Original subtitles

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Argentina is a wild ride,

from the continent's tallest mountain,

to ocean's gentle giants.

It's where people play on the wind,

trains chase history,

and kids chase glory.

In this episode, we fly around every corner

looking for something unique,

and we always find it.

Like high and dry,

wet and wild,

the Roof of the Americas,

and the bottom of the largest waterfall system

on the planet.

Here, dramatic wind-carved cliffs

share the stage

with thick, vibrant jungles.

Indigenous traditions endure,

trains teeter over deep gorges,

and adrenaline junkies ride the dunes.

If the landscape doesn't grab you,

the people will.

Argentina is simply unforgettable.

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♪ ♪

[dramatic percussive music]

♪ ♪

Why not start right at the top?

This is Mount Aconcagua,

known as the Roof of the Americas.

It is the unrivaled titan of the Andes Mountain range,

the highest peak in the entire Western Hemisphere.

Aconcagua is 22,831 feet tall.

Anyone who's ever laid eyes on it has a story about it.

More than 500 years ago,

Inca priests would climb as high as they could

to offer a human sacrifice to their gods.

In 1897, Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen

became the first known climber to summit.

Today, Aconcagua is a mountaineering magnet,

attracting climbers from around the world.

Scaling the mountain doesn't require rock climbing

or technical skills, but this is no gentle giant.

Bad weather and the high altitude

can be a deadly combination.

♪ ♪

Relatively sheltered at 14,000 feet,

Plaza de Mulas is one of the world's largest base camps.

But in early March, climbing season has ended.

The skeletons of domes and other shelters sit empty.

In eight months, they'll fill up again with climbers.

Because the air is so thin up here,

climbers often acclimate at base camp for several days

before pushing on to the summit.

♪ ♪

Aconcagua is the tallest,

but it's just one of hundreds of mountains

that form the spine of South America.

4,300 miles from north to south,

the Andes is the longest mountain range on the planet.

It shapes life in all seven countries it touches.

[adventurous music]

For Argentina, it forms a natural border

with Chile that is both storied and dangerous.

In 1817, Argentine General José de San Martín

led 5,200 men over the Andes

during the wars for independence from Spain.

Hundreds died along the way.

But the remaining troops caught the Spanish off guard,

leading to the liberation of Chile and Peru.

Today, tourists retrace part of the army's route

over a mountain pass.

They do it in perfect weather and on horseback.

Hopefully, the only threat to the riders is saddle sores.

[ominous droning music]

The Andes aren't just dangerous

for hikers and horses.

On October 13, 1972,

a plane carrying a rugby team was on a routine flight

over the Andes en route to Chile.

Due to pilot error, it crashed.

And today, part of the fuselage

still rests in the mountains.

A polished black stone commemorates those who died

and those who survived and struggled for 70 days.

With almost no food or water,

some survivors resorted to cannibalism

before they were rescued.

The tragic story inspired at least five books

and six movies.

It's now known as the Miracle of the Andes.

[light string music]

Flying in the rough conditions of the Andes

is easier for some than others.

This Andean condor rides a powerful wind

that often blows from the west over the Andes.

It's called the Zonda.

The Zonda can reach speeds of almost 75 miles per hour

and often carries thick clouds of dust,

creating health issues.

But for Paulo Favero,

the Zonda is a breath of fresh air.

He rides it in his paraglider

and can stay aloft for over six hours at a time.

♪ ♪

He's been paragliding for 11 years

and has no plans to ever quit.

♪ ♪

Strong winds and minimal rainfall

keep the eastern side of the Andes dry,

but water from melting snow does flow down the slopes.

♪ ♪

To make the most of this limited resource,

the province of Mendoza has built an irrigation system.

Dams and canals capture and distribute water

through the dry land.

It has turned the Uco Valley green,

a sharp contrast to the land around it.

Clay, sand, and limestone soil,

high elevation, and long hours of sunshine

make this an ideal location for an unexpected crop--

grapes.

In the 1990s, world-famous wine consultant

Michel Rolland saw the valley's potential.

He teamed up with six others

and created the vineyard Clos de los Siete.

They now produce one million bottles of wine.

More winemakers moved in, and vineyards now blanket

much of the Uco Valley.

The wine produced here generates more than

$130 million every year.

♪ ♪

[upbeat guitar music]

Like an Argentine Napa Valley,

the wine business here spawned tourism,

luxury hotels, and five-star restaurants.

