When is the most crowded time in Argentina?

Argentina is a very interesting destination that is unique in a number of ways. There are plenty things you can do, depending on what season you are there, like fishing, horse ridding or trekking during the summer or maybe skiing during the winter. It all depends on you, what kind of person you are and what kind of vacation fits you the most.

When you decide what part of Argentina you would like to visit, then you can start thinking about other things like weather, accommodation or prices. Argentina is really big country so for starters decide do you want to go to the mountains, sea or country. Every part of Argentina is beautiful so what ever you choose, you won’t regret it.

Warmer or colder weather?

The first thing, after you decide where are you going, is to see what is the weather like. As I said before, Argentina is a very big country so it’s difficult to say what is the weather like in Argentina because it’s different in different parts of the county. But I will tell you approximately what can you expect and in what time of the year.

One thing that you maybe didn’t know is that Argentine is placed in the Southern Hemisphere and by that it has reversed seasons. That means when it’s snowing in the US, in Argentina is summer. The weather varies around the country especially because of the Andes. You can find in Argentina everything, from subtropical in the north to cold in the south. The only place where the weather is really unpredictable is the Andes. You can find there rainfall and flood but you can also find extreme heat or even snow. There is also a unique hot and dry wind called Zonda.

Argentina is beautiful country and you can visit it during the whole year. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend is the far south. Is extremely cold and unpleasant there and most attractions and hotels are closed in that area during the winter.

The seasons with most attractions are winter and summer, but in the same time they can be not so pleasant (too hot summer). Patagonia is a story for itself. Most of the year is very mild on the east and glacial on the south. But the weather there is very unpredictable and it can change drastically.

The important things you should remember – summer lasts from December-March, the winter lasts from June-July. The best weather is in March, April, September, October and November.

Crowds

If you would like to avoid crowds (like most people do), than you should try to avoid coming to Argentina during the high season. Especially try to avoid holidays like Christmas, Easter and New Year. Also, kids are here during the spring break so try to avoid them also.
Cool things to do in Argentina

Argentina is the perfect place for active vacations and for people who enjoy sports. First of all, Argentina has one of the best world football national teams. But, beside that, Argentina offers you lot’s of different things to do while you are on vacation. Here are some:

Summer (Jan-Feb)
Patagonia – trekking, horse riding, sightseeing in general, fishing
Beaches – do nothing
Cordoba – enjoying the hill country

Autumm (Apr-May)
Mendoza – vineyards
Patagonia – sightseeing, especially in the north part

Winter (Jun-Aug)
North Patagonia/Mendoza – skiing
Northeast – Iguassu Falls

Spring (Sep-Nov)
Buenos Aires – the most beautiful season, especially in November with the jacarandas in blossom
Patagonia – The whales come to Peninsula Valdes

Of course, these are not all things, but some most amazing and with most fun.

The cheapest time for visit

We can divide the tourist flow into two parts – the high season (most visited) and the low season (less visited). Of course, many people are here in the high season (December-February and July-August) because of the most appropriate weather but, for the same reason the prices are the biggest during that time. So if you would like to avoid the high prices you will have to avoid the high season also. That’s bringing us to the low season (September, April and June) where the prices us the lowest and is less crowded. But the weather in the low season is not so good but not bad either. Unfortunately it’s all about money. It’s your choice and you know the best what can and can not afford.

Final words

Ok, you know the important things. Now just fix the rest, like your accommodation and transport and you’re done.

I wish you a nice and safe trip to Argentina, and a pleasant time staying there.

Largest and most Beautiful Provinces

SALTA, historic capital of one of Argentinas largest and most beautiful provinces, easily lives up to its well publicized nickname of Salta the Fair, thanks to its festive atmosphere, handsome buildings and dramatic setting.

It is situated in one of the most fertile and nicest sites ever created by nature in this region. It is located at 1,187 meters above sea level, at the bottom of Mounts 20 de Febrero and San Bernardo.

Summer is mild and winter is warm and dry, with records of an annual average temperature of 22, which makes the city an ideal place to live or visit.

Plenty of eating places to suit all pockets, ranging from simple snack bars where you can savour the cities famous empanadas, to a couple of classy restaurants, where people dress up to go out for dinner. The most atmospheric cafes huddle together around the Plaza 9 de Julio, while the cities many lively penas, informal folk music clubs, also serve food and drinks, so you can kill two birds.

One of the most popular penas well known as a bohemian hang out in the 1950s, nowadays its a more conventional place, attracting tourists and local folk singers. Some nights an additional charge is added to the bill for the music.

The colonial spirit from the times of the foundation remains in its houses, streets, hundred year old monuments and narrow sidewalks surrounded by the mountains nearby.

A city tour includes sightseeing its numerous statues, visits to the San Francisco Church, the Cathedral and the interesting historical and anthropological museums.

In the outskirts there are different excursions to go on being the one called The Train in the Clouds the most attractive of them all. It consists of a train journey that goes through the clouds as it crosses The Andes at 4,220 meters above the sea level.
Undoubtedly, visiting the city means tasting the worldwide known empanadas from Salta.

Beautiful Salta turns on its lights when the nigh falls. Each corner renovates its charm when the Moon is out. The main square, its cafes, Balcarce Street and the magic of the casino. The night is an invitation.

Argentina is filled with lush rainforests, wild animals, and mountainous terrain. Transportation is key with such a large country, many tourists choose to take a train few travel by car. For the outdoor enthusiasts, Argentina is home to the Andes Mountains. Enjoy trekking trips, skiing or snowboarding.

