20 Famous Landmarks in Argentina

- This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure.

Argentina covers much of the southern tip of South America. Its landscape is wild and vast and is filled with roaring waterfalls, hidden relics of ancient civilisations, and the end of the world. Famous for Lionel Messi, the tango and gaucho culture, there are plenty of cultural, historic and natural landmarks in Argentina to explore.

The cities are packed with life, from bustling street food markets to creative corners filled with bookstores and cafes. Its natural wonders combine multiple wild landscapes, from misty jungles to high-altitude glaciers. Here are 20 famous landmarks in Argentina not to be missed when visiting this incredible, end-of-the-world country.

20 Landmarks in Argentina

Top Tours

Famous Landmarks in Argentina

1- Tren a las Nubes

Argentina’s most famous train trip is the Tren a las Nubes, or Train to the Clouds.

The journey departs from Salta and takes passengers through some of Argentina’s most beautiful landscapes.

ADVERTISEMENT

The train heads through the Lerma Valley, past the multicoloured Quebrada del Toro and even across a breath-taking viaduct where views over the desert canyon of La Polvorilla can be seen from a staggering altitude of 4200 m above sea level.

The train is the fourth highest in the world, and reaches the peak of its journey at the end of the railway line, at 4200 meters high.

The journey to the Clouds is long, with trips lasting around 15 hours.

2- Museo Arquelogia de Alta Montana

The Museo Arquelogia de Alta Montana or MAAM as it is locally referred to is one of Argentina’s premier museums.

The museum is home to one of the largest exhibitions in the world focusing on Incan culture and heritage.

The most famous collection in the Incan exhibition is of the child sacrifices that were left on some of the most formidable peaks in the Andes.

Make sure to find one of the three mummified children. The bodies are on a rotation lasting six months each.

The bodies were discovered at the peak of Llullaillaco in 1999 and are a stark reminder of the sacrifices made by the Incan peoples centuries ago.

3- Recoleta Cemetery

landmark in argentina
Recoleta Cemetery is a landmark in Buenos Aires you will definitely want to visit.

Sometimes referred to as the “worlds best cemetery”, Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires is a landmark not to be missed.

The graves here are not underground but in grand and ornate mausoleums above ground, making for an interesting site to explore.

The cemetery is unique in its design as each mausoleum features intricate scrolls, Romanesque pillars and carvings.

The mausoleums are unusually small in height with many resting at around shoulder height.

Some of Argentina’s most influential figures, including Evita, are buried at the cemetery and you can find out more by booking a guided tour. Maps are available and are a must when visiting, as the site is filled with more than 6400 graves.

4- Buenos Aires Obelisk

historic landmarks in argentina
Here’s another Buenos Aires landmark, the Obelisk.

Erected in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the foundation of Buenos Aires in 1536 by Pedro de Mendoza, the monument is one of the most famous landmarks in Argentina.

The obelisk is 67.5 meters tall and was designed by Argentinian architect Alberto Prebisch.

Shortly after being built, the community was upset about the obelisk, with a city-authorised demolition planned only three years after its completion.

Thankfully it was vetoed by the mayor at the time and has since become an important location in the city.

Top tour: Buenos Aires Walking City Tour.

5- Shrine of Llullaillaco Summit

The Shrine of Llullaillaco Summit is the highest ceremonial site in the world.

The site marks where the Llullaillaco mummies were found between 1983 and 1985 in northwest Argentina. 

Three of the best-preserved child mummies are displayed at the Museo Arquelogia de Alta Montana.

The mummies found at the shrine were buried with more than 100 objects, including fabrics, gold, silver and pottery.

One of the girls was found adorned with an elaborate ceremonial headdress.

Due to the climate at the summit of Llullaillaco, the extreme cold, hypoxic and arid environment, the mummies were extraordinarily well preserved, and are amongst the best-preserved mummies in the world.

Today, on reaching the summit, a small shrine has been erected to remember those killed in sacrifice as part of Incan ceremonies.

6- Floralis Generica

famous monument in argentina
One of the more unusual landmarks in Argentina is the Floralis Generica.

A city landmark in Buenos Aires since 2002, the Floralis Generica is a giant silver flower designed by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano.

The Floralis Generica has moving petals, which at 13 meters long take around 20 minutes to open.

The flower opens each morning at 8 am and closes at sunset.

Catalano designed the sculpture in this way to reflect the real daily movements of petals.

Floralis Generica is made from aluminium, giving it a reflective surface.

During the day, the city is reflected on the surface, and the petals glow red at night.

7- National Monument to the Flag

In the city of Rosario is the National Monument to the Flag.