A local mother-daughter team of architects designed

many of these buildings.

They use regional materials and colors

to fit the buildings into the landscape.

Outside one of their latest projects,

Eliana Bórmida and her daughter

Luisa Yanzón consult with their business partner,

their husband and father, Mario.

They like to keep it all in the family.

♪ ♪

The vineyards are the region's economic engine,

employing not just architects

but also thousands of field hands, pickers, and farmers.

Malbec grapes account for around 50%

of what's grown here.

To produce top quality, high-end wines,

grapes are harvested by hand.

♪ ♪

Without these tireless workers,

the crop would literally die on the vine.

Starting with their handiwork,

this vineyard makes wine fit for a king.

It once produced the wine served

at the Dutch royal wedding.

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But the arid plains east of the Andes

contain more than vineyards and are full of contrasts.

From a peaceful spot to study the skies

to towering dunes where only the daring will take

a wild ride in a new, bone-jarring sport.

- There are wide expanses of northwestern Argentina

that seem so rugged and harsh,

it's hard to imagine anyone surviving here.

But humans not only survived

in the Calchaqui Valley, they thrived.

Here, the ruins of the largest pre-Columbian

settlement in Argentina nestle into a hillside.

This is the sacred city of Quilmes.

The Quilmes people first settled here

roughly 1,200 years ago.

They built in stone and created terraces

on the hillside for farming.

On the steepest parts, they erected pucarás,

or forts, where they could watch

for invasion and shelter during an attack.

♪ ♪

It's clear they could build,

but it turns out they could also fight.

They held off a series of attacks by the Spanish

for more than 100 years.

Finally, the Spanish wore them down,

and the Quilmes were defeated in 1667.

Their story was mostly forgotten.

But today, David Vargas,

a descendent of the Quilmes people,

leads visitors in a traditional ceremony.

David is honoring Mother Earth, or Pachamama,

by digging a small hole, symbolizing her mouth.

Then, they bury food in the hole

and burn incense.

It's an offering to the Pachamama.

David is thanking Mother Earth

for everything she has created.

And in this land of contrasts,

there's a lot to be thankful for.

♪ ♪

To the north, she has created something truly otherworldly.

Los Cardones National Park

is named for the Cardon grande cactus.

Also known as the Argentine saguaros,

they almost look like they belong in the Sonoran Desert.

But the cacti here are even more massive.

Some Argentine saguaro grow almost 50 feet tall

and can live for 300 years.

Tourists come to see the largest collection

of these cacti anywhere in South America.

Ranger Emilio Daher helps monitor the park.

Even though Argentine saguaro are armed with clusters

of three-inch spines,

they need protecting,

and the park has helped to preserve them since 1996.

A road cuts through the park.

It's so flat and straight,

it's called La Recta de Tin Tin

or the Tin Tin Straight Line.

♪ ♪

What is now a modern paved highway

used to be part of the Inca Trail,

a web of roads through the Inca Empire

that totaled some 25,000 miles.

The Tin Tin Straight Line is a mere 11-mile section

of this network and ideal for a bike ride.

But there's little cloud cover and almost no rain,

so bikers better wear sunscreen

and pack plenty of water.

[light guitar music]

♪ ♪

As Argentina always promises,

there's a different look around the bend.

The straight road turns and twists

into green mountains.

Any bikers left have their work cut out for them.

With hairpin curves and switchbacks.

But their reward is the town of Cachi.

Founded in the 18th century,

and still a tight and tidy Spanish colonial town.

♪ ♪

Its centerpiece is a mission-style church.

Most of the buildings are covered in adobe or whitewash.

Its streets are still paved in stone.

By mid-afternoon, the neighborhoods shut down

for the daily siesta.

But not everything is how it appears.

♪ ♪

Hiding behind the traditional facade

is a quirk of modern culture,

a UFO port.

Terry Werner Jaisli, a Swiss traveler,

created it after claiming he had a close encounter

with two UFOs here.

He built it to be a sign of welcome.

It was called The Star of Hope.

Then, Werner disappeared.

Believers thought he had left in a UFO,

but he had simply returned to Switzerland.

And today, the Star of Hope welcomes

another kind of visitor: tourists.

His spaceport still turns heads

in the otherwise traditional town of Cachi.

[jaunty music]

Roughly 60 miles to the east,

the city of Salta has the same charms,

just in a much bigger package.

With a population of 600,000,

Salta is one of the largest cities

in northern Argentina.