Projects Abroad Peru Director Discovers Lost Inca City

Tim DeWinter, the director of our Projects Abroad Peru programme tells us about his incredible recent discovery of an Inca settlement:

“Those who think that the frontiers of exploration have all descended into ocean depths or flown out beyond the rings of Saturn take heart and read on” Vincent Lee

Can one find a whole “forgotten” city in the 21st century? Is that still possible? With modern satellite images surely everything has been found already? Well, our adventure proves that in the Antisuyo, remote provinces north of Cusco, there are still discoveries to be made by the intrepid and adventurous.

Since 1994, when I arrived in Peru, walking in the Andes has been one of my favourite pastimes and while working for UNICEF from 1997 onwards, I had the opportunity to combine work and pleasure. No Peruvian UNICEF consultant was keen on leaving their families behind to go to the remotest areas of Cusco. I, on the other hand, was single and loved it, so basically from Monday to Friday I walked in this land reserved for the strongest under an impossibly blue sky, marvelling at the beauty and ruggedness of this wonderful mountain range.

Several years later, working for Projects Abroad in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with a family of my own, I had fewer opportunities to hike off into the unknown. However, one of the programmes that Projects Abroad runs in Peru is called the Inca Projects and in 2005 we decided to combine the archaeological and community development activities with exploration and hiking. Our volunteers loved the prospect of doing treks in the less touristy parts of the Andes and we enjoyed organising it for them. Maps have always been a source of hidden walks for me and I studied them whenever I could. I have many topographical maps of the region and studied these carefully before hiking a new route, so we knew what we would be up against.

My friends Americo, Carlos, Walter and myself decided to explore a mountain ridge in the region known as the Eyebrow of the Jungle, next to the Lucumayo river in the Huayopata district. Our team’s field experience and friendship would make this an enjoyable trip. I had a hunch that there would be some kind of Inca structure up there, it was a strategic viewpoint and other small Inca structures where known to be a few hours walk further upstream the Vilcanota river.

We started the day early at 5am, but were held up by some local farmers that had used the road up towards the hill for making mud bricks. We carried 65 pound rucksacks for the three day hike we had planned and it was hot and humid. By midday, our luck turned, we stopped at a clearing and met a hunter, his name was Eloy. One of the golden rules of exploration is to listen to the campesinos, they know where everything is. Eloy was no exception to the rule.

He told us he knew of a small wall and after having shared lunch with him, he took us further up the hill. The forest was dense and challenging, the rucksacks were left behind and we marched on with our machetes in hand, swinging at all the dense green foliage blocking our path. Eloy showed us the wall; it turned out to be a room, mostly still underground, covered in bush and by the years of decomposing forest. The amount of tangled growth is hard to explain unless you have experienced it. It was a typical Inca house, of normal proportions, and next to it another one, and another one. We immediately thanked the magical apu mountain spirits which mean everything to the campesinos and are directly linked to the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).

Eloy was not surprised by our small ceremony, but he was shocked that for many years he had been hunting in these forests without having had a clue of their importance. He became excited and told us that if these bumps on the jungle floor were walls, then he knew some more bumps on hills close by. That was when it hit us, more bumps! This was not just a small settlement. We decided to go back and set up camp and for Eloy to take us to the other bumps early the next day.

Sleeping was difficult as our adrenaline levels were high and at 5am the next morning we were ready. Eloy arrived at the campsite and we took off for what turned out to be an amazing day of exploring. We walked through forests and found many tombs, circular, rectangular and square structures hidden under the thick of the jungle floor. The remains were so heavily overgrown that we are still unsure of the extent of the ruins, but having found over 40 structures in different places on the hilltops, with over 2 miles between them, we were confident that it played an important role in one of the best and largest networks of paved road ever built by pre-industrial man, the Qapaq Nan. The realisation that it must be connected to Machu Picchu, the beautiful and wonderful city in the cloud forest and the best known site in the Antisuyo, made it even more exciting.

The settlement looked over an extremely fertile and extensively cultivated glacial valley on one side and on the other side was the Vilcanota Valley. Machu Picchu was a one day walk upstream. Needless to say, what we had found had huge potential.

Were we on the verge of finding a missing link and opening a real new Inca Trail?

When we later arrived back in Cusco we suppressed the temptation to go straight to the local radio and TV stations and decided to consult the National Institute of Culture (INC) first. Maybe they knew about the ruins, maybe they had more information about them, maybe they had a map already?

Projects Abroad had signed a formal agreement with the INC last year and our many contacts were able to investigate if their Site Registry knew anything about this site, they didn’t. The result was amazing; no one had surveyed this site or bothered to visit this strategic geographical feature. If the INC was unaware of our findings, we had to regulate this quickly, letters were sent, all mentioning our willingness to share information and receive a visit from one of their investigation teams.

On September 29th 2006, we took two archaeologists with us back to the area. Francisco Solis and Italo Oberti are recognised archaeologists in the region and were eager to be part of these initial stages. They were amazed by our finds. They confirmed that it was a big Inca settlement, probably over 500 years old and pointed out the stone and thatch building techniques of the highland Incas. They were surprised by the many different types of structures and thanked us for contacting them so quickly, as many findings are kept secret from the INC so people can ransack the place beforehand.

The Incas didn’t like the lower altitudes with the mosquitoes and diseases, the heat and humidity, so maybe the cooler Lucumayo Valley, a wonderful food basket, was worked by the inhabitants of our newfound city. The land itself provided the materials for building and the fertile valley was there for farming, maybe even producing food for the inhabitants of Machu Picchu, just a day’s walk away!

What we did many others could have done and still can do. There must be numerous unstudied ruins, unexplored valleys and hilltops, especially on the edge of the rainforest, still waiting to be discovered.

Find Out About Our Conservation Project in Peru

www.projects-abroad.co.uk