List of World Heritage Sites in Argentina

Cueva de las Manos

Iguazú National Park

Ischigualasto

Talampaya National Park

Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba

Los Glaciares National Park

Península Valdés

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Jesuit Missions

Location of World Heritage Sites within Argentina

Argentina accepted the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on 23 August 1978. As of 2012, eight properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List: four cultural sites and four natural sites. A further eight sites have been proposed for inscription and are on the tentative list.

World Heritage Sites

List of Heritage sites

The table lists information about each World Heritage Site:

Name: as listed by the World Heritage Committee

Region: of the Provinces of Argentina

UNESCO data: the site's reference number; the year the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List; the criteria it was listed under: criteria (i) through (vi) are cultural, while (vii) through (x) are natural.

Description: brief description of the site

Name	Image	Region	UNESCO data	Description
Los Glaciares		Santa Cruz Province, Argentina	0145 !145; 1981; (vii)(viii)	The Los Glaciares National Park is an area of exceptional natural beauty, with rugged, towering mountains and numerous glacial lakes, including Lake Argentino, which is 160 km long. At its farthest end, three glaciers meet to dump their effluvia into the milky grey glacial water, launching massive igloo icebergs into the lake with thunderous splashes.
Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor		Misiones Province, Argentina / Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil	0275 !275; 1983; (iv)	The ruins of São Miguel das Missões in Brazil, and those of San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa María la Mayor in Argentina, lie at the heart of a tropical forest. They are the impressive remains of five Jesuit missions, built in the land of the Guaranis during the 17th and 18th centuries. Each is characterized by a specific layout and a different state of conservation.
Iguazú National Park		Misiones Province, Argentina	0303 !303; 1984; (vii)(x)	The semicircular waterfall at the heart of this site is some 80 m high and 2,700 m in diameter and is situated on a basaltic line spanning the border between Argentina and Brazil. Made up of many cascades producing vast sprays of water, it is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The surrounding subtropical rainforest has over 2,000 species of vascular plants and is home to the typical wildlife of the region: tapirs, giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots, jaguars and caymans.
Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas		Santa Cruz Province, Argentina	0936 !936; 1999; (iii)	The Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, executed between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago. It takes its name (Cave of the Hands) from the stencilled outlines of human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of animals, such as guanacos (Lama guanicoe), still commonly found in the region, as well as hunting scenes. The people responsible for the paintings may have been the ancestors of the historic hunter-gatherer communities of Patagonia found by European settlers in the 19th century.
Península Valdés		Chubut Province, Argentina	0937 !937; 1999; (x)	Península Valdés in Patagonia is a site of global significance for the conservation of marine mammals. It is home to an important breeding population of the endangered southern right whale as well as important breeding populations of southern elephant seals and southern sea lions. The orcas in this area have developed a unique hunting strategy to adapt to local coastal conditions.
Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks		San Juan Province and La Rioja Province, Argentina	0966 !966; 2000; (viii)	These two contiguous parks, extending over 275,300 ha in the desert region on the western border of the Sierras Pampeanas of central Argentina, contain the most complete continental fossil record known from the Triassic Period (245-208 million years ago). Six geological formations in the parks contain fossils of a wide range of ancestors of mammals, dinosaurs and plants revealing the evolution of vertebrates and the nature of palaeo-environments in the Triassic Period.
Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba		Córdoba Province, Argentina	0995 !995; 2000; (ii)(iv)	The Jesuit Block in Córdoba, heart of the former Jesuit Province of Paraguay, contains the core buildings of the Jesuit system: the university, the church and residence of the Society of Jesus, and the college. Along with the five estancias, or farming estates, they contain religious and secular buildings, which illustrate the unique religious, social, and economic experiment carried out in the world for a period of over 150 years in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Quebrada de Humahuaca		Jujuy Province, Argentina	1116 !1116; 2003; (ii)(iv)(v)	Quebrada de Humahuaca follows the line of a major cultural route, the Camino Inca, along the spectacular valley of the Rio Grande, from its source in the cold high desert plateau of the High Andean lands to its confluence with the Rio Leone some 150 km to the south. The valley shows substantial evidence of its use as a major trade route over the past 10,000 years. It features visible traces of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities, of the Inca Empire (15th to 16th centuries) and of the fight for independence in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Intangible cultural heritage

Name	Image	Region	UNESCO data	Description
Tango		Rio de la Plata Basin, Argentina and Uruguay	Intangible Heritage listed in 2009	The Argentine and Uruguayan tradition of the Tango, now familiar around the world, was developed by the urban lower classes in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the Rio de la Plata basin. Among this mix of European immigrants to the region, descendents of African slaves and the natives of the region known as criollos, a wide range of customs, beliefs and rituals were merged and transformed into a distinctive cultural identity. As one of the most recognizable embodiments of that identity, the music, dance and poetry of tango both embodies and encourages diversity and cultural dialogue. It is practised in the traditional dance halls of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, spreading the spirit of its community across the globe even as it adapts to new environments and changing times. That community today includes musicians, professional and amateur dancers, choreographers, composers, songwriters, teachers of the art and the national living treasures who embody the culture of tango. Tango is also incorporated into celebrations of national heritage in Argentina and Uruguay, reflecting the widespread embrace of this popular urban music.

Tentative List

The Tentative List consists of sites previously nominated, but not yet inscribed.