♪ ♪

Like Cachi, Salta maintains a colonial feel,

and its numerous churches are a constant reminder

of Catholicism's central role.

The city nickname is Salta la Linda

or, Salta the Beautiful.

And as pretty as the city is up close,

it's even more spectacular from sky high.

Locals and tourists take a cable car

to San Bernardo Hill.

Here, they can admire the city,

but also get a peek of what's beyond.

[upbeat music]

In the northwest corner of Argentina,

San Antonio de los Cobres is not just one of

the driest towns in the country,

it's also one of the highest.

It sits 12,000 feet above sea level.

From here, travelers can reach even higher

in a diesel locomotive known as El Tren de las Nubes,

or Train to the Clouds.

Before every trip, engineer Carlos Tucu Rodríguez

inspects the train to make sure

everything is in working order.

Carlos has been an engineer for 40 years.

Today, tourists ride to see

some of the country's most rugged terrain

from the comfort of a modern coach.

The track was first built as a trade route

connecting Argentina and Chile.

And it's earned the name the Train to the Clouds

because it climbs to almost 14,000 feet,

which can be in or above the clouds.

But on a clear day, like today,

riders can see for miles.

The train crosses 29 bridges.

If the vertigo doesn't affect passengers,

the high altitude can.

There is always a medical team onboard

for emergencies and altitude sickness.

The highlight--if you have the stomach for it--

is when the train stops cold on the La Polvorilla Viaduct.

It stands more than 200 feet over the valley floor,

supported by over 1,700 tons of steel.

On the other side, passengers can get out

and brave the view themselves.

Of course, anywhere a train stops,

makeshift markets appear out of thin air

to welcome the tourists.

In this land of contrasts,

something new awaits around every corner,

from a festival rooted in thousands of years of history

to a forest so dense it's called The Impenetrable.

[upbeat music]

- Northern Argentina looks like a land

of subtle browns and greens

until, tucked into a monochrome valley,

the hillside suddenly explodes

in an unexpected prism of color.

It seems like it's been painted

by some unseen mythical creature.

And that's exactly how legend says

these hills got their color.

The stories say that Pachamama--

Mother Earth-- wanted to brighten

what she considered to be a monotonous place.

She directed mountain elves to spend seven nights

painting the rocks.

Their masterpiece, Cerro de Siete Colores

or Hill of Seven Colors.

The geological explanation for this display

also seems fantastic.

The layers began forming undersea

roughly 600 million years ago

and each is colored by different minerals

or deposits.

Then, tectonic forces pushed them

more than 7,000 feet above sea level,

where erosion exposed their bright colors.

In sharp contrast, the town of Purmamarca

is painted in a muted palette.

Its own bright colors are reserved

for traditional handmade textiles.

♪ ♪

They are all woven from the fiber of indigenous animals:

alpaca, guanaco,

vicuña, and llama.

The most iconic product is the poncho,

known around the world as a part coat, part blanket.

The poncho has indigenous roots.

The design is centuries old,

but it never goes out of style.

And neither does this timeless blanket of hillside color.

♪ ♪

Follow Argentina's Rio Grande north,

and it creates an inviting pathway through the mountains.

This is La Quebrada de Humahuaca,

where humans have gathered for at least 10,000 years.

A paved road is a modern version of

the vast Inca road system that ran through here.

Soldiers, merchants and worshippers

easily traveled through the valley's natural passageway.

The muddy Rio Grande floods in the summer,

irrigating the bottom lands,

and leaving rich deposits,

a sharp contrast to its colorful hills.

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A string of towns has grown up along its banks.

In the village of Tilcara,

a carnival parade flows across the main bridge.

Often dressed as devils,

the costumed dancers work their way through the streets.

Other locals perform music for the dancers

or gather to watch.

In Tilcara, the colors and music of carnival

are a unifying festival that involves the entire town

and crosses diverse traditions.

The Inca were just one in a succession of people

who lived in this area.

[solemn woodwind music]

♪ ♪

Many ancient cultures still intersect in Argentina.

Like her ancestors, Roxana del Carmen Puca

leads a trio of llamas through the hills.

She is a descendant of the Tilcaras people

and remains dedicated to preserving the ancient ways.

She practices traditional healing methods

that use medicinal plants and minerals.

Like many others, she weaves her llama's wool

into cloth and she also uses their fat

for ointments and salves.

[percussive music]

Traditional ways meet the modern world

28 miles upriver in Humahuaca.