The monument was built to commemorate the historic raising of the Argentine National Flag, created by Manuel Belgrano, in 1872 on the cliffs of the Parana River.

The monument is located in that same spot. Part of the monument features an eternal flame, burning permanently to honour those who have died for Argentina.

The monument was built from marble and in a renaissance style and occupies a staggering 10,000 square meter area.

Argentina’s flag is so important to the country, and the history it represents, that the whole monument was designed to represent the motherland; as a ship sailing into eternity.

Also read:

Natural Landmarks in Argentina

8- Iguazu Falls

natural landmarks in argentina
Iguazu Falls straddles Argentina and Brazil and is an incredible natural landmark.

On the border of Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls is a spectacular natural landmark in Argentina.

Iguazu Falls is made up of 275 waterfalls and spans a width of 2.7 kilometres.

The tallest waterfall in the system is the Devil’s Throat and features a drop of 80 meters into a misty pool below.

The falls is nearly twice the size of Niagara Falls in the USA and Canada.

After becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, the falls became one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature in 2011.

In the immediate area supported by the falls are more than 2000 species of plants, 80 types of mammals and numerous species of birds.

Top tour: Iguazu Falls: 4×4 in the Jungle, Boat Ride and Argentinian Falls.

9- Salinas Grandes

argentina landmarks
Another natural landmark in Argentina is Salinas Grandes.

A spectacular natural landscape in Argentina is Salinas Grandes, a salt pan that sits 3350 m above sea level and was once a lake.

The salt pan is now a 525 square kilometre area with a thick crust of salt that is up to half a meter thick in some areas.

On particularly clear days, the contrast between the blue skies and the crisp, white of the salt pans make for spectacular photographs.

Top tour: Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca Full-Day Tour from Salta.

10- Perito Moreno Glacier

landmarks in argentina perito moreno glacier
Located in Los Glaciares National Park, the Perito Moreno Glacier is a stunning natural landmark of Argentina.

Towering above the waters of Los Glaciares National Park in Patagonia is the Perito Moreno Glacier.

The glacier was named after a 19th Century explorer.

Stretching for 19 miles, the glacier is one of the most incredible natural landmarks to visit in Argentina.

The glacier is part of an ice field in Argentina and Chile and is the third-largest freshwater reserve on Earth.

Views over the glacier from a safe distance come from numerous viewing platforms around Lake Argentino, allowing visitors to get close to the glacier.

Top tour: Perito Moreno Glacier Day Trip with Optional Boat Ride from El Calafate.

11- Valle de la Luna

landmarks in argentina
Of the many landmarks in Argentina, Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, is one you should not miss.

Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, is in the Provincial Park in San Juan Province.

The park is a stunning natural landmark, particularly as the sun sets.

The park is often referred to as the place “where the moon sets”, and given its barren and rocky landscape, it certainly does project an otherworldly feel.

Numerous fossils of dinosaurs have been found within the valley, and replicas are on display at a small museum at the gates to the park.

It is possible to camp within the park to immerse yourself in its awe and beauty.

More Landmarks in Asia:

12- Peninsula Valdes

Another of Patagonia’s spectacular natural landmarks is Peninsula Valdes, a significant location for the conservation of marine mammals.

The peninsula is home to a breeding population of the southern right whale, an endangered species, elephant seals and southern sea lions.

A vast stretch of land and sea, the Peninsula Valdes covers approximately 360,000 hectares of land, stretching 100 kilometres into the South Atlantic Ocean.

The area became a formal conservation area in the 1960s. Following this, the southern right whales who live within its waters were declared a natural monument by the National Congress of Argentina in 1985, which protects them from commercial whaling on an international level.

Top tour: The Best of Peninsula Valdes in one day.

13- Loma del Pterodaustro

Lomo del Pterodaustro is a fossil site from the early Cretaceous period. Within the site are numerous fossilised remains in the laminated claystones.

From the site, palaeontologists have uncovered fossilised plants, fish, invertebrates from various animals, and dinosaurs.

One of the most significant finds in the area is a fossilised pterosaur egg with the embryo still inside.

Alongside this incredible find, hundreds of hatchlings and parts of fossilised adult pterosaurs have also been uncovered.

14- Monte de los Ombues

Monte de los Ombues is a natural phenomenon.

The ombu tree typically grows in solitude in the Pampean plain.

On Monte de los Ombues, the ombu tree grows in harmony in clusters, covering the landscape.

The trees are found on Matanza hill, the site of one of the last and bloodiest battles as the Spanish tried to eradicate the natives from the land.

It is believed that for every native who died during this battle, his relatives planted an ombu tree in their memory.

