For wine enthusiasts the best time of year to visit Mendoza is February or March during the summer. Early in March the city also stages its largest festival, the Fiesta de la Vendimia (wine harvest). It rains very little in Mendoza and when it does it tends to fall in January and February when it can also reach temperatures of up to 40ºC in the day while they drop to around 18ºC at night.

For trekkers the snow doesn’t start to melt in the mountains until November. December through to February is the best time for trekking but there can be incessant winds. The ski resorts of Las Lenas, south of Mendoza, and Los Penitentes on the road to Chile, open from June through to October.