Wine and Landscapes of Argentina's Northwest — Self-Launched Edition

Fly into Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport (MDZ) or arrive by overnight bus from Santiago (bus over the Los Libertadores pass, ~7–8 hrs, ~£25–35). Local bus 60 or a remise (~£6–8) drops you in the leafy centre around Plaza Independencia. Settle into a hostel or guesthouse in the Fifth Section (Quinta Sección) or city centre, then spend the evening strolling the tree-lined avenues, people-watching in the plazas and eating a bife de chorizo with a bottle of local Malbec. Book your winery day for tomorrow tonight — hostels can organise it, or reserve directly with a Luján de Cuyo bodega.

🚌Airport bus or remise ~£7

🛏Hostel dorm or private budget room, Mendoza city centre (e.g. hostels around Av. Sarmiento / Quinta Sección), ~£16/night

• →Evening stroll around Plaza Independencia and Av. Sarmiento
• →Eat at a local parrilla in the Quinta Sección

Do the wine day yourself: take local bus 10 or 15 (~£1) to Chacras de Coria or Luján de Cuyo, hire a bike from a local wine-bike outfit (~£12–18 inc. vineyard map), or join a small-group bodega tour booked via GetYourGuide (~£25–35 with tastings). Visit two or three wineries — a big Malbec house plus a smaller boutique bodega — with tastings costing roughly £6–10 each. In the afternoon grab an alfajor and coffee in Chacras, then head back for a walk along Plaza Independencia and the Parque General San Martín.

🚌Local bus to Luján de Cuyo ~£1 each way

🛏Same hostel, Mendoza

• →Wine-bike rental or small-group winery tour in Luján de Cuyo
• →Tastings at two or three bodegas
• →Alfajor and coffee stop in Chacras de Coria

Book a day-trip seats-only van or small-group tour to Aconcagua Provincial Park via GetYourGuide or your hostel (~£30–40 including park entry), or take the public bus from Mendoza's terminal towards Puente del Inca and Las Cuevas (~£6) and pay the park entrance on arrival (~£8). From Horcones ranger station walk the flat 90-minute trail to the Horcones Lagoon viewpoint for close-up views of Aconcagua (6,962 m). Stop at the mineral-crusted Puente del Inca bridge on the way back. Altitude starts climbing here — pace yourself and drink water.

🚌Shared van or public bus to Horcones / Puente del Inca, ~£6–10

🛏Same hostel, Mendoza

• →90-minute hike to Horcones Lagoon viewpoint
• →Photo stop at Puente del Inca
• →Aconcagua Provincial Park entrance

Long travel day south-west. There's no direct tourist bus, so take a Mendoza–San Juan bus (~2.5 hrs, ~£6) then a San Juan–Barreal local bus or shared remise (~3 hrs, ~£8–12), or ask your Barreal guesthouse to arrange a shared transfer directly (~£25–35, easier with luggage). Barreal is a one-horse, poplar-lined oasis town. In the evening head into El Leoncito National Park with a local guide or a shared 4x4 from town (~£20–25) for one of Argentina's darkest-sky stargazing sessions at the El Leoncito observatory area — bring warm layers, it's cold and windy at night.

🚌Mendoza–San Juan bus + San Juan–Barreal bus/shared remise, ~£18

🛏Family guesthouse or hostel in Barreal, ~£14/night

• →El Leoncito National Park stargazing and night-sky watching with a local guide
• →Sunset over the Calingasta valley

Heading north into the empty heart of the country. Transport is thin: the reliable route is a shared remise/tourist transfer Barreal–Rodeo–Villa Unión (~£30–40) or a longer backtrack via San Juan and Chilecito by bus (~£20, 8+ hrs). Ask your Barreal host the day before — they know who's driving north. The drive passes the Las Burras gorge and the Jachal River gorge with photo stops. Villa Unión is the gateway town for Talampaya and Ischigualasto; on arrival book tomorrow's park day (shared 4x4 or small-group tour, ~£40–50) and confirm opening times, as park visiting is only with a local guide at Talampaya.

🚌Shared transfer / remise Barreal–Villa Unión ~£35

🛏Budget hotel or hospedaje, Villa Unión, ~£16/night

• →Viewpoint stops at Las Burras and Jachal River gorges
• →Book Talampaya and Ischigualasto excursions in town

Full day with a shared 4x4 and local park guides. Morning: Talampaya National Park — the only way in is with an official park excursion, so pre-book online or in Villa Unión (~£12–15 each for the canyon circuits). Walk the flat Don Eduardo gorge route among red walls and petroglyphs (~8 km on easy terrain). Afternoon: cross to Ischigualasto Provincial Park, the grey-and-ochre 'Moon Valley', where a bus tour with a park guide stops at the Valle Pintado, the submarino and the bocha formations (~£12–15). Carry water, sun protection and cash — no ATMs out here.

🚌Shared 4x4 / small-group tour between the two parks ~£20

🛏Same hospedaje, Villa Unión

• →Don Eduardo gorge walk in Talampaya (8 km flat)
• →Ischigualasto Moon Valley guided bus circuit
• →Park entrance fees for both parks

Take the early bus north via Aimogasta or Chilecito towards Belén (~6–7 hrs, ~£12–15). The scenic highlight is the Cuesta de Miranda — a winding red-earth switchback road above the Río Miranda; sit on the left for the best views. Belén is Argentina's poncho capital: in the afternoon visit the weaving workshops and co-operatives where women weave and sell ponchos and ruanas direct (free to visit, buy something small ~£10–25). Wander the market and eat a local empanada campera for dinner.

