10 experiences you absolutely must have in Argentina or Chile

These are not necessarily “must-sees” things in the literal sense of the term, or great tourist classics, but rather moments that will leave you with very strong memories.

The key is to interact with others and let yourself go. I can only encourage you to also master a little Spanish to be able to fully experience most of these experiences.

Share the Argentines’ passion for football

Argentines all have, men and women, and at all ages, a passion in common that punctuates their lives: football! Argentina is THE country of football. It would take too long to explain, but it’s incredible the craze that Argentines have for this sport.

The two main clubs are Boca Juniors and River Plate, which are located in the capital of Buenos Aires. They are fans for life of one of these clubs. It’s even said that one can change wife, religion, but especially not football club! This passion is always very good-natured and the atmosphere always festive.

I can only recommend that you go see a football match to be at the heart of an indescribable fervor (chants, confetti, banners, etc.), either at the Monumental, which is the largest football stadium in South America (ahead of the Maracana in Brazil… yes!), or at the Boca stadium, a very popular and atypical stadium with vertical stands, which was the birthplace of many great players, such as a certain Diego Armando Maradona.

I had the chance to go to these two legendary stadiums. What a crazy atmosphere! By the way, I would like to point out that if you cannot go to one of these stadiums, do not hesitate to listen to the matches on the radio or watch them on television, and the passion with which the journalists commentate on the matches is a real pleasure to listen to.
Driving through XXL scenery

If there’s one thing I love here, it’s taking the road, heading towards wide horizons. In Europe, often, taking the car can be synonymous with stress.

Here it’s quite the opposite. In all of Patagonia, both Chilean and Argentine, as well as in the north, on the Altiplano, one is often alone in the world.

Between endless steppe landscapes and majestic lakes, or at the foot of the Andes, or between sea and volcanoes, or between salt deserts and arid landscapes, the feeling is always the same: this sense of freedom that I always feel. The freedom to be able to ride in the heart of XXL landscapes, where Mother Nature envelops you in a certain way.

The landscapes always live up to their reputation, and I always feel very small in the middle of these natural wonders. Of course, no radars, no hidden policemen, none of that… Just me and the immensity.

Freedom often rhymes with adventure, because hitting the road around here means heading off on trails where you’ll be much more likely to encounter animals than human beings.

But be careful, this feeling of well-being is sometimes combined with a feeling of “insecurity” in the event of a mechanical problem, for example. Often there’s no telephone signal, no large villages within a hundred kilometers, and very little traffic.

I can only recommend you to cross Patagonia from west to east, or from north to south, to venture on the Southern Route in Chile, or on Route 40, which crosses all of Argentina. A simple section of these routes will be the reason for a new motivation for a next trip, again and again on the road!
Watching Humpback Whales at the End of the World

When we think of Patagonia, we imagine large natural spaces, refuge for many animal species. Among these, the very symbol of the animal kingdom and its preservation is the presence of whales.

Peninsula Valdes is certainly the most renowned place in Patagonia to observe whales in an exceptional and extraordinary natural setting.

But in Patagonia, encounters with these mammals are possible in other places. Along the Pacific off the Chilean coast, in Antarctica too, and especially in the heart of the Strait of Magellan.

I had the chance to experience powerful encounters with these animals, with a kayak, in quite particular climatic conditions. An atmosphere at the end of the world, hanging glaciers of an emerald blue, flights of cormorants, swimming of sea lions and the acrobatics of whales.

All this, under the eyes of scientists who have given a name to each of the whales from these waters. What an exceptional site to observe whales in a strait filled with history and legendary epics!
Sharing an asado with the Argentines

Argentines have two passions that punctuate their daily lives: football and asados. Asados are the Argentinian version of grilled meats, meaning XXL portions and quantities, and everything is thought out and done so that asados are omnipresent in everyday life.

At least on Sundays, Argentines gather with family and friends for a meal with very long preparations.

Participating in an asado is already observing real know-how with very slow cooking over a wood fire of different cuts of meat. It’ll then be an opportunity to discuss everything and many things, to remake the world, long heated discussions that will often revolve around politics, football, and group psychology. Quite a program!

I can’t count the number of meetings I’ve had around an asado. Because making an asado is also a great excuse to get together, invite friends, and remake the world many times over!

By dint of observing, I’ve even become a host in my turn, and cooking an asado for twenty people no longer scares me! In conclusion, if you are invited to an asado, of course go… on an empty stomach!
Dancing the tango or attending a Milonga

Buenos Aires is the city of tango. If you are passionate about music and dance, I highly recommend spending some time in this city to meet tango dancers.

Dancing tango is an art full-blown. It’s first of all music, with great musicians, but it’s also lyrics and melodies, often melancholic and nostalgic. But above all it’s a dance that, I think, is the most difficult dance to master.

You’ll be able to attend tango shows, some of which are of very high quality. Due to my profession, I have attended many shows, and I must admit that the artistic level of the musicians and the level of the dancers is world-class. A real pleasure for the eyes and ears.

Another option, which is by far the best, is to go to a “milonga”, which is a real journey through time. There are hundreds of them in Buenos Aires. The best thing is to go with locals, or with an Argentine dancer friend, who will definitely be able to tell you where to go depending on your stay in Buenos Aires.

