At the heart of the west of Argentina is the prolific wine-producing region of Mendoza province and at its centre the stylish city of Mendoza at the foot of the majestic Cordillera de los Andes. Its highest mountain is nearby, the Aconcagua, South America’s highest peak at just under 7,000 metres.

Mendoza city is where most wine enthusiasts base themselves in order to visit the surrounding wineries in Lujan de Cuyo and Maipu. The city was rebuilt in the late 1800s after it was destroyed by an earthquake. It boasts wide tree-lined avenues and lovely shady plazas.

To the south is the popular Argentine ski resort of Las Lenas and to the north the city of San Juan, also destroyed by an earthquake in 1944. Just north of here is the Ischigualasto Provincial Park and the Talampaya National Park, two UNESCO-designated world heritage sites. Ischigualasto known as the “Valley of the Moon” is full of peculiar sculptures shaped by natural forces and the nearby Talampaya, an ancient lake bed, is a vast canyon of red sandstone rocks sculpted by the Talampaya River and other erosive forces into the most bizarre shapes. Both parks are strewn with fossils.