Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Go gaucho in
San Antonio de Areco
(
Click here
), the Pampas' prettiest town
Sample some country life - and deli meats and cheese - in
Tandil
(
Click here
)
Go windsurfing, kiteboarding or cycling in the beach resort of
Pinamar
(
Click
Explore the lagoon, spot flamingos or just chill out in
Mar Chiquita
(
Click here
)
Join the masses on their holy pilgrimage to
Luján
(
Click here
)
NORTHERN PAMPAS
The pampas is both a general term for a large geographic region of fertile plains and the
name of the province that lies to the west of Buenos Aires. The pampas grasslands roll
southwards from the Río de la Plata to the banks of the Río Negro, stretching west to-
wards the Andes and all the way up to the southern parts of Córdoba and Santa Fe
provinces, taking in the entire Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces.
The rich soil and lush natural grasses of the northern pampas make it Argentina's best
cattle-raising country. The region yields plentiful hides, beef, wool and wheat for global
markets, stamping Argentina on the world's economic map.
From the mid-19th century the province of Buenos Aires was the undisputed political
and economic center of the country. When the city of Buenos Aires became Argentina's
capital, the province submitted to national authority but didn't lose its influence. By the
1880s, after a brief but contentious civil war, the province responded by creating its own
provincial capital in the model city of La Plata.
HOME, HOME ON THE...FEEDLOT?
Juicy, grass-fed steaks have always been one of Argentina's biggest tourist attrac-
tions. But these days, this type of beef has nearly disappeared. Stuffing cattle into
pens and feeding them grain is becoming a standard way of raising cattle for mar-
ket. Today, over 80% of Argentina's cows slaughtered each year experience their
last few months in a feedlot.
Factory-farmed meat is a fairly recent phenomenon in Argentina. The country's
agriculturally rich and vast pampas plains were ideal grounds for raising free-range
beef, and up until 2001 around 90% of cattle ate only their natural food: grass. But
in the last decade several developments have changed this. The price of agricultur-
al crops such as soybeans, of which Argentina is one of the world's top producers,
