Self-Drive Argentina: Highlights of the Hidden Northwest

Thirteen nights across Argentina, self-guided through the Andean northwest, with Iguazu and Buenos Aires either side of it.

The northwest is the part of Argentina that gets overlooked and it is the most interesting to drive: red rock canyons, high altiplano, vineyards at two thousand metres and almost no traffic.

Buenos Aires opens it for two nights with a guided walk along the Avenida de Mayo and a tango show available, then flights reach Puerto Iguazu for two nights and guided visits to both sides of the falls, which is the right way to do it since the Argentine side puts you in them and the Brazilian side shows you the scale. A flight to Salta follows, where the car is collected, then Molinos, Cafayate in the wine district, where the Torrontes is grown higher than almost any vineyard on earth, and two nights at Purmamarca in the northern canyons, with a free day for the Humahuaca Gorge, a world heritage valley that has been a trade route for ten thousand years. Salta and Buenos Aires close the trip.

The pre-booked hire car, the accommodation, the Buenos Aires walk and the guided excursions to both sides of Iguazu are included; international flights are not and the remaining inclusions were not itemised on the operator’s page. The price shown is per person for two sharing, excluding flights. April to June and September to November are the best windows for the northwest, since the summer rains can close the canyon roads. Fourteen days arranged as two flights and one driving week is an efficient way to cover a country this large without spending the fortnight behind the wheel.