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Beef is everywhere in Buenos Aires, but there are a few parrillas in town that stand above the rest for quality. Within that category, La Cabrera offers a unique experience. Yes, the focus is on the meat, but the sides almost steal the show—surprising vegetable dishes accompany each entrée, and in sharable portions. It’s typically packed with locals and tourists alike, so expect long waits any night of the week. That said, for those who can live with dinner earlier than Argentina’s customary 9 p.m. or later, La Cabrera offers an early seating they call “happy hour” that’s wait-free and includes a 40 percent discount on all menu items.

Cavas Wine Lodge is the quintessential romantic retreat. Located on a secluded vineyard in the heart of Mendoza’s wine country, the peaceful property offers 17 very private villas, which appear to have grown organically amid the 55-acre working vineyard. The boutique hotel is named after its 3,000-bottle wine cellar, where the in-house sommelier hosts complimentary wine tastings each evening. There’s also a tranquil spa, delicious restaurant and, during the February through April harvest, an array of exciting activities at the lodge.

The hotel’s dynamic husband-and-wife owners, Cecilia Diaz Chuit and Martin Rigal, personally attend to guests with a warmth that permeates the entire experience. Designed for romantic getaways, each villa has a secluded sun deck with a panoramic view of the snowcapped Andes Mountains, plus a wood-burning fireplace and a private plunge pool.

When it opened in 2010 following an extensive three-year renovation, the Algodon, set in a 1912 French neoclassical townhouse surrounded by the posh Belle Epoque mansions of Buenos Aires’ Recoleta district, quickly became the city’s most exclusive boutique hotel. There’s little glitz or glamour, however; rather, the luxe setting is more refined. In place of the typical modern glass and steel additions, the Algodon showcases worn leather armchairs, silk curtains, and suede wall fabrics, not to mention bathrooms with Italian Calacatta marble and French limestone. The property isn’t stuck in the 20th century, though. There are Nespresso coffee machines, geeked-out sound systems, and winetasting sets. On the rooftop, teak decks and loungers sit alongside a small pool and petite counter with a cognac and bar selection that matches any in the nearby embassies. The ground-floor wine bar and charcuterie, reimagined in 2013, emphasizes seasonal Medocinean-style small plates paired with premium wines from the hotel’s own vineyard estate project outside Mendoza.

Puente del Inca is a natural bridge located northwest district of Las Cuevas, which has formed over thousands of years by the interaction of extreme temperatures—freezing avalanches and steaming thermal waters. Declared a natural monument, which has been visited by the likes of Charles Darwin, Puente del Inca has five nearby hot springs known for their healing properties. In 1925, the Hotel Puente del Inca was built, each room featuring its own spa; however, it was destroyed by landslides in the sixties and has remained abandoned ever since. Although you can’t bathe in the thermal pools anymore, the striking oxidized rock formations make for a great photo op.

Want to impress your travel friends and show off your passport prowess? Then don’t miss getting a passport stamp from the southern most city in the world - Ushuaia Argentina. Once you make it all the way down there to the tip of Argentina - but sure to stop in at the tourist office near the port and get your passport stamp that will say Fin del Mundo - End of the world. They have different sized and stamps to choose from - a fun way to remember this unique location.

Though it was built in 1968, Hotel de Mendoza reflects its 16th-century surroundings. Nestled in the heart of Guadalajara’s centro historico, the hotel features 104 simple yet elegant rooms, with hand-carved, colonial-style furnishings (some hand-painted by Jalisco artist Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo) and views of Teatro Degollado. Original arches salvaged from nearby Templo Santa María de Gracia’s former convent create architectural contrast in the courtyard pool area, a sunny space lined with terra cotta tiles and cascading greenery. Similarly atmospheric is the on-site restaurant, La Forja, where guests enjoy global cuisine in an elegant dining room decorated with cane-backed chairs and blue-and-white talavera pottery.

The historic leather goods company Rossi & Caruso is considered the Hermès of Argentina. Its Recoleta shop attracts horse enthusiasts and serious riders with its fine-quality saddles and horse-related gear. Non-equestrians visit for the buttery leather jackets and purses.

Gaucho is a BYOB gem in the Strip District, serving up steak, pulled chicken, and chorizo sandwiches from a wood fire grill in a friendly atmosphere. It’s a hole in the wall of a restaurant, without much seating—there’s a wrap-around counter that you can stand at while you eat in a pinch, as well as a small patio. A welcome addition to Pittsburgh’s ethnically and culinarily diverse Strip, and well worth a visit.

