Are you planning to visit Patagonia Argentina? We show you the most beautiful places in Patagonia Argentina you should see with a suggestion of number of days in each place.
Argentine Patagonia has gained international prestige thanks to its impressive landscapes. In this part of the world, nature has an unparalleled beauty and hosts turquoise water lakes, cypress, myrtle and coihue forests, high mountains, waterfalls and extensive beaches.
There are so many places to visit in Patagonia Argentina that it would be unfair to leave any of them out. We have made this selection for you, so that you don’t miss the most important places, both on the Andes side and on the Atlantic Ocean side. Let’s discover them.
🔎 Check here the complete guide to travel to patagonia Argentina: climate, transport, routes and how to get there. You may also find our article with a 7, 10 and 14 day itinerary through Patagonia Argentina useful.
Table of Contents
Map with most beautiful places in Patagonia Argentina
Bariloche, one of the great attractions (3 or 4 days)
Bariloche is one of the largest cities in Argentine Patagonia, nestled on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi and at the foot of the Andes Mountains. Its attractions for tourism are almost infinite and include ski centers such as Cerro Catedral, panoramic routes such as Circuito Chico, trekking in the mountains, sailing on the lake towards Victoria Island, among other things.
📷 Book here for a half-day sightseeing tour of the Circuito Chico with a local agency. Includes: Transport by bus and guide.
📷 Check out this tour to visit Victoria Island and the Arrayanes Forest from Bariloche with a local agency and make your reservation.
You can also stroll through the city centre in search of artisan chocolate shops, visit the mythical Civic Centre surrounded by stone and wood buildings and take a trip to Colonia Suiza, a village of artisans where it is worth tasting the curanto.
🏨 See here where to stay in Bariloche and find your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Take a look at our travel guide to Bariloche.
Villa La Angostura (2 days)
Close to Bariloche and also on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, Villa La Angostura is a small town that has been gaining popularity among local and international tourists in Patagonia Argentina. Its main attraction is the Arrayanes forest, the tree with its cinnamon-coloured trunk, which grows surrounded by other species in the Patagonian forest.
If you want to go skiing or trekking in the mountains, then Cerro Bayo is the place to be. Also, don’t forget to take a stroll along the main avenue to marvel at the stone and wood architecture where you will find ice-cream and chocolate shops, clothing shops and restaurants.
📷 Book the Cerro Bayo excursion here and enjoy the mountain and panoramic views of the Nahuel Huapi lake and the mountains.
🏨 See here where to stay in Villa La Angostura and find your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Check out this article on things to do in Villa La Angostura in 3 days.
San Martín de los Andes (2 days)
San Martín de los Andes is a must-visit place, especially if you are on a road trip in Patagonia. This small town is located on the shores of Lake Lácar and from here to Villa La Angostura runs the mythical Route of the 7 Lakes, a scenic road between turquoise water mirrors and high mountains, with viewpoints to stop and take pictures.
📷 Do you want to get to know the city centre? Book the free tour of San Martin de los Andes with a specialised guide.
You should also visit the two viewpoints of the city, the Bandurrias and the Arrayanes, both with panoramic views of Lake Lácar and the city. In the surroundings you can visit Mapuche communities, the indigenous communities that inhabit these areas, stone beaches on the shores of the lake and even go sailing.
📷 Book the trekking to the Bandurrias viewpoint, on the top of a hill with panoramic views of the lake Lacar.
🏨 See here where to stay in San Martin de los Andes and find your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Check out this article on things to do in San Martin de los Andes.
Cueva de las Manos in Santa Cruz (1 day)
Named a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the Cueva de las Manos is located in the northwest of the province of Santa Cruz, near the town of Perito Moreno and in the canyon of the Pinturas River, in the middle of the Patagonian steppe.
The cave houses cave paintings dating back thousands of years and in a perfect state of preservation. Hunting scenes, figures of hands and animals can be observed on the rock. More information on how to get there and things to do in the official site of Cueva de las Manos.
📷 Book the excursion to the Cueva de las Manos from the town of Perito Moreno, plus a trip through the Cañadón del Río Pinturas.
🔎 Check here how to get to Cueva de las Manos.
El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier (3 days)
Visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Patagonia Argentina. This glacier on Lake Rico is characterised by its 60-metre-high ice walls and a front of more than five kilometres in length. You can see it both from the nearby wooden footbridges and by sailing across the lake.
📷 See here the excursion to Perito Moreno with the option to do the Navigation. Includes: Hotel pick up and return transfer, professional guide and boat trip (optional). Not included: entrance fees.
One of the recommended excursions from El Calafate is the navigation to discover the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers, but without a doubt the most adrenaline-producing and unforgettable experience is the walk over the Perito Moreno glacier, a three-hour adventure with a specialised guide to discover the crevasses, blue lagoons and caves produced by this great mass of ice.
📷 Book the Perito Moreno glacier hike here, one of the most fascinating adventures to do in Patagonia Argentina. If you want to visit the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers, book the boat trip including lunch.
🏨 See here where to stay in El Calafate and find your ideal accommodation.
🔎 ake a look at our travel guide to El Calafate.
