Wine and Landscapes of Argentina's Northwest

Our tour starts today in Mendoza, the heart of Argentina's wine country, located in the shadow of the mighty Andes. For those arriving in time, our tour leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for the welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to arrive in Mendoza at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer, you'll need to arrive into Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport (MDZ), a 20-minute drive from our hotel. Should you miss the meeting, your tour leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. If your flight arrives earlier in the day, you could explore the lively city by strolling the leafy streets or relax with a spot of people-watching and a coffee in one of the many charming plazas

Today, we'll head to Lujan de Cuyo, 30 minutes outside of the city. Lujan de Cuyo is a wine-growing region where row upon row of vines grow in neatly ordered lines under the shadow of the Andes mountains. Drinking wine in this landscape is an unforgettable experience, and today we'll be visiting two of the region's wineries. Although this area is home to many varieties of white, it's mainly known for its reds, particularly the ubiquitous malbec. We'll have the chance to taste the multiple varieties of grapes found in the area during our tour, before returning to Mendoza. The late afternoon is free to explore the city, and on our first full day in Argentina, it's a good idea to try some of the local delicacies - visit an afternoon coffee shop for an alfajor (an Argentinian speciality - a cakey biscuit filled with 'dulce de leche') or take a walk around the lively Plaza Independencia.

Today we have a full-day trip to Aconcagua Provincial Park, home to the magnificent Aconcagua - standing at 6,961 metres/22,837 feet it's the tallest peak in the Americas. At the bottom of the permanently snow-covered peaks, we'll find lush meadows and some forested valleys, and our tour leader will take us on a 90-minute hike to the Horcones Lagoon, a glacier-fed lagoon with outstanding views of the mountains. The trail is relatively flat and rocky, with mountains at either side of us and the peak of Aconcagua rising before us in the distance. Before returning to Mendoza, we'll also make a stop at the Puente del Inca, a geologically formed bridge once allegedly used by Incas to cross the river. The reddish oranges of the formation are caused by the minerals in the waters running beneath the bridge, and the remains of a slightly curious-looking stone chapel are still found built into the rock. We'll drive back to Mendoza after our visit. The drive to Mendoza takes approximately three hours each way.

Today we'll set off to Barreal, one of the most beautifully situated towns in this sleepy region of the country. The town is a shot of green in the often desert-like landscapes of the northwest, with seven snow-capped Andean peaks overlooking it. The highlight is the nearby El Leoncito National Park, a protected area with very strict regulations on air pollution. This valley gives us the chance (weather-dependent) to do some night sky watching while enjoying its breathtaking scenery. Our drive today will take around six hours, with a section of unpaved roads.

We have a long day of driving today, approximately seven hours, to Villa Union. We'll pass through small villages, ancient prehispanic settlements and the 'Las Burras' Gorge road, winding through the mountains, as well as driving through the impressive Jachal River Gorge. We'll stop at a viewpoint to see the red formations of the enormous Talampaya and Ischigualasto National Parks for the first time, with the late afternoon sun in the background. Villa Union is the jumping-off point for exploring these parks and is a sleepy town with the shadows of the Andes in the background.

A full day exploring weird and wonderful landscapes awaits us as we delve into the moonlike scenery of Ischigualasto National Park, and the red rock towers of Talampaya. Once the kingdom of dinosaurs, these two parks contain the most complete fossil record known from the Triassic Period and have together been granted UNESCO heritage status. Talampaya National Park is up first. The scrub desert boasts fossilised remains of a wide range of ancestral animals and plants. Even for those amongst us who are not scientifically minded, the park is an impressive show of geological wonders. We'll be undertaking an easy hike through the immense red rock canyon of the Don Eduardo Gorge, which is approximately 8 kilometres/5 miles on flat terrain. The dry riverbeds, red dunes and sand plains are more akin to a Martian journey than our expectations of Andean scenery. Popularly known as 'Moon Valley', Ischigualasto National Park, the next stop on our visit, is home to geological oddities that have been formed by water, wind and sun over the last million years. 'Bowling Lane' is one of the most iconic sites, with scores of perfectly polished round balls sitting on a flat surface, with apparently no explanation for their formation. We'll drive through this park by bus, stopping at the most interesting shapes to explore them further. After a thorough exploration of both parks, we'll return to Villa Union.

We'll get back on the Ruta 40 today, driving towards the small town of Belen and passing through characterful, rural villages en route. Part of the drive takes us on a winding upward journey over the Cuesta de Miranda, perhaps one of the most photogenic and visual climbs in the region - taking us from 1000 metres/3280 feet to 2000 metres/6561 feet above sea level and back down, in just a couple of hours. The highway was originally built in the early 1900s, following the path of the ancient Inca Trail that eventually led to Cusco. That early road was precarious - you could barely fit two cars abreast, with one side of the road dropping into the deep Miranda gorge. Thankfully it was updated in the last ten years, and a new highway was built - we'll pass the old one during the drive for comparison. After the Cuesta de Miranda, it's an easy drive for the final 200 kilometres/124 miles to Belen. There is a women's weaving co-operative in Belen that we've been visiting with groups for the last few years. Weaving, with both sheep and llama or alpaca wool, is an essential part of the economy up here in the northwest, and the co-op is a fascinating way to learn more about the process and its important place in this society. Our drive time today is approximately six hours including stops, arriving into Belen around 2pm.