It's the largest town in its namesake valley.

The town is a regional center for culture,

business, and tourism.

In the main square,

a monument to the heroes of independence from Spain

stands at the top of a 103-step staircase.

It's crowned by an imposing figure

supported by a bas-relief

that pays homage to those who fought in the war.

The sculptor, Ernesto Soto Avendano,

never revealed the inspiration for the main figure,

but it's clearly an indigenous man.

He represents a proud Argentina

stepping forward into the future.

And part of that future lies just 50 miles away.

[plucky music]

♪ ♪

In the far north of Argentina,

a field of white stretches almost to the mountains.

But this is not snow or ice,

it is salt.

Salinas Grande, or the Great Salt Flat,

is almost four times bigger than the island of Manhattan.

Millions of years ago, a lake formed here.

Then, most of the water evaporated,

leaving a brine that's thick with salt and other minerals.

The landscape could be from another planet

or the set of a science fiction movie.

♪ ♪

But these alien-looking structures

have a very earthly use.

Campers rent them for overnight visits.

They get there on foot or four-wheel drive.

Despite a lack of valet parking,

the domes offer luxury services.

And for those looking to leave no trace,

they're equipped with green energy sources.

But tourism is just a fraction of the local economy.

The long-standing money maker is salt,

which is mined in strips.

Local cooperatives have the goal to produce

1,200 tons of salt a year.

But there's another material here with more modern value--

lithium.

This soft metal is a key component in batteries

that power everything from smartphones to electric cars.

The concentration of lithium is high on these flats,

but extracting it may harm the water table.

How much is mined and how to do it safely is uncertain.

But one thing is clear,

all of this white has some people seeing gold.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

Not far away, it's all green.

The Gran Chaco is one of the largest forest systems

in the world.

It's so dense its nickname is The Impenetrable.

Unlike the Amazon rainforest,

it receives just 20 inches of rain in the western areas.

♪ ♪

With more than 380,000 square miles,

it covers much of northern Argentina

as well as parts of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil.

♪ ♪

The Gran Chaco's thick canopy

hides hundreds of animal species

and more than 3,000 types of plants.

Skirting along this park's border,

the Bermejo River meanders to the southeast,

and is one of the only ways to penetrate the forest.

It floods in the rainy season,

carving new routes and leaving behind

horseshoe-shaped channels.

Many of the trees, like the quebracho,

contain hard, rot-resistant wood.

Quebracho was once harvested throughout northern Argentina

and made into railroad ties.

But the biggest threat to the forests today

isn't from lumbering,

it's from clear cutting for farming

and cattle ranching.

Since 1985, an area roughly the size of South Carolina

has been cleared from the Gran Chaco.

But there's a growing awareness

of this forest's importance,

and a movement to slow the clear cutting

is gaining momentum.

Environmental organizations have bought private lands

and helped convert them into El Impenetrable National Park.

Follow the Bermejo River from the park

and then venture to the southeast

and the land changes once again.

Here, animals reveal how Argentina's contrasts

can make strange bedfellows.

- In northeast Argentina,

slow-moving waters create a unique ecosystem.

There's wildlife, like the rare Pampas deer,

and herons.

Where a river once flowed, there are now low areas

that have become swamps and small lakes.

Today, Esteros del Iberá is the second largest wetland

in the world.

And here, conservationists have been

buying properties to preserve the area.

With strong state support,

they have created a nature reserve here

that includes the Iberá National Park,

and other preserved lands.

Augusto Distel and Marcos Etchepareborda

use GPS to track native animals.

Their work covers more than 2 million acres,

an area four times bigger than Sequoia National Park.

The goal is to provide enough open space

for native and endangered animals

like this aguará guazú.

In the indigenous Guaraní language,

aguará guazú means big fox,

and it's also known as the maned wolf.

The largest South American canid is now endangered.

But by tracking and monitoring animals like this,

people like Augusto and Marco hope to help boost

their population and reestablish balance.

The grassland where the maned wolf roams

is just part a complex network of habitats

in the Iberá National Park.

♪ ♪

[wondrous music]

And the cornerstone of it all is water.

On the surface it looks calm,

but predators are always lurking.

The Iberá Lagoon is a prime fishing spot for herons

and ideal hunting grounds for the Yacare caiman.

They can grow to 6 feet and weigh over 160 pounds.

♪ ♪

But these youngsters are too small

to try to tackle an adult capybara.

