutions were Cabildo, to the west, which was renovated during the construction of Avenida de Mayo and Julio A. Roca. To the south is the Congreso de la Nación (National Congress), which currently houses the Academia Nacional de la Historia (National Academy of History). Lastly, to the northwest, is City Hall.
Avenida de Mayo links the Casa Rosada with the Argentine National Congress. On this avenue there are several buildings of cultural, architectural and historical importance, such as Casa de la Cultura, the Palacio Barolo and Café Tortoni. Underneath the avenue, the first subte (metro) line in South America, was opened in 1913. The avenue ends at Plaza del Congreso, which features a number of monuments and sculptures, including one of Auguste Rodin's few surviving original casts of "The Thinker".
The Manzana de las Luces ("Illuminated Block") area features the San Ignacio church, the Colegio Nacional Buenos Aires and the old city council building (1894 to 1931). This area features tunnels and catacombs, which crossed underneath the Plaza de Mayo during colonial times. In the neighborhood of San Telmo, Plaza Dorrego hosts an antique fair on Sundays, complete with tango shows. They also have tango shows daily at the famous plaza. On weekends they involve many tourists to learn how to dance. Frequent tours and activities are also available at the Church of Nuestra Señora de Bethlehem, the San Pedro Telmo Parish and the Antonio Ballvé Penitentiary Museum. The National Historical Museum in Parque Lezama is a few blocks south. The Ayres Porteños Hostel is a very famous hostel and a tourist attraction, it is decorated and painted by artists from La Boca and possesses a unique collection of local paintings among its walls.
The borough of Recoleta is home to a number of places of interest, including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Biblioteca Nacional, the Centro Cultural Recoleta, the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Buenos Aires, the Basílica Nuestra Señora de Pilar, the Palais de Glace, the Café La Biela and the Cementerio de la Recoleta, where Eva Perón's crypt can be visited, among those of many other Argentine historical and cultural figures. Iguazú Falls, located in the northeast, area of subtropical forest, on the border with Brazil are one of the world's natural wonders, has good infrastructure development and touristic with very different walks. Lined with dense forests, the Iguazú river flows into 275 waterfalls, plunging more than 70 meters with a deafening noise over 2.7 km. As this huge volume of water reaches the bottom, the spray rises, and rainbows are formed in the sky. A variety of the original fauna and flora completes the setting for the waterfalls within the protection of the Iguazú National Park. This park, located eighteen kilometers from Puerto Iguazú, was declared Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The famous falls are inside this park. The frontier with Brazil goes through the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). The National Park is full of the exotic subtropical vegetation which surrounds the falls and has 2,000 plant species - gigantic trees, ferns, lianas, orchids, - 400 bird species - parrots, hummingbirds, toucans - jaguars and yacarés (caimans) from the area. Its most impressive fall is called Garganta del Diablo. Other important is called Dos Hermanas, Bossetti or Álvar Núñez in honor of its discoverer, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
Salta is a city of colonial architecture with tourist attractions such as: Quebrada de San Lorenzo, Calchaquí Valleys, Reservoir Cabra Corral (Embalse General Belgrano), Cafayate, Salinas Grandes, Iruya (step bound by the Quebrada de Humahuaca and Purmamarca) Cachi (through the Cuesta del Obispo) Molinos, La Caldera, Los Cardones National Park, El Rey National Park or Baritú National Pand the hrk, hot springs of Rosario de la Frontera. The Tren a las Nubes is a train ride through the area of the Puna. Puna, a land full of mountain ranges, steep mountain paths, valleys, and gorges. Villages have been built in the small valleys with multi-colored and monochromatic hills covered with huge cacti on the slopes surrounding the village. This region offers landscapes full of contrast, from the high peaks to the salt pans, and the subtropical rain forests, where Latin American culture took root, located in the Northern provinces (Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca, Tucumán and Santiago del Estero). In Northern provinces feature traces of pre-Columbian cultures, mingled with ruins of natives’ villages, as well as forts and constructions dating back to the time of the Conquest and Colonization. The service of this train was interrupted momentarily in July 2005 for repairs, reactivated quickly. Currently, the final destination is the city of San Antonio de Los Cobres. The whole Northern provinces combine natural attractions with suitable areas for diverse activities such as mountaineering, trekking, horseback riding, mountain biking, ecotourism, bird-watching, rural tourism, archaeological trips, sailing, canoeing and windsurfing.
Perito Moreno Glacier, a part of Southern Patagonian Ice Field is a huge glacier that bisects the Argentino Lake and cyclically locks until it produces the breaking of the ice plug. It is located in the Los Glaciares National Park near the Argentine Patagonian city of El Calafate. In any season of the year continuous landslides of huge blocks of ice are produced from massive glaciers forming beautiful icebergs in Argentine lakes. The Perito Moreno Glacier and its neighbors is framed by a landscape of rugged mountains like the Chaltén and large lakes. Bariloche: This city is the capital of the southern lakes and important part of the tourist circuit of the Seven Lakes with Villa La Angostura and mountains (Tronador, Cerro Catedral, Cerro López). It is famous for skiing but also great for family trips for older children and sight-seeing, water sports, winter sports, fishing, windsurfing, trekking or hiking, climbing, camping in the Andean forest, sky diving, boat tours and private boats, horseback riding and scuba diving and more. Cerro Catedral is one of the most important ski centers in South America. Today, thanks to the investments of entrepreneurs and of municipality has a large tourist flow throughout the year. Also it make similar activities in San Martín de los Andes, Junín de los Andes, El Bolsón, Esquel, Trevelin, Los Antiguos activities are also developed Copahue, Caviahue.
Ushuaia, The southernmost city in the world, in Tierra del Fuego, typical destination of the south of the country, attracts visitors with a very important tourist with excursions and gastronomy. North of the island, the city of Rio Grande is attracted by the old neighborhood of wooden houses painted varied or subtly and by excellent trout fishing. Further south, it is famous railway from Ushuaia and reaches the Tierra del Fuego National Park, bayside of Lapataia. Cruises are also offered by the Beagle Channel, observing colonies of South American sea lions, and a visit to Lighthouse Les Eclareurs, the beautiful Lake Fagnano (or Kami) or almost inaccessible Staten Island where is the Lighthouse of the End of the World, the landscape of Fueguan forests takes an almost magical appearance during the austral autumn to be covered with reddish the foliage of the dense forests.