El Chaltén, the capital of trekking (3 days)
Located about 200 kilometres from El Calafate, El Chaltén is a small town near the Fitz Roy and Torre Mountains, and is a favourite destination for those who enjoy trekking in the high mountains.
Among the most impressive trekking routes is the trekking to the Laguna de los Tres, a trekking of medium difficulty but with a wonderful prize, the arrival to the imposing Laguna de los Tres, where you can see one of the walls of the Fitz Roy mountain. You can also hike to waterfalls and other lagoons in the middle of the mountains.
📷 Check out these excursions to do in El Chaltén with a local agency and make your reservation.
Ushuaia, one of the most beautiful places in Patagonia Argentina (3 days)
Ushuaia is the city at the end of the world, one of the southernmost points of the American continent. On the shores of the Beagle Channel, it is a small town to enjoy its surroundings, including sailing on the Beagle to meet penguins and reaching the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse, the so-called lighthouse at the end of the world (although it is not).
The city centre also has its attractions, such as the End of the World Prison, a place of mysteries and stories of the prisoners who were housed there and from where the famous End of the World Train, now a tourist attraction, used to depart to the forest area. The Tierra del Fuego National Park is another destination to visit, to contemplate the lakes, forests with beavers, Lapataia Bay and finally to send a postcard from the Post Office at the End of the World.
📷 Book here your 4×4 excursion in the Tierra del Fuego National Park, a unique experience.
🏨 See here where to stay in Ushuaia and get your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Take a look at our article about things to do in Ushuaia in 3 days.
Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés (2 o 3 days)
Puerto Madryn, located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, is the destination for whale watching between the months of June and November. These large cetaceans can be seen up close, either by embarking from the town of Puerto Pirámides or spotting them from the beaches of El Doradillo. It is a truly fascinating spectacle!
📷 See here the whale watching boat tour. Includes: Pick up and transfer back to the hotel, transportation by air-conditioned bus, English and Spanish speaking guide specialized in marine biodiversity, 1.5 hour boat ride along the shores of the Valdes Peninsula (only in the Traditional and Yellow Submarine options). Not included: Lunch and entrance fee to the Peninsula Valdes Reserve.
But it’s not all about whales. The protected reserve of Peninsula Valdes is the perfect place to watch birds, spot native animals such as guanacos and ostriches and even see elephant seals, penguins and orcas from the coast. Another good place to walk almost next to the penguins is Punta Tombo, one of the largest penguin colonies in Patagonia, which can be seen from September to April.
📷 Check out these excursions to see the Magellanic penguins and make your reservation:
– Punta Tombo penguin excursion.
– Excursion Punta Tombo with penguins and dolphins sighting.
🏨 See here where to stay in Puerto Madryn and get your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Have a look at the travel guide to Puerto Madryn.
Las Grutas, the beaches of Patagonia (2 days)
Las Grutas, about 250 kilometers north of Puerto Madryn, is one of the most renowned seaside resorts in the Argentine Patagonia. Its wide seafront of seven kilometers long with a pronounced difference in sea level between high and low tide during the day, congregate many tourists in the summer season.
It is also ideal for water sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing. If you want to go on an excursion in the vicinity of Las Grutas, the Gualicho salt mine is the ideal destination. Here you can visit the salt museum, the factory and then contemplate the sunset with the starry sky as the protagonist.
📷 Book here the excursion to Las Grutas that includes snorkeling in the paradisiacal Punta Perdices. If you wish to visit the Gualicho salt flat, this excursion from Puerto Madryn is ideal.
El Bolsón and Puelo lake, other places to visit in a road trip in Patagonia (1 o 2 days)
An excellent getaway to make from Bariloche is the town of El Bolsón, a small town predominantly of artisans and with a lot of natural beauty in its surroundings. Here you can hike up Cerro Amigo and Piltriquitron, walk through the carved forest where artisans have made figures with logs that were saved from fires or visit the Escondida waterfall.
Two of the most recommended activities to do in El Bolson is the viewpoint of the Azul river, which runs through forests and a visit to Lake Puelo, one of the most beautiful in Patagonia.
Esquel and Los Alerces National Park (2 days)
In Esquel you can do many activities such as getting on the mythical La Trochita train, one of the few remaining narrow gauge trains in the world that keeps its antique furniture in the wagons, and ride the 20 kilometers to the town of Nahuel Pan.
There are also worthwhile attractions in the surrounding area. One is the walk under the ice tunnels on the La Torta hill, a natural phenomenon that occurs in January and early February. Another is a visit to Cerro La Hoya, Esquel’s ski center, where you can also go hiking in summer.
📷 See here all the excursions to do in Esquel and its surroundings and book your place.
The main destination near Esquel is Los Alerces National Park, a protected area with glaciers, larch forests, crystal clear rivers, lakes and mountains of the Andes, a true Patagonian paradise! On the way from Esquel to Los Alerces National Park, stop in Trevelin to enjoy a Welsh tea.
📷 Enjoy this excursion to Los Alerces National Park from Esquel with round trip transfers and specialized guide.
🏨 See here where to stay in Esquel and find your ideal accommodation.
🔎 Check out this article about things to do in Esquel in 3 days.
¡Pin it!