Milongas are really the atmosphere I love in Buenos Aires. You have to go there… late. Because yes, everything starts quite late here! It’s a bit like traveling in time going to these old places that all have a story behind each door.

Usually, you’ll have some unassuming musicians in a corner who will quickly galvanize the ardor of the most timid dancers. All the people in the room are dancers, amateurs of course, but most of them have spent a long time on the dance floor.

You’ll also be surprised by the mix of genres and ages, because tango is a dance that has crossed generations. Here, no fuss, no pretense, just a common passion: tango until the early hours of the morning… Here again, I was sucked in by the welcome of the Argentines and I’ll never forget all these musicians with all their anecdotes about their past lives.
Observing the stars and the Milky Way

Argentina and Chile are two territories where air pollution is almost non-existent, the atmosphere is the purest you can find, ideal conditions for admiring the Milky Way.

Thus, many observation sites allow us to access our Galaxy and touch the stars! It’s absolutely exceptional to have the chance to appreciate skies and a Milky Way without pollution, with a clear atmosphere.

I can only wish you to go to an observatory and have fascinating explanations about formations, stars, celestial bodies, figures, and also the notions of distances… Quite a program!

I remember very well those skies and the Milky Way, which gave me the impression of completely enveloping me. In Patagonia as well as further north, on the high plateaus, my feeling was the same each time: what transparency and what infinity!

This feeling that all these stars are so close and so far at the same time, to be able to observe and find each constellation, to see the shooting stars, to have above my head a large part of our universe, of the galaxy! What an emotion, to refocus on myself, and to think that we are ultimately not much, a micro species on the scale of the cosmos…
Riding with the gauchos in an estancia

Chile and Argentina are both horse countries. In the south of these territories, in Patagonia, there are huge estancias, which are a magnificent playground for horse riding.

I hope that, like me, you’ll be able to have very interesting discussions with the gauchos about their way of life. And these moments of exchange will be more natural, on horseback, observing them in their daily work.

The expanses of the estancias are always the same: immense, as far as the eye can see, without electric cables, without human presence… I had the chance to know exceptional men with a harsh and timeless way of life.

I have often remained pensive and very admiring of this gaucho way of life. Very far from today’s world, I have often even felt very “small” in the face of such life lessons and such wisdom.
Go to the end of the world, in the footsteps of the great navigators

My first steps in the far south of Patagonia were naturally punctuated by the passage of great navigators and explorers, who were among the first white men to venture there.

There’s a kind of attraction that naturally makes our imagination push us to explore these lands at the end of the world of the South American continent, to crisscross the Chilean fjords. I can only recommend that you go there.

How can we not cite or refer to Magellan, Beagle, Fitz Roy, Perito Moreno, Saint-Exupéry… not to mention the Antarctic expeditions.

You’ll definitely think of them during your trip, and I think the emotion will be there, as well as the crazy feeling of feeling the very special atmosphere that nature provides in these latitudes. I was personally very attracted by these territories, and all the legends and myths that were born here.
Hiking near iconic/mythical mountain ranges

Argentina and Chile are two countries recognized and visited to approach some of the most spectacular mountain ranges on our planet.

The two most famous ones are close, they are separated by a political border. It’s difficult to say which one is the most beautiful, the most impressive…

In Argentina, you have the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre massifs, very close to the village of El Chaltén. On the other side, in Chile, the Torres del Paine massif, in the heart of the national park of the same name, are like towers that rise as the last ramparts against the appetite of men.

There are many day hikes (or longer) to get you closer to these mountain ranges, which are world-renowned in the world of mountaineering.

My most beautiful hikes that I have ever done in my life are all here. Each of my visits to El Chaltén or Torres del Paine Park is an opportunity for me to discover a new hike, less known and just as spectacular as the previous ones.

It’s always the same feeling: that nature is beautiful and always in a “primitive” state. I think that the emotion will win you over too, and the impact of nature will make you feel like a small insect for the time of a walk…
Skiing in South America and ski touring

If you are like me, a ski enthusiast, I can only recommend you to come ski in Patagonia. There are many ski resorts, medium and small in size, but all of which will have the advantage of offering you rather spectacular views.

In Chile, the most important ski resorts are located in the surroundings of Santiago de Chile. They are at very high altitudes, the best known being Portillo and Cerro Nevado.

In Argentina, Las Leñas is very famous for its endless off-piste descents. But it’s especially in Patagonia that the most beautiful awaits you. Beautiful landscapes with views of the Andes mountain range and the Andean lakes.

Cerro Chapelco and Perito Moreno are very nice ski resorts that I really like. Cerro Catedral is the largest ski area in Argentina, offering spectacular views (I love it!). The best thing is to go skiing at the end of the world, in the southernmost ski resort, Cerro Castor.

For the more athletic, you can also push the experience with ski touring, where the playgrounds are very numerous and as always, practically without any other presence than yours. My best memories are of skiing down certain volcanoes, a few minutes of extraordinary pleasure after a few hours of climbing…

I have been lucky enough to ski in several ski resorts here in Patagonia. With landscapes and viewpoints that have left me with unforgettable sensations and memories each time.