Argentina's greatest highway journeys go via life-affirming landscapes

With its huge open areas, dramatic and various surroundings and countless highways, Argentina is a perfect place for a highway journey. Hiring a automobile permits you to escape the crowds, discover at your individual tempo and go to distant areas that might in any other case be out of attain.

Though Argentina’s major highways are usually paved, you may anticipate gravel and potholes on many minor roads, notably within the south, although this simply provides to the journey. Roads off the crushed monitor are greatest tackled in spring or summer time, avoiding the bitter chilly and snows of the South American winter.

For Argentina’s most rugged routes, you will want a 4WD, however there are additionally loads of laid-back day journeys on sealed roads visiting historic websites, vineyards and viewpoints in a few of the most scenic elements of the nation.

Whether or not you’re on the lookout for legendary routes such because the Pan-American Freeway or little-known again roads via the wilds, Argentina has you coated. Listed below are 5 of our favourite highway journeys.

Discover the planet’s most shocking adventures with our weekly e-newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Ruta 40

Finest epic journey

Cabo Virgenes–La Quiaca; 5224km (3246 miles); permit 3–5 weeks

Argentina’s reply to Route 66, Ruta 40 is likely one of the world’s longest roads, stretching virtually the whole size of Argentina. Also referred to as RN40, Ruta Nacional Cuarenta or just La Cuarenta (“The Forty”), this epic freeway begins within the far south in Cabo Virgenes, a windswept settlement on the Strait of Magellan, and finishes within the excessive northwest within the city of La Quiaca, which sits at a breathless 3442m (11,293ft) above sea degree on the Bolivian border.

Between these two outposts, the freeway traces the Andes, passing via 11 Argentinian provinces and scores of gorgeous landscapes, from huge canyons and rugged mountain passes to temperate rainforests and luxurious valleys cloaked in vineyards.

The quietest, and maybe most atmospheric, part of the highway runs from El Calafate, a touristy hub for outside actions on the sting of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, to the town of Bariloche within the Argentinian Lake District. For many of this leg of the journey, you will largely have the highway to your self, with snowy Andean peaks to the west and the seemingly countless Patagonian steppe to the east.

The route is greatest tried by skilled motorists within the spring or summer time. Ruta 40 is now principally paved, however it’s helpful to have a 4WD, notably when you plan to discover a few of the gravel roads (identified domestically as ripio) that department off into distant areas of Patagonia.

Empty roads via epic landscapes are a part of the enchantment of driving in Argentina © Dmitry Pichugin / 500px

The Pan-American Freeway

Finest long-distance highway journey

Mendoza–Ushuaia; 3300km (2051 miles); permit 2–4 weeks

A community of interconnected routes snaking proper down via the Americas from northern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the 3000km (19,000-mile) Pan-American Freeway is, fairly merely, the world’s most epic highway journey. However there is not any must observe the whole route – the southernmost part in Argentina is a extremely memorable drive that takes in most of the nation’s highlights.

The route begins in Mendoza province, the guts of the nation’s famed wine trade, earlier than heading east to the brilliant lights of the capital, Buenos Aires. Past the sprawling suburbs, the freeway continues south, skirting the fertile grasslands of the Pampas, tracing the Atlantic coast, after which arrowing via sparsely populated Patagonia.

If you attain the far south, reduce into Chile and take a ferry throughout the Strait of Magellan (this brief hop is one in every of simply two stretches of the Pan-American Freeway that can not be pushed, alongside the Darién Hole dividing Panama from Colombia). It’s then a comparatively brief drive to the town of Ushuaia, the place ubiquitous indicators let you understand you’ve reached “El Fin del Mundo” (The Finish of the World).

Though the Argentinian of the Pan-American Freeway will be pushed year-round, the bitterly chilly, snowy and windy winters in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego imply a summer time or spring journey is the very best guess. It’s additionally vital to ensure your automobile rental settlement and insurance coverage let you cross into Chile (you might have to pay an additional payment for this).

