Overview

Argentina might not on the tip of everyone’ tongue when it comes to listing great wildlife destinations.

The fact, though, that its wildlife havens are so little known, is firmly in its favour. Less people means more wildlife and better chances to observe some unique encounters with all sorts of fascinating species, many of which you may never have seen or heard of before. The Ibera wetlands in the north-eastern corner of Argentina are close to the huge tourist attraction of Iguazu Falls but get a tiny fraction of their visitor numbers. The mammals and birds here are so unusual, from the giant rodent capybara to caiman lurking in the reeds and massive Jabiru storks. The wild remote Atlantic coast at Peninsula Valdes is another gem with only relatively small numbers of visitors and a coastline teeming with marine mammals, penguins and whales as well as foxes, deer and guanaco. Not forgetting also the dark waters and glacier filled fjords of southern Patagonia and the beagle Channel where pilot whales, elephant seals and Magellanic penguins stake their territory in uninhabited bays, reached only by small expedition vessel, as southern ocean seabirds such as albatross follow in your wake.