You can take lots of them when you are driving through the argentinian andes by car. The landscape is so diversified and behind every corner you will see a new exciting panorama to take a photo of. But without your own car it is hard to get there and the public busses won't stop for taking a photo. That's why we rented a car two times - in Salta for two day and in Mendoza for three days - and we didn't regret one the more than 2000 km we made.

Our first trip lead us, starting from Salta, to the south western located town of Cafayate, home of the best argentinian white wine, the Torrontés. We made these first 300 km almost the whole time on unpaved roads, first of all to Cachí, west of Salta and then turning south through the Valle Calchaquí. This took us about 10 hours. Our mexican VW Gol commented every pothole with squeaks and rumbles. The next we went back to Salta through the dramatic red sandstone formations of the Quebrada de Cafayate. This was very relaxing for us and for the car, because all the way back to Salta was paved.

The second trip lead us from Mendoza a long way back north, first of all into the city of Chilecito. We wanted to do the Cuesta de Miranda, a road with 800 turns, which crosses the Sierra de Sañogasta, which is located near Chilecito.
The next destinations of our trip were two national parks, which are declared as UNESCO world heritages: the Parque National Talampaya with its red sandstone formations and the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, which is also know as the 'Valle de la Luna' (the moon valley).
The first park can only be visited with a jeep tour. The second park can be crossed by the own car. Normally they have small convois, which are accompanied by a guide. The convoi stops at defined locations and the guide describes the surroundings. It is really a different way to visit a national park.