Tango dancers in a public square in Buenos Aires
The Pan-American Freeway visits empty quarters and bustling cities equivalent to Buenos Aires © Stefano Barzellotti / Shutterstock

Cuesta del Obispo route

Finest for mountain views

Salta–Cachi; 160km (99 miles); permit 1–2 days

This drive from the charming metropolis of Salta to the tranquil city of Cachi showcases the dramatic mountain landscapes of Argentina’s northwest. Heading southwest from Salta alongside RP33 – a largely paved provincial highway – the route travels via the sunny Calchaquí Valley area, which is carpeted with high-altitude vineyards and dotted with clusters of enticing adobe homes.

The journey then continues over a precipitous mountain go often called the Cuesta del Obispo (“Bishop’s Slope”), which includes a dizzying collection of switchback turns, earlier than dropping into Parque Nacional Los Cardones, named for the tall cacti that stud this arid space. Verify the climate forecast earlier than setting out alongside the Cuesta del Obispo route, as heavy rain could make it impassable.

Cachi itself has an attractive setting, encircled by snowy peaks and set inside hanging distance of a number of wineries. Though you may head again to Salta the identical day, it’s effectively value spending the night time right here so you may get pleasure from a couple of glasses of the area’s signature torrontés – an fragrant, peach-fragranced white wine – whereas absorbing the views.

General Jose de San Martin monument on Plaza San Martin square in Cordoba, Argentina
The town of Cordoba is the gateway to historic encounters within the surrounding province © saiko3p / Shutterstock

Camino de la Historia

Finest historic drive

Córdoba–Cerro Colorado; 170km (106 miles); permit 2–3 days

Usually neglected by vacationers, Córdoba province offers some fascinating insights into the historical past of the indigenous peoples who initially inhabited this space, in addition to the Spanish colonists who got here later. Begin within the metropolis of Córdoba, based in 1573 and identified for its wealthy cultural scene. 

The primary part of the RN9 freeway has been dubbed the Camino de la Historia (“Historic Route”), and it follows the colonial-era Camino Actual del Perú (“Royal Street of Peru”), which as soon as ran from Lima to Buenos Aires through the legendary silver mines of Potosí in present-day Bolivia.

On the best way, you will go the evocative estancias (ranches) of Jesús María and Santa Catalina, which had been constructed by Jesuit missionaries, who had a devastating affect on the world’s indigenous inhabitants within the seventeenth and 18th centuries. Centered on hanging whitewashed church buildings, the estancias – listed as Unesco World Heritage websites – supply museums and guided excursions that lead guests via this sophisticated interval in Argentinian historical past.

On the finish of the Camino de la Historia, you will attain a set of caves and mountain slopes coated with lovely petroglyphs close to the gorgeous village of Cerro Colorado. Created as much as 1000 years in the past, these historic artworks depict people and animals, scenes from on a regular basis life, and summary shapes and figures, offering a snapshot of a misplaced world.

People looking over the lakes of Nahuel Huapi National Park
The Ruta de los Siete Lagos takes in pure wonders equivalent to Nahuel Huapi Nationwide Park © Tetyana Dotsenko / Shutterstock

Ruta de los Siete Lagos

Finest scenic drive

San Martín de los Andes–Villa La Angostura; 110km (68 miles); permit 1–2 days

Beautiful landscapes harking back to the Alps, quite a few choices for facet journeys, loads of locations to seize a chunk to eat or keep the night time – with perks like this, a leisurely drive alongside the Ruta de los Siete Lagos (“Seven Lakes Route”) is tough to beat.

Connecting the vacationer hubs of San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura, the drive follows Ruta 40 via two nationwide parks – Lanín and Nahuel Huapi – taking in a very picturesque swathe of the Argentinian Lake District. As snow can block off elements of the highway in winter, the Ruta de los Siete Lagos is greatest pushed within the spring, summer time or early autumn.

As you’d anticipate given the identify, the highlights of the route are the seven eponymous lagos, that are lined with seashores, surrounded by dense forests and watched over by snowy mountains and volcanoes. All have crystal-clear waters that are perfect for swimming, kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding, although it might be laborious to tear your self away from the elegant views.