12 Incredible UNESCO Sites in Argentina You Should Visit

From spectacular glaciers and dense rainforests to ancient rock art, historic Jesuit missions, and remarkable examples of modern architecture, Argentina is home to 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.…

Glacier in one of the UNESCO sites in Argentina

Modernist white facade of Casa Curutchet with a tree in its courtyard in La Plata

Argentina’s World Heritage Sites: Nature, Culture & History

From spectacular glaciers and dense rainforests to ancient rock art, historic Jesuit missions, and remarkable examples of modern architecture, Argentina is home to 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Together, these UNESCO Sites in Argentina showcase the country’s extraordinary natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and history across a wide range of regions. The list includes five natural and seven cultural heritage sites, from the iconic landscapes of Los Glaciares National Park and Iguazú National Park to the ancient Cueva de las Manos, the historic Quebrada de Humahuaca, and the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Buenos Aires. Whether you are drawn to Patagonia’s wilderness, Argentina’s Indigenous and colonial heritage, or its architectural and cultural history, these UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Argentina offer fascinating ways to discover the country beyond its most famous destinations.

Ex-ESMA (Museum and Site of Memory) — Buenos Aires

Located in Buenos Aires, the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Centre of Detention, Torture and Extermination is a cultural World Heritage Site dedicated to preserving the history and memory of the former clandestine detention centre that operated within the Navy School of Mechanics during Argentina's 1976–1983 civil-military dictatorship. Today, the site serves as a museum and place of memory, documenting the state terrorism that took place there. UNESCO inscribed the property on the World Heritage List in 2023, making it the most recent of the UNESCO Sites in Argentina.

Obra Arquitectónica de Le Corbusier (The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier) — Buenos Aires

Argentina's contribution to The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier is the Curutchet House in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. It forms part of a transnational cultural World Heritage Site comprising 17 buildings across seven countries, selected to demonstrate the international influence of Le Corbusier and the development of Modern Movement architecture. Designed as a house and medical practice, the Curutchet House is an important example of his architectural ideas in South America. The property was inscribed in 2016.

Manzana Jesuítica y Estancias (Jesuit Block and Estancias) — Córdoba

Located in Córdoba Province, the Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba is a cultural World Heritage Site comprising the Jesuit Block in the city of Córdoba and five historic estancias: Alta Gracia, Jesús María, Santa Catalina, Caroya, and La Candelaria. Together, these religious, educational, and agricultural complexes illustrate the social and economic system established by the Society of Jesus in South America during the 17th and 18th centuries. The property was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.

Parque Nacional Iguazú (Iguazú National Park) — Misiones

Located in Misiones Province in northeastern Argentina, Iguazú National Park is a natural World Heritage Site celebrated for the spectacular Iguazú Falls and the surrounding subtropical rainforest. The falls stretch for almost three kilometres along the Iguazú River and form part of a larger ecosystem shared with Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park. With its exceptional waterfalls, rich biodiversity, and dense rainforest, Iguazú is one of the most remarkable UNESCO Sites in Argentina. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984.

Building of the ESMA memory site with portraits of the disappeared on its glass facade

Colonial stone wall and bell tower of a church in the Jesuit Block of Córdoba

Iguazú Falls with visitors on a walkway over the river surrounded by jungle

Misiones Jesuíticas de los Guaraníes (Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis) — Misiones

The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis are a transnational cultural World Heritage Site shared by Argentina and Brazil. In Argentina, the property includes the historic mission ruins of San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and Santa María la Mayor, located in Misiones Province. Built in the 17th and 18th centuries among Guarani communities, these missions reflect a distinctive combination of European and Indigenous cultural traditions. The site was inscribed in 1983, with an extension to include the Brazilian component in 1984.

Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Gorge) — Jujuy

Stretching through Jujuy Province in northwestern Argentina, Quebrada de Humahuaca is a cultural World Heritage Site shaped by thousands of years of human movement and settlement. This spectacular Andean valley follows the course of the Río Grande and contains archaeological and architectural remains that reflect its role as an important cultural and communication corridor. As one of the most remarkable UNESCO Sites in Argentina, its long history and connection to the ancient Camino Inca led UNESCO to inscribe Quebrada de Humahuaca on the World Heritage List in 2003.

Qhapaq Ñan – Northwest and Cuyo

The Qhapaq Ñan – Andean Road System is a transnational cultural World Heritage Site shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In Argentina, its archaeological and historic components extend across Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, and Mendoza, forming part of the vast Inca road network that once connected communities, production centres, and ceremonial sites across the Andes. The network reached its greatest expansion during the 15th century and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

Parques Naturales Ischigualasto & Talampaya (Ischigualasto & Talampaya Natural Parks) — San Juan and La Rioja

Located in the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja, Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks are a natural World Heritage Site in Argentina, recognized for their exceptional geological and paleontological significance. Together, these adjoining protected areas preserve one of the world’s most complete fossil records from the Triassic Period, providing valuable evidence of the evolution of early vertebrates, including the ancestors of dinosaurs and mammals. With dramatic desert landscapes, towering red sandstone formations, and the famous Valley of the Moon, this extraordinary destination is an important part of Argentina’s natural heritage and one of the country’s remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Sites. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 2000.

Ruins of a stone Jesuit mission church with a bell tower on a green lawn

Dirt trail crossing green scrubland toward pale, multicolored mountains on the Qhapaq Ñan

Mushroom-shaped rock formation and red cliffs in Ischigualasto, San Juan

Península Valdés — Chubut

On the Atlantic coast of Chubut Province in Patagonia, Península Valdés is one of the most remarkable UNESCO Sites in Argentina and a natural World Heritage Site of outstanding importance for marine mammal conservation. Its sheltered gulfs provide breeding and calving grounds for Southern Right Whales, while the peninsula is also home to Southern Elephant Seals and Southern Sea Lions. The area is also known for the distinctive hunting behaviour of orcas along its coastline. Península Valdés was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Parque Nacional Los Alerces (Los Alerces National Park) — Chubut

Located in the Andes of northern Patagonia in Chubut Province, Los Alerces National Park is one of the most remarkable UNESCO Sites in Argentina and a natural World Heritage Site renowned for its glacial landscapes, clear glacial lakes, temperate forests, and ancient alerce trees. The park protects some of the last extensive areas of Patagonian forest in a largely pristine condition, including alerce specimens that can live for more than 3,600 years. Los Alerces National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017.

Parque Nacional Los Alerces (Los Glaciares National Park) — Santa Cruz

Located in Santa Cruz Province in southern Patagonia, Los Glaciares National Park is one of the most iconic UNESCO Sites in Argentina and a natural World Heritage Site known for its spectacular mountains, glacial lakes, and extensive ice fields. The park includes part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, which feeds numerous glaciers, including the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier. Recognized for its exceptional natural beauty and glacial and geological significance, Los Glaciares National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.

Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands), Río Pinturas — Santa Cruz

Located in Santa Cruz Province in Patagonia, Cueva de las Manos is a cultural World Heritage Site renowned for its extraordinary prehistoric rock art. The caves and rock shelters contain paintings dating from approximately 13,000 to 9,500 years ago, including the distinctive stencilled outlines of human hands, as well as depictions of guanacos and hunting scenes. This exceptional record of early hunter-gatherer communities earned the site a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Blue lake between forested mountains with snowy peaks in Los Alerces National Park

Ice front of the Perito Moreno glacier above turquoise water near El Calafate, with a snowy peak behind

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