🚌Local long-distance bus Villa Unión–Belén ~£14

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse, Belén, ~£15/night

• →Cuesta de Miranda scenic drive
• →Visit a women's weaving co-operative in Belén
• →Belén market and cathedral

Bus from Belén via Santa María towards Cafayate (~5–6 hrs, ~£12). The Quilmes ruins sit right off the Ruta 40 near Amaicha del Valle — ask the driver to drop you at the entrance or take a remise from Santa María (~£8), then continue by a later bus or shared taxi into Cafayate. Walk the terraced pre-Inca site and climb to the top for valley views (entrance ~£3). Arrive in Cafayate in the late afternoon — it sits at 1,700 m in a high-desert wine valley. Book a bodega visit for the evening or next morning; Cafayate is famous for Torrontés whites.

🚌Bus Belén–Santa María–Cafayate + short remise to ruins ~£16

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Cafayate, ~£16/night

• →Quilmes ruins self-guided visit with terraced-site climb
• →Evening bodega tasting in Cafayate (~£8–12)

Take a shared tourist van or colectivo over Ruta 40 north through the Quebrada de las Flechas (Arrows Gorge) — tall eroded rock spires that lean like arrows — with photo stops at Angastaco and the Molinos wine village (~4–5 hrs, ~£16–22). There's no regular public bus on the scenic stretch, so book the shared van through your Cafayate hostel the day before. Cachi is a whitewashed colonial village at 2,280 m beneath the snow-streaked Nevado de Cachi. Walk the cobbled lanes, visit the church and cemetery (a fine stargazing spot by night), and eat goat stew with a glass of local Malbec at a peña.

🚌Shared tourist van Cafayate–Cachi via Ruta 40 ~£20

🛏Guesthouse, Cachi, ~£16/night

• →Quebrada de las Flechas photo stops
• →Angastaco and Molinos village stops
• →Evening walk and stargazing in Cachi

Ride the Cuesta del Obispo (Bishop's Hill Road) down from the altiplano — a dramatic switchback descent with viewpoints over the Lerma valley (~3.5 hrs by shared van ~£15, or the daily public bus to Salta at a similar price). Stops at the Piedra del Molino and the Cardones National Park viewpoint where giant cacti line the slopes, plus the Sierra del Obispo. Arrive in Salta by afternoon: colonial plazas, the pink cathedral and the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM) with its frozen Inca child mummies (~£7). Tonight is a good night for your own peña dinner.

🚌Shared van or public bus Cachi–Salta ~£15

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Salta centro, ~£16/night

• →Cuesta del Obispo and Cardones National Park stops
• →MAAM high-altitude archaeology museum
• →Optional peña dinner and folk music

Take an early public bus Salta–Purmamarca (~3 hrs, ~£6) or a hostel-booked shared van. Walk the 2.5 km Los Colorados trail among rust-red rock formations, then circle the Seven-Coloured Hill and the village craft market. Continue north by local bus (~£1.50) to Tilcara for its square, market and whitewashed church, and optionally the Pucará hillfort ruins (~£5). Stop at Maimará's 'Painters Palette' hillside cemetery on the bus route. Return to Salta in the evening by bus for a peña dinner with folk music and tamales in the Balcarce area (~£15–20 incl. live show).

🚌Public buses Salta–Purmamarca–Tilcara–Salta ~£14

🛏Same hostel, Salta

• →Los Colorados 2.5 km walk, Purmamarca
• →Tilcara village, market and church
• →Maimará Painters Palette viewpoint
• →Peña folk music evening in Salta

Morning flight Salta (SLA) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque or Ezeiza (~2 hrs, ~£60–90 booked a few weeks ahead on Aerolíneas Argentinas or JetSMART; the 20-hour bus alternative costs ~£45 but eats two days). Transfer into the city by local bus 8 or a remise (~£8). Check into a hostel in San Telmo or Palermo. Afternoon: wander Recoleta Cemetery (~£6), the Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore in a converted theatre, and Palermo's parks and Bosques. Evening: parrilla dinner in Palermo Soho — order a bife de chorizo and provoleta.

🚌Domestic flight Salta–Buenos Aires ~£75 + airport transfer ~£8

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, San Telmo/Palermo, ~£18/night

• →Recoleta Cemetery
• →Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore
• →Palermo parks and Soho bar-hopping

Join the free (tips-based ~£5) 'Free Walking Tour' of the Plaza de Mayo starting near the Casa Rosada — book on GetYourGuide or just turn up; it covers the cathedral, Casa Rosada and the history of the Madres. Then take bus 29 or a remise to La Boca's Caminito for the painted conventillos (go in daylight and stay on the main streets). Lunch at a traditional bodegón (~£10). Spend the afternoon in San Telmo's antique shops and plazas with a café cortado and medialunas at a local cafecito (~£4). Optional evening tango show at a tourist milonga (~£30–50) or a tango lesson at a hostel-run milonga (~£10).

🚌City buses and subte ~£4

🛏Same hostel, Buenos Aires

• →Tips-based Plaza de Mayo free walking tour
• →La Boca and Caminito
• →San Telmo antique market and cafecito
• →Optional tango lesson or show

Last morning: coffee and medialunas, a walk along the Puerto Madero waterfront or the Reserva Ecológica if time allows, then take the local bus or ArBus/taxi to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery for a domestic connection or Ezeiza (~£8–12) for your international flight home. If you're continuing overland, the Buquebus ferry to Colonia or Montevideo (Uruguay) leaves from Puerto Madero (~£35–55). Reconfirm all onward bookings and keep a small cash float for Buenos Aires buses.

🚌Airport bus or remise ~£10

🛏None (departure day)

• →Morning walk in Puerto Madero or Palermo
• →Optional Buquebus ferry onward to Uruguay