15- Quebrada de Cafayate

argentina landmark
Quebrada de Cafayate is an Argentine landmark that is simply breathtaking.

Another of Argentina’s otherworldly landscapes is Quebrada de Cafayate, a sandstone landscape filled with multiple colours and unusual rock formations.

The canyon has high cliff faces, lone towers and a spectacular driving road.

Driving from Salta to Cafayate takes in some of the most spectacular rock formations, including one resembling a train and a towering obelisk.

The sandstone here varies in colour from emerald greens to the deepest of reds. Visiting during the afternoon gives a spectacular hue to the landscape as the sun sets.

Top tour: Full-Day Tour Cafayate Calchaqui Valleys with Wine.

For more amazing European Landmarks, read:

Historical Landmarks in Argentina

16- Pucara de la Alumbrera

Pucara de la Alumbrera is an ancient fort built from rocks and stones from eruptions of the Alumbrera and Antofagasta volcanoes surrounding it.

It is believed that the peoples who built the structure were pre-Inca, and it was only modified into a fort when the Inca arrived and took over.

Despite its age, several sections of the wall remain.

The structure is shaped like a horseshoe and would have surrounded homes, religious buildings and a civic centre.

Other similar fortresses have been found in the immediate area surrounding Pucara de la Alumbrera, leading archaeologists to believe they were all part of a wider fortification of the city.

17- Cueva de las Manos

famous landmark in argentina
La Cueva de las Manos, or Cave of Hands is a lesser-known historical landmark in Argentina.

An incredible example of ancient cave paintings and cave art, La Cueva de las Manos, or Cave of Hands is a must-visit historical landmark in Argentina.

The cave is in the valley of the Pinturas River in Patagonia and is very remote in its location.

Within the cave, however, for those brave enough to make the journey, are some of the earliest forms of cave art dating back approximately 10,000 years.

The cave gets its name from hundreds of stencilled hands layered over the walls in bright colours.

Most of the handprints are from left hands and have been sprayed using bone-pipes with purple iron oxide, kaolin white or black manganese oxide.

18- San Ignacio Mini

Hidden in the depths of the Argentine rainforest are the ruins of San Ignacio Mini.

The ruins were once part of a 17th-century Jesuit mission, whose aim was to convert the native population to Christianity.

The mission was built in 1666 and reflects a typical Spanish Baroque style, although unusually features some indigenous carvings and detailing.

The mission, whilst its core aim was to convert the natives, aimed to preserve as much local culture and language as possible.

It even acted as a shelter to protect natives from localised wars and slave traders.

19- Casa Curutchet

Pioneer of modern architecture, Le Corbusier, was commissioned to build a small house for an Argentinian surgeon.

Unusually, due to regulations in Argentina, Le Corbusier was considered non-registered architect, and so had to supervise the building and design of this incredible house from Paris, whilst instructing local architects through letters and telegrams.

The building is unusual in its shape, as it is sandwiched at an angle between two other buildings.

Due to clever design, the space was well used and features include a roof terrace, ribbon windows to allow for maximum light, and raising the entire building on columns allowed for more light and air to fill the home.

The house was declared a National Monument in 1987 and is now open to the public.

20- Palacio de Aguas Corrientes

The Palacio de Aguas Corrientes or Water Company Palace came into existence in 1894 following several outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and yellow fever in Buenos Aires.

The palace was designed by British engineer John Bateman, whose aim was to create a water purification plant to ensure that the cities residents had access to clean water.

Designed to be grand in appearance, and in the style of many pumping stations in Britain, the building façade is completed in 170,000 glazed tiles.

The first floor of the building is dedicated to the Museo del Agua y de la Historia Sanitaria and is filled with stunning ornate tile designs, beautiful faucets and old toilets.

Argentina Landmarks
Argentina Landmarks

Plan Your Trip

best car rental

Rent A Car – Find the best car rental rates at Discover Cars. They compare car hire companies to provide you with the best deal right now.


Find A Hotel – If you’re curious about this article and are looking for somewhere to stay, take a look at these amazing hotels.

Previous articleA Guide To Hiking In The Yukon
Next articleWhat To Eat In Macau – Historic Centre
Sarah Holmes
Sarah Holmes is a travel and fashion writer living in the heart of England. From family adventures in numerous parts of the UK and Europe to exploring cities as an adult, Sarah has a wide knowledge of the best areas, sights and local tips that the UK and the neighbouring continent can offer. Sarah grew up in the North East of England, with incredible sights and landmarks only a short drive away. Her favourite places to visit include Seaham Beach, the Lake District and Alnwick Castle. Sarah has written for a range of fashion and travel blogs and print publications.