Earning the title of world's largest rodent,

capybara are like supersized sumo guinea pigs

that can reach more than 130 pounds.

This peaceful scene seems remote and wild.

But even here,

humans make their presence felt.

An old wood and iron bridge crosses the lagoon.

It connects the park to Colonia Carlos Pellegrini,

a village of 900,

and serves as the entryway for visitors.

But this clear path into the park

can change with a shift in the wind.

♪ ♪

Today, Iberá National Park looks completely different.

And what was visible a couple of hours ago

is no longer clear.

But this is not fog, it's smoke.

In the dry season, fire is always a threat,

and this year has been particularly brutal.

Almost 40% of the nature preserve has burned.

Fire is part of the natural process,

but when it rages out of control,

it puts endangered animals and plants at risk.

And it leads volunteer firefighters

to work in critical situations.

So with most of the fire burned out,

Osvaldo Medina, Pedro Benitez, and Nicolás Medrano

are on the lookout for flare-ups.

♪ ♪

In the smokey haze, they have to get out on foot

and climb the truck to see for themselves.

Nicolas finds it heartbreaking

to see what is left of the trees,

a smoldering ruin.

But given time, the grasslands will grow back,

trees will heal, nature will rebound,

and the air over the village of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini

will clear.

[lively music]

Outside the park's eastern boundary,

the world turns green again,

with a perfectly maintained road running along its edge.

This route has its own name--

La Ruta de la Yerba Mate.

Yerba mate is a plant that indigenous Guarani boiled

and then sipped as tea.

Today, it is one of the national drinks

of Argentina.

Eight out of ten Argentines drink mate

in the traditional way,

steeped in water in a gourd or wooden bowl

and drunk through a straw.

Per capita, Argentinians consume

over six times more yerba mate than coffee.

And this tradition passed from generation to generation.

Yerba mate was harvested and brewed

long before the arrival of Europeans.

But now it's grown like most modern agricultural products.

Tractors now fertilize and spray the fields.

♪ ♪

The process of commercially farming yerba mate

started with Jesuit priests and missionaries.

In 1696, Jesuits founded a mission

among the Guaraní at San Ignacio Miní.

Far from colonial Spanish authorities,

they sought converts.

In the 1700s, the mission grew to 3,000 people

and became increasingly independent.

Then, in 1767, it came to an end.

Distrustful of the Jesuits' growing power

throughout the Spanish Empire,

the king decided to suppress the order.

The Spanish expelled the Jesuits from the colonies

and shut down their missions, including San Ignacio Miní.

Abandoned for nearly 200 years,

the buildings decayed

and succumbed to the encroaching forest.

But in 1940, the government started

to reclaim the site for historic preservation.

Today, it is one of the most visited ruins in Argentina.

The Jesuits returned to Argentina,

but not in remote missions like this.

Instead, they spread throughout the entire country

and even inspired today's most famous

Argentinian Jesuit, Pope Francis.

[exciting music]

Near the ruins, a red stripe of iron-rich soil

cuts through the green and leads further afield.

It makes a bold arrow toward a place called

Argentina's Triple Frontier.

Here, geography creates colorful history.

Two rivers merge,

forming the border for three countries,

to the west, Paraguay,

to the north, Brazil,

and to the south and east, Argentina.

These borders have been a source of friction

and heated confrontations in the past.

Today, cooler heads prevail on the Argentine side,

in the Plaza del Agua, or water park.

♪ ♪

But when it comes to water,

this is just a warm-up act.

The real show is upriver

at one of the world's greatest natural wonders.

The Iguazú Falls.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Three times wider than Niagara.

Three million gallons of water per second.

Nearly 300 separate channels.

It is one falls with many faces.

Where the channel narrows,

it creates the Garganta del Diablo

or Devil's Throat.

♪ ♪

Here, it is almost 500 feet wide

and more than 160 feet high.

♪ ♪

Mist creates an almost perpetual rainbow.

And the rainbow created legends.

Indigenous lore includes the story of a prince

and princess, separated by the devil.

He turned the princess into a waterfall

and the prince into surrounding vegetation.

But the rainbow permanently unites them.

It's a story as enduring as the waterfall itself.

[upbeat piano music]

From the Devil's Throat

to the Roof of the Americas,

and from vast wetlands

to some of the driest places on Earth,

the colors, cultures, and climates of Argentina

have no boundary.

It stretches from one extreme to the next,

and makes its own rules.

It's one country with many faces.