Things to do in Argentina

Patagonia is Argentina's distinctive land within a land, a kaleidoscope of unforgettable sights. Nature-lovers can see penguins, whales and seals along the Peninsula Valdes' 400km of Atlantic shore. Inland, spot quirky creatures like guanacos (llama cousins), or gaze up at albatross and condors. The interior's vast plains are enlivened by lonely ranches and salt-flats, overlooked by shark-toothed peaks like the Fitz Roys, plus awesome glaciers like Perito Moreno, pushing a 5km-wide, 60m-high wall of ice.

Patagonia also has one of the world's great road trips on Ruta 40, cutting through steppes, passing jewel-like lakes and glacial mountains. And when you want a blast of human contact, stop in rustic mining and ranch towns - or quirky 19th century Welsh settlements like Gaiman and Dolovon. Add hippie-ish hangouts like El Chalten, a summertime hiking HQ with its own microbrewery and February trekking festival.

Argentina's estancias (ranches) provide atmospheric experiences of rural life and traditions in wonderfully diverse settings. In the north, hone riding skills exploring a vast holding taking in lagoons and river beaches perfect for sunset gallops, or relax riding in vintage carriages including a 1930s beer wagon! The sun-drenched multicoloured mountains around Salta offer a spectacular backdrop to estancia life, where you can choose a ranch where part of the fun is working up a sweat before dinner pitching in with gaucho jobs like horse taming, cattle branding or herding cattle, buffalo and horses. Down in Patagonia, ride national park trails on trusty criollo horses, visit colourful artisan villages or scout for condors riding the thermals as you ride the plains. There are even coastal ranches by the Rio de la Plata estuary where vistas go from grassland to wetland and sand dunes, home to capybara colonies and fantastic bird life.