#49 best destination in the world

Teatro Colón

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  • Opera house considered acoustically considered to be among the five best concert venues in the world
  • Visited by the foremost singers and opera companies of the time in the early 1900s
  • Constructed from 1889-1908

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

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  • Bookshop that was originally a theater built in 1919
  • #22 of the top 25 landmarks in the world

Xul Solar Museum

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  • Xul Solar MuseumHoused in his former home, this contemporary art space features works by Argentine artist Xul Solar

Iguazu Falls

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  • Waterfalls of the Iguazu River
  • Legend has it that a deity planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe
  • In a rage, the deity sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall

Quebrada de Humahuaca

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  • Narrow mountain valley named after a small city of 11,000 inhabitants
  • The site has been populated for at least 10,000 years, since the first hunter-gatherers
  • The area has yielded substantial prehistoric remains
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bishop’s Slope (Cuesta del Obispo)

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  • Winding, gravelly wilderness path that zig-zags from the Escoipe gorge to the Piedra del Molino

Talampaya National Park

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  • In the dry bed of the Talampaya River, where dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, fossils have been found
  • Showcases the Talampaya gorge and its rock formations with walls of the Talampaya Formation of up 469 ft high
  • Features the remains of indigenous peoples’ settlements, such as the petroglyphs of the Puerta del Cañón
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Aconcagua Provincial Park

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  • In 1818, General Don Jose de San Martin crossed these mountains during war with the Spanish Empire eventually securing independence for Chile by his raid
  • The summit of the mountain Aconcagua, the tallest mount in the Andes range, was considered unattainable for many years until 1897, when Matthias Zurbriggen, a member of an expedition, finally reached it
  • Since then many climbers made the same ascent to the top, a dangerous endeavor

Circuito Chico

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  • 4 hour circuit featuring a winding scenic road through a vista, mountains, and forests, going through Patagonia

Valdes Peninsula

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  • Small settlement on barren land with some salt lakes
  • One of the salt lakes in the region is 130 ft below sea level
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Perito Moreno Glacier

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  • Glacier located in Los Glaciares National Park
  • The ice field is the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Tierra del Fuego National Park

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  • National park on the Argentine side of the island of Tierra del Fuego, region of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest
  • The park has dramatic scenery, with waterfalls, forests, mountains and glaciers
  • The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway is located within the park, as is the El Parque station of the End of the World Train

Costs

Number of Days: 28 days

Best Time To Fly: April-June, Oct-Dec

Airline tickets: $2,136

Seattle -> Buenos Aires (round trip) $950
Buenos Aires -> Puerto Iguazu (one way) $83
Puerto Iguazu -> Salta (one way) $63
Salta -> La Rioja (one way) $150
La Rioja -> Mendoza (one way) $155
Mendoza -> San Carlos de Bariloche (one way) $75
San Carlos de Bariloche -> Trelew (one way) $233
Trelew -> El Calafate (one way) $234
El Calafate -> Ushuaia (one way) $95
Ushuaia -> Buenos Aires (one way) $98

Food: $21/day x 28 days = $588

Entertainment/tours: $692

Airbnb: $54/day x 26 days = $1,404

TOTAL: $4,820