The Argentina Nature Trail. It’s not just locals who get excited when they talk about it; a country this large is bound to have an enormous wealth of landscapes, climates and biomes. Tourists flock to its mountains, lakes, valleys, ravines and jungles, not to mention thousands of miles of coastline where the ocean crashes up against the land. Argentina practically has it all. The Nature Trail is a selection of 17 different routes that show why the country is a world class tourist destination, featuring the most interesting and remote landscapes that Argentina Nature Trail has to offer. They’re an essential destination for anyone who loves mountains and jungles.
The Argentina Nature Trail: El Soberbio
Set among the mountains and the jungle, one finds El Soberbio, the main entrance to the Yabotí Biosphere Reserve. The region, where green merges with vivid red earth, snakes along with the Uruguay River and is home to rich biodiversity and several indigenous communities.
The air around here is perfumed with citronella while white butterflies flutter around thick fern undergrowth. Lookout posts provide scenic views of the jungle while the road expands and narrows, criss-crossing the Yabotí Guazú stream up to the Moconá Provincial Park – “Moconá” means “he who swallows all” in Guaraní – which is home to an unforgettable geological landmark: waterfalls lined up for two miles along a canyon.
It can be visited all year round, although temperatures get quite high between December and March. It’s easy to access along Provincial Highway 2, which is completely paved.
The Yabotí Biosphere Grand Reserve
This reserve from the Argentine Nature Trail includes the Moconá Provincial Park and its unusual waterfalls. The region is influenced by Brazilian culture and mixes jungle with farms and fields of yerba mate and citronella.
Moconá Provincial Park has a number of different trails and excursions can be organized to the Moconá waterfalls. It’s important to check about access before leaving, because the park is closed when the Yabotí river gets too high. From El Soberbio, it’s 40 miles of paved road to the entrance to the park. It can also be reached from San Pedro although the roads are more rural.
El Soberbio offers a wide range of accommodation, from inns and cabins to jungle lodges.
Chaco National Park
This park is the ideal place to get to know the Chaco landscape with its forests, savannah, lakes and marshlands. Paths, viewing points and camp sites take you within touching distance of a great deal of flora and fauna. It’s recommended to visit between March and November to avoid the summer heat and rain.
Here you can see Carayá monkeys, armadillos, Brocket deer and, if you’re lucky, tapirs and anteaters. It’s also a paradise for birdwatchers with over 300 species including the iconic Muitú.
To get there from Resistencia – the Capital of Chaco – one drives 70 miles along National Highways 16 and 9. There are daily bus services between Resistencia and Capitán Solari from where one can take a taxi to the park (4 miles away).
The park has a camp site and Capitán Solari, Colonia Elisa and Colonias Unidas offer simple accommodation, although one can also take a day trip from Resistencia.
www.turismo.chaco.gob.ar/destino/13
Teyú Cuaré Provincial Park
Close to San Ignacio and a little over an hour from Posadas (in the Province of Misiones) this park takes you into hidden landscapes on the Paraná River where the ravines rise to heights of several hundred feet and there are trails through the jungle. The writer Horacio Quiroga’s Museum House, which is located in the park, is a local literary and cultural landmark.
It’s 40 miles from Posadas to San Ignacio along National Highway 12 and then 5 more miles along an internal road to the park. San Ignacio and Posadas offer a range of different options for accommodation and hospitality but the park does not have a camp site.
Argentina Nature Trail: www.misiones.tur.ar/san-ignacio
