Argentina Guide
Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja
Mendoza Province
The southern half of El Nuevo Cuyo is taken up by Mendoza Province, the self-styled Tierra del Sol y del Buen Vino, the "land of sunshine and good wine". Within its borders are enough attractions to occupy a whole holiday, including some of the country's most dramatic mountain landscapes, where you can try a host of adventure pursuits, from kayaking to hang-gliding. The charms of its lively capital, the city of Mendoza, can satisfy yearnings for creature comforts after muscle-aching treks, tough climbs into the Andes or an afternoon of white-water rafting. At the national, not just regional, level Mendoza leads the way in tourism just as it does in the wine industry, combining professionalism with enthusiasm plus a taste for the alternative or avant-garde.
For travelling purposes Mendoza Province can be divided into three sections, each with its own base. The north, around the capital, has the country's biggest concentration of vineyards and top-class wineries, clustered around Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, while the scenic Alta Montaña route races up in a westerly direction towards the high Chilean border, passing the mighty Cerro Aconcagua, an increasingly popular destination for mountaineers from around the globe. Central Mendoza is focused on the laid-back town of San Rafael, where you can taste more wine, and from where several tour operators offer excursions along the nearby Cañon del Atuel, usually taking in a beginner's-level session of white-water rafting. If skiing or snowboarding in July is your fantasy, try the winter-sports complex at Las Leñas, where you'll be sharing pistes with South America's jet-set and northern-hemisphere giant-slalom champions. The southern section, with Malargüe as its base, has a bit less of interest save the mysterious landscapes of La Payunia.
Tourism is so well developed in the province it's possible to visit virtually all of these places by public transport or on organized tours from Mendoza and other towns. However, to see them at your own pace and have many of them to yourself, consider renting a vehicle, preferably a 4WD, since many of the roads are, at best, only partly sealed.