Travel to Cordoba

characterful equestrian estancias

Set in northcentral Argentina, around 700 km northwest from Buenos Aires, Cordoba is the country’s second largest city, with a population of just under three million people.

The city was established by the Spanish in 1573, on territory previously occupied by the Comechingone people. In 1599 the first Jesuit missionaries arrived into the area and started to establish a powerful network of churches and rural estancias.

The city is flanked by the substantial ridge of the Sierras de Córdoba to the southwest and the more gentle Sierras Chicas to the northwest, whilst to the east lie the vast agricultural flatlands of the pampas.

The region is famous for its beef production and the associated gaucho farming culture.

The modern city is pleasant enough, with some interesting historic buildings and attractive modern urban culture, with a good range of museums, art galleries, trendy bars and gourmet restaurants.

There’s also the Museo de Che Guevara, located in the pretty little town of Alta Gracia, 40km to the southwest of the city, the place of birth of the great revolutionary leader.

The Cordoba area is not somewhere the attracts a great many overseas tourists, but that may be all the more reason to include it in your trip.

The main reason to visit is because the outlying areas happen to be home to a couple of the best rural estancias in the country, which aim to provide the quintessential gaucho experience for which Argentina is so renowned.

The best time to visit Cordoba is generally considered to be during the Oct-Apr warm dry summer season. However the climate is so mild and relentlessly sunny that even the winter remains appealing.

There are two clearly defined seasons …

During the Oct-Apr summer the conditions are usually warm and dry, with lots of sunshine. Average daytime temperatures usually reach around 27C/80F, with nighttime lows holding up around 16C/61F. Rainfall is down around 25mm (1”) per month. Sunshine is up around 8 hours per day (around 60% of daylight hours).

During the May-Sep winter the weather is usually cool and dry, but still with plenty of sunshine. Average daytime temperatures usually manage to reach around 18C/64F, with nighttime lows dropping to around 5C/41F. Rainfall is even lower, at around 12mm (0.5”) per month. Sunshine holds up around around 5 hours per day (around 50% of daylight hours).

Getting there

Cordoba is surprisingly well connected by air to cities across South America, including Buenos Aires, Santiago in Chile, Lima in Peru and Sao Paulo in Brazil.
So if you are keen to include one of these estancias into your trip, then Cordoba can serve as a hub to facilitate the combination of multiple countries into the same trip.

As well as the regular flight connections with Buenos Aires, Cordoba usually has direct connections with Mendoza and Bariloche to the south, as well as Salta and Iguazú Falls to the north.

Where to stay

There are two standout lodges in the Cordoba area …
If you are into horseback riding, then Estancia Los Potreros is one of the most intimate and subtly polished equestrian properties in South America.

If you are looking for something more conventionally upmarket, then Estancia Colibri is a very polished rural property, also with horseback riding.

centrally located between Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Salta and Mendoza