The cities of Cordoba and San Luis are separated by the Sierra Grande and the Sierra de Comechigones. The Sierras Pampeanas stretch across several provinces including that of Cordoba and San Luis. They are the second highest mountain range in Argentina besides the Cordillera de los Andes, the peak of Cerro Champaqui is the highest at some 2,900 metres.

Cordoba, founded in the late 16th century, claims to be the second largest city in Argentina. In the 1600s the Jesuits established the country’s oldest university. They played a pivotal role in the city’s development until they were ousted in 1767 by the Spanish who felt they had become too powerful. However, they left behind a lot of beautiful architecture including a couple of lovely Jesuit-style estancias just north of the city. In fact the province of Cordoba is packed with fabulous estancias, and besides the historic city they are one of the major attractions. Farther north is Cerro Colorado where there are masses of beguiling petroglyphs, pre-Columbian.

Che Guevara lived just south of Cordoba in the small town of Alta Gracia, where you’ll also find one of the country’s most captivating Jesuit museums housed in a marvellous estancia. Farther south is the German enclave of Villa General Belgrano and southwest is the mountain pass, the Ruta de las Altas Cumbres, which cuts through the Sierras. Here, too, is the province’s only national park, the Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas with its incredible red sandstone canyon where lots of dinosaur fossils have been uncovered.