Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world and the second largest in South America after Brazil. Its geographical make-up is diverse. Dense subtropical rainforests dominate the far northeast; in the northwest is arid steppe while the Cordillera de los Andes looms majestically to the west over the wine-producing province of Mendoza and south over the forested lake district and farther south still over the wild and windswept Patagonia. Here near the Andes glaciers abound while to the east is a vast arid plain which leads to the sweeping Atlantic coastline. Beyond Patagonia at the foot of the continent is the end of the world, the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego.

Argentina is not only landscape-rich, it’s culturally rich. Its people are a nation of immigrants largely of European descent, mainly from Italy and Spain. They are emotional and passionate, some might say arrogant, and despite their origins they are fiercely patriotic. And they love to party. Argentina is not just about Evita, though her legend lives on, and tango, it’s about theatre and film, football, polo, politics, conversation and, of course, beef, pasta, ice-cream and strong coffee, not to mention the wine!

Since independence Argentina has nearly always been about Buenos Aires and the rest of the country or as the portenos – port people - call it, the interior. We have divided this vast country up into eight simple areas: Buenos Aires & The Pampas, The Northeast, home to the magnificent Iguazu Falls, The Northwest, with beautiful colonial cities, The West, the country’s biggest wine producer, The Central Sierras, the location of Argentina’s second city Cordoba, The Lake District, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.