Asado is a feast of grilled meats and Argentina’s national dish. Sausages, pork, ribs, beef, and sweetbreads all make it to the grill, and in some parts of the country, roasting an entire pig or lamb is not uncommon. Provelata is not your average grilled cheese, consisting of strongly-flavored slices of cheese, topped with herbs and grilled enough to make it crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle, it is then drizzled with olive oil or accompanied by chimichurri (a tangy green salsa). Thick steaks and the leaner matambre arrollado (a thin-cut steak, stuffed with vegetables, eggs and olives) are highly popular. Another well-liked food is empanadas – a deep-fried pasty or pastry parcel that can have either savory or sweet fillings, such as beef, chicken, stew, goat’s meat, vegetables, sweet potato paste, quince jam or raisins. Dulche de leche can be a filling used in empanadas. Made from condensed milk, this sweet, sticky caramel is used in cookies, drizzled over ice-cream, and added to many sweet dishes. Alforjores are like shortbread biscuits, where two biscuits are held together by a layer of jam, dulche de leche, or mousse, and make the perfect treat for those with a sweet tooth.

Yerba mate is a hot herbal drink, infused with caffeine and much like tea. It can be found everywhere you go and though not to everyone’s tastes, owing to its bitterness, it can be sweetened with sugar or lifted by adding orange peel. Drinking coffee is a social event, where hours can be spent in good company, sipping on coffee all afternoon. Flavored water and sweet carbonated drinks are widely drunk too. Microbreweries are becoming increasingly more popular, with Antares, Bodega Cervecera, and Buena Birra Social Club among the names to look out for. Two liquors deserving of your attention are Fernet, with a strong herbal and liquorice flavor, and Gancia which is lemon-flavored. Wine is big in Argentina – understandably so when the country ranks as the fifth biggest wine producer in the world. Wines to try while vacationing in Argentina are Malbec, Bonarda and Torrontés. 

Striking mountain ranges, salt plains, wetlands, bustling cityscapes, sandy beaches, glaciers, valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and rainforest all contribute to Argentina’s noteworthy biodiversity. Common types of tree growing in Argentinian forests are the pine, cedar, carob, cypress and eucalyptus.  Alpacas, llamas, boars, anteaters, jaguars, cougars, monkeys, bears, deer, sloths and chinchillas have all made their home in this country. In the South Atlantic Ocean, whales, dolphins, sea lions, sharks, barracudas, pikes and catfish are among the aquatic life. Feathered friends residing in Argentina include owls, hummingbirds, flamingos, condors, penguins, eagles, pelicans and herons. As for reptiles, frogs, lizards, rattlesnakes and other snake varieties can all live in Argentina too.