These two contiguous parks, extending over 275,300 ha in the desert region on the western border of the Sierra 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. The site contains a complete sequence of fossiliferous continental sediments representing the entire Triassic Period (45 million years) of geological history. No other place in the world has a fossil record comparable to that of Ischigualasto–Talampaya which reveals the evolution of vertebrate life and the nature of palaeoenvironments in the Triassic Period.
Go to Site

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. The Jesuit buildings and ensembles of Córdoba and the estancias are exceptional examples of the fusion of European and indigenous values and cultures during a seminal period in South America. The religious, social, and economic experiment carried out in South America for over 150 years by the Society of Jesus produced a unique form of material expression, which is illustrated by the Jesuit buildings and ensembles of Córdoba and the estancias.
Go to Site

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.
Go to Site

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. The Cueva de las Manos contains an outstanding collection of prehistoric rock art which bears witness to the culture of the earliest human societies in South America.
Go to Site

Thousands of years back, a great portion of present land was covered by glaciers. With the course of time, ice eroded and gave shape to the landscape, forming rugged, towering mountains and numerous glacial lakes. At the same time it fragmented and dragged numerous rocks that built up at the glaciers front and sides forming mounds and moraines. A later climate change coupled with a temperature increase brought about a reduction in the area occupied by ice, until it reached the present state. Due to its incredible natural beauty, its glaciological and geomorphologic interest, and the animal species under extinction, the UNESCO declared this place Cultural Heritage to Humanity in 1981.
Go to site

The Valdés Península juts out into the South Atlantic Ocean at 77 kilometers from Puerto Madryn. It is one of the few places in the world that offers the possibility of watching a huge amount of animals in their natural environment. The endangered southern right whale as well as important breeding populations of southern elephant seals and southern sea lions, orcas, penguins, marine birds and other wild fauna is concentrated in this natural reserve of 360 thousand hectares. For its outstanding faunistic population the UNESCO declared this site as a World Heritage.
Go to site

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.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca valley has been used over the past 10,000 years as a crucial passage for the transport of people and ideas from the high Andean lands to the plains. Its valley reflects the way its strategic position has engendered settlement, agriculture and trade. Its distinctive pre–Hispanic and pre–Incan settlements, as a group with their associated field systems, form a dramatic addition to the landscape and one that can certainly be called outstanding.
Go to site

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.
Go to site