By Jaideep Mukerji and Veeresh Malik for Moneylife.inTango on the streets, lush sub-tropical forests, spectacular mountains and a vibrant culture. Jaideep Mukerji discovers that Argentina has all this... and more
One of the countries that appears distant to visitors from India is, in reality, easily accessible and makes a great travel destination. The origin of its name goes back to the first voyages made by Spanish conquerors. The survivors of a shipwrecked expedition found native people in the region who gave them silver objects as presents. The news about a legendary Sierra del Plata—a mountain rich in silver—reached Spain around 1524 and since that date, the Spanish named the river as Río de la Plata or River of Silver and the area as Argentina from the Latin word argentum or silver.
From the sub-tropical forests of the north to the spectacular mountains and glaciers of the southern tip, Argentina has them all. An ethnically diverse country built with the hard work of thousands of immigrants who came from 1895 to 1915 mainly from Spain and Italy, Argentina is the second largest country in South America, after Brazil. Further waves of money and immigration from Europe before and after that period led to Argentina becoming one of the 10 richest countries in the world. Immigrants from other parts of Europe and from Syria and Lebanon came to Argentina during the first half of the 20th century to settle in this vast country that has become one of the G-20 world economies. The Argentine wine industry, amongst the largest outside Europe, is now the fifth most important in the world.
Argentina is about 3,900km long from north to south and has the fertile central plains, called the Pampas, the source of Argentina’s great agricultural wealth. The rugged Andes range forms the western border with Chile and includes Mount Aconcagua, which, at 22,841ft (6,962 metres) is also the highest summit in the southern and western hemispheres.
After landing at the Ezeiza International Airport located 27km southwest of Buenos Aires, it is convenient to go to one of the taxi booths at the airport and get a private taxi or to the Manuel Tienda Leon Company counter in the arrivals area to get a shuttle bus ride to the city centre. The fare to the city is
50 pesos ($12) with a travel time of 45 minutes.
The following morning, I took a short taxi ride to Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery domestic airport located not far from the city centre for the two-hour flight to Iguazu Falls. One of world’s ‘must see’ sights, Iguazu Falls is located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau. The United Nations has declared Iguazu Falls a ‘World Heritage Site’. Several islands along the 2.7-km long edge divide the Falls into about 275 separate waterfalls and cataracts varying between 200ft and 270ft high. About half of the River’s flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the ‘Devil’s Throat’ and the border between Argentina and Brazil runs through the Devil’s Throat. A boat ride to the base of the falls cost me 200 pesos ($55) and, later, I took the local bus to Iguazu town where one can visit the place known as ‘Hito de las Tres Fronteras’, a point where the borders of three countries, namely, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, converge.
After an overnight trip to Iguazu, I was back to Buenos Aires the following afternoon. There are many historic and cultural attractions in dazzling Buenos Aires where nearly 40% of the country’s 41 million people live. Gran Buenos Aires (Greater Buenos Aires), in terms of population, is a city almost as large as New York or London. However, after a brief orientation, you will find that the compact city centre is accessible and easily explored on foot, by bus, taxi and underground.
In the historic Plaza de Mayo or May Square, the place where Buenos Aires was founded, is located the Pink House (Casa Rosada) which houses the historic balcony from where Evita Peron, made famous by the song ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’, used to address people. Within easy walking distance is the..Read full arfticle
