Córdoba and the Sierras

Córdoba is, after Buenos Aires, Argentina's second-largest city and a lively university town. Its historic heart is the Manzana Jesuítica, the Jesuit Block, featuring parts of the university founded in 1613, the Colegio Monserrat, a church, and the residential buildings of the order. Together with five Jesuit Estancias in the surrounding area, including Alta Gracia, Jesús María, and Santa Catalina, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.Alta Gracia is closest to the city; a settlement has developed around the Estancia. Córdoba is suitable as a stop between Buenos Aires and the Northwest and as a starting point for the Sierras de Córdoba.

This small town southwest of Córdoba grew around a Jesuit Estancia, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Jesuit Block of Córdoba. In front of the Estancia is the Tajamar, a reservoir created in 1643, considered the province's oldest dam, which once powered the mills.Alta Gracia is also known as the childhood home of Ernesto Guevara: his family moved here in 1932 due to his asthma and stayed until 1943. The house, Villa Nydia, is now a museum.

Mendoza is the capital of the eponymous wine province and lies like an oasis in a dry valley at the foot of the Andes. After the devastating earthquake of March 20, 1861, it was rebuilt a short distance from the old colonial city: with wide streets, low-rise houses, shady avenues, and open irrigation channels, the Acequias, along the sidewalks. The heart of the city is the Plaza Independencia, surrounded by four smaller squares, including the tile-decorated Plaza España.To the west lies the extensive Parque General San Martín with a lake and rose garden; on the Cerro de la Gloria, a bronze monument commemorates the Army of the Andes, with which General San Martín marched from here to Chile in 1817. Surrounding the city are the wine regions: Maipú, which is easily explored by bike, Luján de Cuyo with many well-known Malbec wineries, and, about an hour and a half's drive south, the high-altitude Valle de Uco. Every year in early March, the city celebrates the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, the grand Grape Harvest Festival.

Mendoza Province at the foot of the Andes is Argentina's most significant wine region: This is where most of the country's grapes grow, primarily Malbec. In a dry valley where only a small part of the soil is cultivable, irrigation channels make the landscape green. West of the capital, the road to Chile ascends to Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas.The region is most pleasant in autumn, when the grape harvest runs from late February to April, and in spring from September to November.

Aconcagua, at 6,961 meters, is the highest mountain in the Americas. The provincial park protecting it is located about 180 kilometers west of Mendoza on Ruta Nacional 7 towards Chile, just past Puente del Inca and approximately 15 kilometers before the border. The drive there passes the Potrerillos reservoir and through the Andean village of Uspallata.Even without summit ambitions, a visit is worthwhile: A short circular trail leads to Laguna de Horcones with views of the massive south face; those with more time can hike in a day to the first base camp, Confluencia. For all trails, you need a permit, which you acquire in advance. The main season for trekking and ascents runs from mid-November to mid-March. Just before the park, a stop at Puente del Inca, a natural rock bridge over the river, is recommended.