Mendoza, Ischigualasto & Talampaya

Mendoza is Argentina's wine, and most of the world's idea of Malbec was born in the vineyards of Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and the Valle de Uco, with the Andes standing over them. Behind the vineyards the mountains rise to Aconcagua, the highest point outside the Himalayas, reached by the road to Chile past Potrerillos, Uspallata and Puente del Inca. A long day's drive north, the two parks of Ischigualasto and Talampaya are a different planet: dry canyons, red cliffs and the fossil beds of the Valle de la Luna.

Three nights in Mendoza are the usual, with a day in the Valle de Uco, a day closer to the city among the older bodegas of Luján and Maipú, and lunch at a winery as the fixed point of each. Sleeping at a vineyard lodge instead of in town is the better version for anyone who has the time. The mountain road to Puente del Inca and the foot of Aconcagua is a full day from the city, and also the way into Chile for itineraries that continue to Santiago. Ischigualasto and Talampaya need two nights of their own, at Villa Unión or San Agustín de Valle Fértil, and work either as a loop from Mendoza or as a stop on the long road north towards the Northwest.

The harvest, from late February to April, is the season to see the vineyards at work, and March brings the Vendimia festival. Spring and autumn are the kindest for the mountain road; summer is hot in the city and the time for Aconcagua's climbing season; winter closes the high pass some days and opens the ski slopes. The desert parks are best from April to October, when the days are mild; in summer they are very hot.