TAILOR-MADE LUXURY TRAVEL TO THE ARGENTINE PAMPAS
Beyond Buenos Aires, the Pampas stretch towards the horizon: a vast landscape of open grasslands, working estancias, small country towns and enormous skies.
This is Argentina’s great ranching country and the birthplace of gaucho culture. Horses and cattle have shaped life here for centuries, and there remains a strong rural tradition of horsemanship and generous hospitality. Its best estancias are still family-run, handed down through generations.
The pleasure of the Pampas is its simplicity. Ride out across open country with local gauchos, spend an afternoon getting involved in ranch work, then return for a traditional asado cooked over wood fire. Less than two hours from Buenos Aires, it offers a window onto rural Argentina that feels a very long way from the capital.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN THE PAMPAS
We favour working estancias over polished tourism experiences, where what you do depends on the real farm work being carried out that day.
You might join gauchos moving cattle, watch young horses being trained or cattle being branded. Polo is a fixture of country life, with many of Argentina’s leading players and breeders of polo ponies found here; beginners can take a lesson or two, while experienced players can train with specialist coaches or join the locals for a few chukkas.
In San Antonio de Areco, visit the workshops of plateros who still make the silver facones, spurs, buckles and mate gourds associated with gaucho culture. The town is also home to the Ricardo Güiraldes Gaucho Museum and historic pulperías. Come in November for the Fiesta de la Tradición, when gauchos gather for riding displays, folk music, dancing and traditional competitions.
For wildlife, head towards the wetlands and shallow lagoons of the Pampas, where you can spot rheas, southern screamers, lapwings, caracaras and burrowing owls. Capybaras and armadillos are also found across the region.
ELSEWHERE IN ARGENTINA
Explore more of our favourite regions in Argentina, from the thunderous waterfalls of Iguazú to the glaciers of Patagonia.
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