Setting off this morning to Argentina's northern Winelands around Cafayate, we'll stop at the indigenous Quilmes ruins en route. The Quilmes people, dating back to around AD1000, famously resisted the Incan invasion and lived through over a century of Spanish colonisation. The large site is made up of the remains of terraces rising up the cacti-covered hillside - we can walk to the top for excellent views of the valley and the site. Although not as impressive as other archaeological sites in the Andes, it helps us to understand the indigenous heritage in this part of Argentina. Finally, we'll arrive in Cafayate in the early afternoon for a round of wine tasting in one of the region's rustic wineries, its rows of green vines backed by the spectacular mountains beyond. We might try Argentina's main white wine, Torrontes, famous in this region. Our drive to Cafayate takes approximately six hours.

The Argentina of the Andes is steeped in Inca heritage, and the indigenous populations have retained many of their old traditions - in small towns like Cafayate, local methods of weaving have been maintained since pre-Hispanic times, and during our journey through the Andes, we'll admire their woven clothes, hats, sweaters and ponchos in llama and vicuna wool. Today our journey takes us to Cachi through the 'Arrows Gorge', a spectacular formation of sharp, pointed rocks shooting up through the air at all sorts of different angles; the road that we travel on pierces this dramatic and surreal landscape. It's an unsealed road, and as such the drive will take the whole day, with a number of spectacular scenery stops (including at the highest point of the tour, just over 3,400m / 11,154ft). We'll arrive in the evening to the tranquil town of Cachi (2,530 metres/8,300 feet altitude).

This morning, we'll head on to Salta, down the 'Bishop's Hill Road', 20 kilometres/12 miles of hairpin bends that offer views down to the Sierra del Obispo. During the drive, the change in scenery is simply amazing, as we travel from the cactus-filled deserts of the Cardones National Park, down to lush green mountains, blanketed in vegetation and eroded by rippling brooks and streams. We'll stop to discover the spectacular mountain views at the various viewpoints on route to Salta - one of the livelier cities in the north of Argentina, it is a blend of colonial architecture, fascinating museums and buzzing nightlife. Our drive today will take approximately five to seven hours, depending on the number and length of stops and the traffic upon arrival into Salta.

Today we'll set out to explore the UNESCO Heritage area of the Humahuaca Gorge, a highlight of any trip to the northwest of Argentina. Our first stop is three hours north, at the colourful desert town of Purmamarca. This town has an incredible backdrop - a mountainside named the 'Seven-Coloured Hill' for its bright shades of yellows, oranges, reds and greens. This town is well worth visiting in depth, and we'll spend a couple of hours here hiking on the Los Colorados path, an easy trail of 2.5km / 1.5 miles, exploring the town and taking our lunch stop. From Purmamarca we'll move to the traditional village of Tilcara, with its charming village square, market and church. The rest of the day's journey is awash with colour and scenic roadside lookouts; another appropriately named mountain is The 'Painters Palette', which we'll see over the town of Maimara. It's interesting to see once again the heritage from the pre-Columbian period which gives this area of northwest Argentina a very distinct sense of cultural identity. This is not only manifested in the woven items that we've spotted in other towns but also in the local diet, with northern food including llama stews and corn dishes on offer. After a day exploring, we'll return to Salta and will get a taste of its music scene at a 'pena', a traditional folk music hall where locals come with guitars and take turns to play and sing. Dinner is included.

This morning, we'll say goodbye to the northwest and catch our flight to cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. Here we'll find ourselves amid Argentina's capital, located on the southern shores of the Rio de la Plata. Since its founding by Pedro de Mendoza in the 1500s, the city has thrived on trade and its vibrant streets are filled with an eclectic mix of European architectural styles, with Spanish, French and Italian classicism rubbing shoulders with remnants of Victorian grandeur. The afternoon is free to settle in. Tomorrow we'll visit the eclectic and bohemian south of the city, so this afternoon you might want to visit the elite north, home to the embassies, the richer neighbourhoods and many of the city's green spaces. Its main site is the famous Recoleta Cemetery, the final resting place of some of Argentina's most revered figures, including Eva Peron. Or perhaps go to Palermo Park, an urban oasis in the madness of the city. This evening or tomorrow we'll have an opportunity to enjoy Buenos Aires' dazzling nightlife and soak up the pulsating rhythms of one of South America's most captivating cities.

We're experiencing the city as a Porteno (a Buenos Aires native) today, using the local buses and exploring on foot. Each neighbourhood of Buenos Aires has a distinct character, with grand Italianate architecture rubbing shoulders with winding cobbled streets or tree-lined avenues. To get a feel for the heart of the city, we'll stroll towards its founding point at the Plaza de Mayo, where the President's dusty-pink mansion is located. Every big event in Buenos Aires's history has been witnessed by the Plaza, from the continued protests of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo back to Eva Peron's mass demonstrations in 1945. From here, we'll hop on a bus towards the colourful neighbourhood of La Boca. Settled originally by Italian migrants, the area is famed for its bright houses, a ramshackle affair of corrugated iron, and the tango dancers who perform in the streets. We'll visit a local Cafecito during our tour, taking a traditional Porteno elevenses of coffee and pastries. We end our morning in bohemian San Telmo, with its small one-way streets, historic mansions and walls covered with street art. Our Tour Leader will suggest lunch at a traditional Bodegon, sampling specialities that an Argentinian grandma would be happy with. Empanadas, locro (corn and pumpkin stew) or a delicious choripan (a fat chorizo sausage in bread, with chimichurri sauce) may be on the menu. The afternoon is free to explore with much on offer. You could stay and see more of San Telmo, which is particularly interesting when the antiques market takes over the cobbled streets. For book lovers, the Ateneo Grand Splendid, set in a converted theatre, is one of the most impressive bookstores in the world. This evening, we'll have the opportunity to enjoy Buenos Aires' nightlife, perhaps going to a tango show and soaking up the pulsating rhythms of this most Latin of dances.

Our trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Buenos Aires. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart from Buenos Aires at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer, you'll need to depart from either Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery (AEP) or Ezeiza International Airport (EZE).