CÓRDOBA PROVINCE

Córdoba’s cultural primacy, dating from its early history as a Jesuit ecclesiastical and educational center, has set it apart from Argentina’s other provinces. The Jesuit legacy is palpable in the capital and scattered throughout the rest of the province, whose rolling mountainous backcountry is one of the country’s favorite year-round playgrounds.

Traditionally, the capital—widely considered Argentina’s “second city”—is also an industrial powerhouse.

Iglesia Catedral: In Argentina’s historic second city, Córdoba, this 17th-century church features a richly decorated interior and is the resting place of several notable locals. (read more)

Manzana de las Luces: This site in Córdoba, featuring the Iglesia de La Compañía, is just one of many examples of Jesuit heritage and architecture scattered around the province. The urban legacy and rural estancias of the Jesuit order became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. (read more)

Alta Gracia: This gracious colonial town features notable Jesuit monuments, well worth a day trip from the capital. Alta Gracia was the boyhood home of Ernesto “Che” Guevara; one of his family’s one-time rental homes is now a museum dedicated to the charismatic hero of the Cuban revolution. (read more)

Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre: On a winding mountain road between Villa Carlos Paz and Alta Gracia, the focus of Argentine astronomy has modernized its antique equipment, but its site and installations still impart the sense of interstellar pioneers. (read more)

Senda a la Quebrada del Condorito: In Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito, this trail is the best way to experience the area’s open skies and peek in on the Andean condor’s nesting sites, perched on rocky outcroppings over the Río Condorito Canyon. (read more)