Name	Image	Region	UNESCO data	Description
City of La Plata, Foundational Urban Area		Buenos Aires Province, Argentina	1085 !1085; Submission: 1998; (ii)(iv)(vi)	The Foundational Urban Area of the City of La Plata was entirely designed in 1882 as a new city, planned as a whole to serve as site of the new capital of the Province of Buenos Aires. This area covers a surface of 2,265 hectares, made up of 40 blocks by 40 blocks, and delimited by a complete set of ring roads. The general urban model is enriched by the incorporation - planned at the same time of the foundation - of a system of palaces and representative, political, cultural, educational, religious and of social concern buildings. All these give a higher aesthetical and architectonic hierarchy to the urban quality of the city.
Valle Calchaquí		Catamarca Province, Salta Province and Tucumán Province, Argentina	1582 !1582; Submission: 2001; (ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)	The Valle Calchaqui forms a 250 km narrow north-south strip along the Calchaqui river, between the structural units of La Puna and the Oriental Mountain Range. A bunch of secondary valleys and gorges, both longitudinal and transversal, build up the tributary system of the Calchaqui river. Las Conchas gorge is, in turn, a deep fluvial valley of 75 km long, that spreads from Alemania town to the joint of Calchaqui and Santa Matia rivers.
Las Parinas		Catamarca Province, Argentina	1584 !1584; Submission: 2001; (viii)(ix)(x)	This region belongs to the northern extreme of the Geological Province Cordillera Frontal and to the southern extreme of the Geological Province Puna. Both gather a few kilometers north of San Francisco Pass in the "Sierra de Buenaventura". The Puna shows depressions with upgoing steps to the west, separated by southward ranges which reach the 5,900 m in the East up to 6,400 m in the West. The natural heritage shows a series of mountain landscapes of particular beauty, predominantly arid, and is highlighted by the volcanoes, the high plateaux, the extensive salt flats, scarce flora, and the wild fauna, narrow rivers and wetlands which gather regional species of birds.
City of Buenos Aires: Cultural Landscape		Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina	2022 !2022; Submission: 2005; (ii)(iv)(vi)(vii)	The area of the city called "Cultural Landscape" refers to the axis of the river and the urbanization process that historically has signed. It also includes the elements of architectural and urban heritage that have been confined to the laws of Historic Protection Areas, the National Historic Monuments and the buildings protected by the Government of the City. It also includes the centers of social and cultural activity that act as fluxes of integration between the natural and cultural environments. Finally, it incorporates many of the settlements of "mythical", symbolic significance that make Buenos Aires a universal legend built by the literature, travelers, chroniclers (Example: the words of popular tangos). Therefore, "it represents the entire cultural landscape that its shown."
Sierra de las Quijadas National Park		San Luis Province, Argentina	2021 !2021; Submission: 2005; (vii)(viii)(ix)	The Sierra de las Quijadas National Park undoubtedly constitutes a "sanctuary" of the flora and fauna of the Province of San Luis and of the west-central part of Argentina, since its environment constitutes a transition strip or "ecotone" between the biogeographical provinces of Chaco and Monte. The sedimentary outcrops in Sierra de las Quijadas are part of a chain of geological units the detailed study of which has enabled to complement part of the geohistorical and paleobiological information of the Upper Mesozoic in Argentina, which extends over 120 million years (the entire Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods)
Casa Curutchet		Buenos Aires Province, Argentina	5140 !5140; Submission: 2007; (i)(ii)(iv)	Casa Curutchet is the only house and one of the two buildings in the Americas constructed according to a project by Le Corbusier, one of the leading architects of the Modern Movement in architecture. The project was commissioned in 1948 by Dr. Pedro Curutchet, an Argentine surgeon who asked the architect to locate in a quite small urban plot both family house and working area taking advantage of the possibility of enjoying sunning and the views to a nearby square and park. Practically all Le Corbusier's architectural principles were employed, such as the independent structure (pilotis), the free plan, the free façade, the dematerialization of facades trough glass panels, the brise-soleil and the garden terrace. In this sense, the building is a complete example of Le Corbusier architecture, in this case adapted to a tiny urban plot and to a determined urban location.
Sistema Vial Andino/Qhapaq Ñan		Catamarca Province, Jujuy Province, La Rioja Province, Mendoza Province, Salta Province and San Juan Province, Argentina	5546 !5546; Submission: 2010; (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)	The Qhapaq Ñan (English: Great Inca Road, or Main Andean Road, and meaning "the beautiful road") constituted the principal north-south highway of the Inca Empire traveling 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) along the spine of the Andes. The Qhapaq Ñan unified this immense and heterogeneous empire through a well-organized political system of power. It allowed the Inca to control his Empire and to send troops as needed from the capital, Cusco. The most important Inca road was the Camino Real (Royal Road), as it is known in Spanish, with a length of 5,200 kilometres (3,200 mi). It began in Quito, Ecuador, passed through Cusco, and ended in what is now Tucumán, Argentina. The Camino Real traversed the mountain ranges of the Andes, with peak altitudes of more than 5,000 m (16,000 ft). El Camino de la Costa, the coastal trail, with a length of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi), ran parallel to the sea and was linked with the Camino Real by many smaller routes.
Campos Volcánicos Llancanelo y Payun Matru, Distrito Payunia		Mendoza Province, Argentina	5615 !5615; Submission: 2011; (vii)(viii)	The proposed site includes two protected areas: the Provincial Reserves Llancanelo Lake and Payunia. The first has 90,000 ha. of protected reserve, of which 65,000 ha., have been declared a Ramsar site in 1996. It is one of the few areas in the country with a participatory management plan, developed jointly with the residents, and is unique in the world with volumetric limits. The Payunia Reserve covers 192.000 ha and is reserve since 1982, in the future will be expanded to 450,000 ha using available public land and other private lands with owners arrangement. In this part the volcanic territory reaches its peak focusing in its greater variety of volcanic landforms and creating a stunning landscape.

See also

• Table of World Heritage Sites by country
• List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas

External links

• Argentina - UNESCO World Heritage Convention