Some
thirty resorts
dot the
Atlantic Coast
of Buenos Aires
Province
stretching from
San Clemente in
the north, to
Bahía Blanca,
nearly 700km
south of the
capital. Ranging
in size from
tiny Dunamar to
the country's
premier coastal
resort,
Mar
del Plata ,
the resorts are
generally
characterized by
wide sandy
beaches, fringed
by dunes. And
with the
exception of Mar
del Plata, which
has some
interesting
historical
buildings and is
a thriving city
in its own
right, the beach
is the main
reason to visit
any of the towns
along this
stretch of
coast. Most of
the resorts are
popular with
families -
San Clemente,
Miramar and
Necochea
are notably so.
Still family
oriented, but
attracting a
younger crowd,
too,
Pinamar
is the region's
most upmarket
resort - though
bohemian
Villa Gesell
, to the south,
makes for a more
laid-back and
enjoyable
destination. Of
all the resorts,
though, Mar del
Plata is the
liveliest, with
crowds in the
city's numerous
clubs and
restaurants by
night to match
those that pack
its beaches by
day. If you
simply hanker
after peace and
quiet, slightly
more isolated
spots such as
sleepy
Mar
del Sud or
Dunamar ,
set among pine
forests, are
worth checking
out.
Bahía
Blanca in
the far south of
the province has
a port but no
beach; however
there are
connections from
the town to the
nearby coastal
resorts of
Monte Hermoso
and
Pehuén-Có
. By far the
busiest months
to visit the
coast are
January and
February, when
you'll need to
book
accommodation -
and public
transport - in
advance.
November,
December and
March are good
times to visit -
though it's less
lively at this
time of year,
the weather
should still be
good and prices
will be a lot
lower. March is
traditionally
the month when
pensioners take
their holidays.
Some 260km to
the northwest of
San Clemente,
but lying on the
River Plate
rather than the
Atlantic Coast,
is Buenos Aires'
provincial
capital
La
Plata .
Often treated as
a day-trip from
Buenos Aires, La
Plata marks the
start of the
coastal route
south; the city
was founded in
the late
nineteenth
century on
rationalist
principales and
houses one of
Latin America's
most famous
museums, the
Museo de
Ciencias
Naturales.
Inland
, the province
of Buenos Aires
- covering some
307,000 square
kilometres to
the south and
west of the
capital - is
dominated by the
vast expanse of
the Pampa
, a region
almost
synonymous with
Argentina
itself. This is
the country's
heartland:
birthplace of
the gaucho
and source of
much of
Argentina's
wealth - the
grain and beef
produced by this
incredibly
fertile farmland
constitute the
bulk of the
country's
exports to the
rest of the
world. The pampa
is certainly not
Argentina's most
dramatic
landscape - its
outstanding
feature is its
almost
unremitting
flatness - but
this unbroken
stretch of land
and sky has its
own subtle
beauty. At any
time the pampa's
sheer limitless
sense of space
is mesmerizing,
but in dramatic
weather, or when
an incredibly
intense blue sky
arches over the
fields of ripe
sunflowers, the
pampa is
transformed into
a vibrant canvas
covered with
great sweeps of
colour. This
region is almost
entirely
cultivated and
the province -
the country's
most populated -
is dotted with
strikingly
similar towns
whose main
business is
agriculture
rather than
tourism. A major
exception,
however, is
San Antonio de
Areco ,
lying just over
100km west of
the capital. A
charmingly
old-fashioned
town of cobbled
streets and
well-preserved
nineteenth-century
architecture,
San Antonio de
Areco stages
Argentina's most
important gaucho
festival, the
Día de la
Tradición ,
held each
November. Far
less visited,
though with a
modest charm of
their own, the
lakeside towns
of Lobos
and San
Miguel del Monte
, both lying
around 100km
south of the
capital, make
possible
stopovers on
your way south -
or overnight
trips from
Buenos Aires.
Around Lobos and
San Antonio de
Areco and indeed
throughout the
province, you'll
find some of
Argentina's most
traditional and
luxurious
estancias -
great places to
spend a night or
two if you fancy
a taste of the
high life.
The pampa's
most dramatic
and unexpected
region is the
Sierra de la
Ventana
mountain range,
lying 550km
southwest of
Buenos Aires.
Offering a
welcome change
of scenery from
the surrounding
flat farmlands,
the range is
some six hundred
million years
old and contains
the highest peak
in the province,
Cerro de la
Ventana (1134m).
Together with
the popular
resort of
Tandil some
300km to the
northeast, which
is backed by a
low range of
hills, this
region offers
the best
opportunities
for activities
such as
horseriding,
walking and
camping in the
province.
Heading
southwest out of
Buenos Aires,
the RN5 is one
of the major
routes towards
the south of
Argentina.
Although it is a
largely
unremarkable
highway through
cultivated
lands, there are
a couple of
towns worth
visiting along
its way. For a
mass display of
religious
devotion, head
for Luján
, some 70km to
the west of
Buenos Aires.
The town is
named after
Argentina's
patron saint,
the Virgin of
Luján, and her
shrine here,
housed in a vast
neo-Gothic
basilica,
attracts around
four million
visitors a year.
Just southwest
of Luján lies
the quiet and
attractive town
of Mercedes
, whose
authentic
pulpería offers
a glimpse into
Argentina's
gaucho past. The
RN5 terminates
at Santa Rosa
, the modest
provincial
capital of La
Pampa Province,
which borders
Buenos Aires to
the southwest.
La Pampa
Province is
smaller and far
less populous
than that of
Buenos Aires and
its scant
network of roads
seems designed
to do little
more than bear
the traveller
away from this
little-visited
region. Place
names such as
Arbol Solo
("solitary
tree") conjure
up an image of
desolate lands
punctuated by
frontier
settlements and
to some extent
this is a fair
summary of this
geographically
transitional
province, whose
landscape merges
with the humid
pampa to the
northeast and
the Patagonian
steppes to the
south and climbs
gradually to
meet the
foothills of the
Andes to the
west. The
province's main
tourist
attraction is
the Parque
Nacional Lihué
Calel , just
over 200km
southwest of the
capital, whose
low sierras add
some drama to
this otherwise
gentle
landscape.
As far as
practicalities
go, Buenos Aires
is probably
Argentina's
easiest province
to get around:
its 307,000
square
kilometres are
dotted with
towns and
crisscrossed
with roads and
railways, making
it pretty
straightforward
to negotiate
using public
transport .
Bear in mind,
though, that
services to the
coast are
greatly reduced
out of season.
La Pampa
Province, though
much less
populated and
still with large
areas untouched
by tourism, is
nonetheless well
connected by
routes running
south from the
capital into
Patagonia. If
you are planning
on heading off
the beaten
track, note that
many of the
region's
secondary roads
are unsealed,
and though
easily
negotiable in
dry weather,
they may become
impassable after
heavy rainfall.
