15 Things to Do in Argentina

A 30km glacier terminating in an 80-metre ice wall above Lago Argentino — one of the world's few advancing glaciers, constantly calving building-sized blocks. Ice-trekking across its surface with crampons is unforgettable.

The iconic granite towers lit at dawn — the W Trek and full Circuit are among the world's great long-distance hikes, combining glaciers, lakes and one of the most dramatic mountain panoramas on earth.

A tango milonga in San Telmo's dance halls — close embrace, improvised across hardwood. Follow with bife de chorizo at Don Julio. Argentina's most emotionally charged evening.

275 cascades over 2.7km — wider than Victoria Falls, taller than Niagara. Eleanor Roosevelt said: 'Poor Niagara.' The Devil's Throat walkway puts you at the edge of the largest single drop.

The world capital of Malbec — Andean melt-water and high-altitude sun produce wines of extraordinary depth. World-class bodegas in Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley include asado lunches beside the vines.

A Swiss-looking landscape of mountain lakes and Andean peaks in Nahuel Huapi National Park. The Seven Lakes Road is one of South America's most scenic drives.

Walk the boardwalks watching ice calve, then Mini-Trek onto the glacier surface itself with crampons. Stay in El Calafate for 2 nights — the glacier at different times of day is a completely different experience.

Argentine side: the Garganta del Diablo walkway and the boat into the spray. Brazilian side: the panoramic cliff-top vista. Both perspectives are completely different and both are necessary.

San Telmo's Sunday antique fair and tango halls, La Boca's Caminito, Recoleta's cemetery with Evita's mausoleum, Palermo's restaurants and El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookshop.

500,000 Magellanic penguins nesting in Patagonia each September–March. Walk among them freely — the penguins ignore humans entirely.

Orca whales beach themselves to catch sea lions at Punta Norte each March–April — the most dramatic predator hunting behaviour on earth, observable from the cliff.

The jagged granite needles of Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre are among the world's most technically difficult climbs — hiking to their base through Los Glaciares is accessible and equally spectacular.

Cycle between 15 bodegas in Luján de Cuyo — most with asado lunch packages where you eat Malbec-marinated beef beside the vines that produced your wine.

One of the world's five greatest opera houses — perfect acoustics, gilded excess and performances (opera, ballet, orchestra) among the Americas' finest. Tours run daily.

A UNESCO World Heritage valley in Jujuy — terracotta mountains with pre-Inca ruins and the Seven Colours Hill that changes hue through the day.