Traveler Magazine Andrew Harper Fall 2019 | Page 18

18
ROUTE
40
Running parallel to the Andes Mountains,
Route 40 is not only the longest road in
Argentina, but also one of the longest roads in
the world. Spanning a gargantuan distance of
over 3,000 miles, traveling from top to bottom
will see you crossing paths with 20 national
parks, 18 major rivers and 27 passes through
the Andes mountain range—solidifying its
claim to road-trip royalty.
With such a collection of experiences
scattered along this stretch of road, the key
to successfully crossing it is to have a plan,
including a to-do list of the must-visits. Cueva
de las Manos hosts cave paintings dating
back 13,000 years, creating a surreal sight
for those with a penchant for art history.
San Carlos de Bariloche is a curious town,
boasting architecture and chocolate lifted
straight from the Swiss mountains and
plopped down atop the Andes. Los Glaciares
National Park is the largest national park
in the country, featuring everything from
subpolar forest, Patagonian steppe and the
namesake ice cap feeding 47 large glaciers.
Through and through, no matter where on the
road trip you’re at, no matter where you are
on the road trip, you won’t be left wanting for
world-class hiking possibilities, or ever too far
from an Andrew Harper Travel-recommended
resort—Route 40 runs through almost half of
Argentina’s provinces, after all.
PHOTOS
F I T Z R O Y I N PATA G O N I A ,
ARGENTINA
FALL | 2019
C O N TACT YO U R T R AV E L A DV I S O R TO DAY