Teatro Colón is considered one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. Though the theater was, to the great disappointment of many travelers, closed for years while undergoing major renovations, the Colón has now reopened and is playing host to a busy schedule of opera, ballet, and symphony. If you can’t get tickets for this legendary theater, try another elegant venue like Teatro Nacional Cervantes or Teatro San Martin. Check out Ciudad Cultural Konex if you’d rather see an edgier contemporary performance of modern dance or theater, or head to La Trastienda to hear live music by some of Argentina’s best young artists.

A great view of Mt. Fitz Roy can done as a day hike from the hiking town of El Chalten in Argentina. The trail starts in the woods, passes over streams, and gives ever more amazing vistas as you climb. For the full experience, you can camp at the spot shown in this picture, and then continue from here to other base camps to try to summit. Be warned though that this mountain is considered more technical than Everest, and often only a single person successfully summits in a year (versus maybe 100 on Everest).

James Turrell is one of American’s most stunning artists and his work has found a home in the middle of nowhere in the province of Salta, Argentina. Bodega Colome crushes some of the finest torrontes and malbec wine, thanks to vintner Donald Hess, who happens to also be a celebrated art collector. He created an on-site museum dedicated to Turrell’s work that plays with your sense of space, with color and light. The museum can be visited by appointment only and is worth the insane dirt road you must travel three hours from Cafayete to get there. You’ll deserve the glass of vino tinto when you arrive, then be prepared for some of the most mind-bending art you’ll ever experience.

Founded in 1982 by local poet Rubén Derlis, this café once served as a meeting place for writers, artists, and left-leaning thinkers anxious to speak freely after years of fear and oppression under Argentina’s late-’70s military dictatorships. Order the picada, a charcuterie and cheese sampler; lubricate with a traditional local-favorite drink like a Fernet-and-Coke or a Cynar, the tangy artichoke liqueur mixed with pomelo, a sour, grapefruit-flavored soda. Wood paneling and exposed brick, walls covered in photographs, and shelves packed with antique objets make La Poesía an inviting space to linger over a book from the lending library or listen to the live tango music played on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Misia creator Leonor Espinosa is Colombia’s most revolutionary chef: While the world believed that Colombian food was inferior to Peru’s ceviche, Argentina’s mixed grill, and Mexico’s thousand chiles, she traveled to Colombia’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts, to its mountains and plains, in search of traditional recipes which she now prepares with a refined, personal touch. The outcome can be considered a fusion of tastes from markets, piqueteadero (popular take-out joints), and snack bars known as refresquerías. At Misia, in Bogotá’s Zona G, Espinosa serves a classic ceviche she learned from the women of the Pacific coast, as well as carimañolas, cassava-meal rolls stuffed with meat and boiled eggs, which are Cartagena’s answer to the Proust’s madeleine. Misia is a brilliant celebration of the nation’s wide panorama of flavors.

New York has Ellis Island; Buenos Aires has the Hotel de Inmigrantes. The huge waterfront building, located near the old port docks in what’s today known as Puerto Madero, served as the temporary home for waves of European immigrants arriving to Argentina between 1911-53. Today, the Hotel de Inmigrantes is an intriguing (and free) museum that few tourists see: come to see photos and memorabilia representing the many immigrant groups who came through the port of Buenos Aires, plus colorful advertisements for trans-Atlantic passages and model boats.

Certain things in life are simply impossible to adequately capture in a mere photograph. Iguazú Falls is definitely one of them, and above is my best effort to convey the epic expanse of ‘The Devil’s Throat.’ Situated on the border of Brazil and Argentina, the falls are the watery dividing line between the two countries at this exact point. I accessed the falls from the Argentinian side, via Iguazú National Park and took a mini train (the Rainforest Ecological Train, to be exact), some trails, and more than a few catwalks to reach this particular vantage point. Unlike some falls in the US and Canada, in the southern hemisphere you can get dangerously close to the roaring waters of these grand spectacles. The sound is deafening, the spray is enticing, and the visuals are simply amazing. As I stood there, trying to take it all in, all I could do was feel my heart pounding as I stared into the mouth of the devil. Most depictions of Lucifer entail horns, a tail and copious amounts of fire meant to terrify all who are witness to his power. I can assure you, though made of mere cliffs and water, THIS devil could douse any other devil and never look back.