Argentina's 12 UNESCO Sites: Iguazú, Los Glaciares & More
- Chris
- Nov 11
- 3 min read
Argentina protects 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites scattered from subtropical forests to Patagonian ice fields. DuckAbroad Travel Passport is starting with two of the country's most spectacular parks: Iguazú and Los Glaciares. Collect virtual stickers when you visit these natural wonders, with more UNESCO sites coming soon.
Here's what makes each site worth visiting and collecting.
Iguazú National Park: Waterfalls at the Brazil border
Location: Misiones Province, northeastern Argentina
What makes it UNESCO-worthy:
The Iguazú Falls form the largest waterfall system in the world with 275 individual falls spread across 2.7 kilometers.
What to see: Devil's Throat sits at the center where 14 waterfalls merge into a U-shaped chasm. Walkways put you meters from the edge. The Upper Circuit offers top-down views while the Lower Circuit goes to the base of major falls. Boat tours take you directly under the cascades.
The park protects 67,620 hectares of Atlantic Forest with jaguars, tapirs, giant anteaters, and over 400 bird species.
Check in: Use DuckAbroad at the park entrance to collect your Iguazú sticker.
Los Glaciares National Park: Ice fields and granite peaks
Location: Santa Cruz Province, southern Patagonia
What makes it UNESCO-worthy:
The park contains one of the world's largest ice caps outside Antarctica and Greenland, plus some of South America's most dramatic mountain scenery.
What to see: The Perito Moreno Glacier is famous for dramatic ice calving events where building-sized chunks break off the 60-meter ice wall. Walkways offer eye-level views of this natural spectacle. Ice breaks off throughout the day with thunderous cracks.
The northern section around El Chaltén provides hiking access to Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, two iconic granite spires popular with climbers and photographers.
Check in: Collect your Los Glaciares sticker at the glacier viewpoints or El Chaltén trails.
Península Valdés: Marine mammal sanctuary
Location: Chubut Province, Atlantic Patagonia
What makes it UNESCO-worthy:
One of the world's most important breeding grounds for southern right whales and home to significant marine mammal populations.
What to see: Southern right whales visit from June to December to mate and give birth in protected bays. Puerto Pirámides offers boat tours for close encounters.
The peninsula hosts the world's largest southern elephant seal breeding colony at Punta Norte. Orcas here practice intentional beaching to catch seal pups. Magellanic penguins nest at Punta Tombo (nearby).
Península Valdés offers unmatched marine mammal viewing opportunities year-round.
Cueva de las Manos: Ancient rock art
Location: Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia (near Perito Moreno town)
What makes it UNESCO-worthy:
Cave paintings and handprints dating from 9,300 to 1,300 years ago, some of the oldest and best-preserved rock art in South America.
What to see: Thousands of negative handprints in red, white, black, and ochre pigments cover the canyon walls. Paintings depict guanacos, rheas, felines, and hunting scenes showing sophisticated movement and detail.
The remote canyon location protected the art from weathering, keeping colors vivid. A 3-kilometer trail accesses the main cave sites.
Cueva de las Manos represents one of South America's oldest and most significant rock art sites.
Quebrada de Humahuaca: Colorful mountains and culture
Location: Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina
What makes it UNESCO-worthy:
A 155-kilometer valley that served as a trade and cultural corridor for 10,000 years, combining dramatic geology with indigenous and colonial heritage.
What to see: The Hill of Seven Colors behind Purmamarca displays distinct mineral bands in rust, yellow, green, and purple. Pre-Columbian fortresses like Pucará de Tilcara occupy strategic hilltops. Colonial churches in Humahuaca, Tilcara, and Uquía preserve 17th and 18th-century religious art.
The valley hosts indigenous markets, traditional festivals, and archaeological sites showing continuous occupation from hunter-gatherers to Inca expansion to Spanish colonization.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca valley showcases 10,000 years of continuous cultural history.
More UNESCO sites to collect
Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba: Five 17th and 18th-century Jesuit complexes including the oldest university in Argentina.
Jesuit Missions of the Guaraníes: Ruins of San Ignacio Miní and other mission settlements built among indigenous Guaraní communities.
Ischigualasto and Talampaya Parks: Connected desert parks with complete Triassic fossil records (early dinosaurs from 250 million years ago) and dramatic red rock formations.
Qhapaq Ñan: Argentina's section of the ancient Inca road system running through the northwest provinces.
Los Alerces National Park: Patagonian temperate forests with ancient larch trees over 2,600 years old, pristine lakes, and mountain scenery.
Casa Curutchet: Le Corbusier's only South American building, a modernist house in La Plata recognized for architectural significance.
ESMA Museum and Site of Memory: Former clandestine detention center in Buenos Aires, now a museum preserving memory of Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Track your Argentina UNESCO journey
Los Glaciares and Iguazú National Parks are now available in DuckAbroad Travel Passport. Check in at either park to collect your virtual sticker and start building your Argentina UNESCO collection. More sites coming soon.
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