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. Laidback Esquel, meanwhile, is starting point for the historic narrow-gauge La Trochita train trip.

Stroll Lake District trails through lush alpine valleys and along pristine mountain rivers, or tackle the awe-inspiring glaciers and jagged peaks of the Fitzroy Range. Embark on multi-day trips into mind-expanding vistas, camping or hiking between refugios (shelters). Regions like Aysén and Tierra del Fuego are off the radar - so grab a local guide and explore your own personal kingdom.

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! 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.

Argentine Malbec is justly renowned, but the world's 5th largest wine producer offers lip-smacking variety in stunning settings that include some of the planet's highest vineyards in the Andean hills. Mendoza is the most famous region, its top wineries clustered round Maipu. But consider Salta and Jujuy provinces with their elegant colonial towns, La Rioja (its wines as good as the one in Spain), plus Patagonia's sparkling wine producers.