by ALCHEMY DMC | Dic 27, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Tourism News
Starting January 1st, 2018.
In order to enter the Argentine Republic for tourism or business, holders of ordinary Canadian passports will no longer have to pay the Reciprocity Rate. The effective date of the elimination will be as of January 1, 2018.
The National Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Santos, stressed that “it is very important to provide new mechanisms for the mobility of tourists who want to visit the country and advance in international integration. Tourism is a key activity for Argentina’s trade relations with the world. ”
“From the beginning of our management we proposed to bring Argentina closer to the world, with the participation in international fairs of great call, promotion actions abroad, new connectivity options and concrete measures such as the refund of VAT to foreign tourists and the elimination of the rate of reciprocity, the distant markets are getting closer to us, “Santos added.
It should be noted that in terms of connectivity, Argentina and Canada are more connected than ever. Currently, Air Canada joins Toronto with Buenos Aires in six weekly frequencies, with a previous stopover in Santiago de Chile, although as of May 2018 there will be three direct weekly frequencies.
There are also flights with a stop or connection, operated by Delta (Atlanta, USA), Aeroméxico (Mexico City), United Airlines (Houston, USA) and American Airlines (coming through Dallas, Miami or New York).
by ALCHEMY DMC | Dic 27, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Instagram, Tourism News
By Natalie Paris, Travel writer
18 reasons to visit Argentina – including a secret German village and the world’s most beautiful bookshop.
1. You can ride with gauchos
Argentinian cowboys wear actual chaps, drink Mate tea so bitter it makes you gurn, raise and wrestle cattle, and at night sing folk songs about love and loss. Gauchos traditionally were seen as nomads and outlaws but grew to be respected as freedom fighters in the mid-16th century. Traditions vary in pampas in different parts of the country, with Salta’s gauchos some of the most revered.
Gauchos: revered when a week-long Fiesta Nacional de la Tradición is staged, which sees gauchos from all over Argentina ride into town, grill whole cows for dinner and show off their dressage.
2. See giant guinea pigs
Capybaras are a squeaking, loveable feature of the Argentinian wetlands. Take a trip to the Ibera Wetlands, rgentina’s answer to the Pantanal, to see them. In a motor boat out they are easy to find – loud splashing often signifies that one has just hauled its fat bottom into the water, while alarmed grunts mean you’ve just disturbed one in the undergrowth. The babies make a plaintive high-pitched squeak to call their mothers, just as their smaller cousins do.
Capybaras: cute Credit: copyright supervliegzus 2010/shot by supervliegzus
3. Take one of the world’s best drives
A drive through the multi-coloured valley of the Quebrada de Humahuaca is one of the world’s most spectacular. Aside from views of rainbow-striped and wind-shaped rock formations, sights along the route, which 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, include a cave cathedral with impressive acoustics where local musicians play.
4. And drink world-beating wine
Mendoza is Argentina’s main wine region, set picturesquely at the foot of the Andes. Malbec grapes made the area internationally renowned but shiraz and cabernet sauvignon have also been making great gains.
Lesser-visited but just as pretty is Cafayate, a small town in Torrontes wine country. This Argentinian variety makes fruity, aromatic whites, similar to a crisp viognier, that are perfect for washing down a lunch of empanadas.
5. It’s a beguiling wilderness
Vast and empty, wind-swept and barren, Patagonia is an archetypal landscape of the imagination, writes Chris Moss, in an article for our Trip of a Lifetime series. “Where the pampas run out around the Rio Negro, the land becomes unfriendly to human settlement, and if you drive down the great highways you’ll see mainly sheep, flightless rhea and llama-like guanacos. Eventually you come to the Andes, where ice-fields break through to form glaciers on the lakesides, or to the lonely island of Tierra del Fuego.
“It continues to beguile intrepid travellers, and in the past two decades smart hotels have opened across the region to provide comfort and luxury, and the dining options have improved immeasurably.”
Patagonia: beguiling
6. It’s got a little piece of Switzerland, Germany – and Wales
Argentina’s Lake District is a stunner, with mountain after craggy mountain sliding serenely into ice-blue lakes. To see it, you would do well to make Swiss-themed Bariloche your base. The town has improbable wooden chalets, chocolate shops and even St Bernard dogs to give it an Alpine feel.
Set in the hills a couple of hours from Córdoba, meanwhile, La Cumbrecita is a meticulously recreated German village. Tourists come from across Argentina, and farther afield, to experience this bizarre vision of little Germany. They have apple strudel at the café and buy trinkets from the gift stores. There’s even a huge cuckoo clock that greets you as you enter the village.
Cumbrecita Credit: GETTY
Even more unusually, the nod to Europe continues via a Welsh settlement on Patagonia’s coast. “The Welsh first landed in the other great and green land – that of Patagonia – back in July 1865,” explained Michael Kerr, after visiting Puerto Madryn last year to mark its 150th anniversary.
“More than 150 Welsh-speaking men, women and children had sailed in May from Liverpool on the Mimosa, a converted tea clipper, with the intention of establishing a community where they could practise their language and faith free from the dictates of English government.”
7. You can visit a deserted town
Epecuén is an abandoned spa town in Argentina that provided the backdrop for a new film starring the stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill in 2014. Watch what he gets up to below.
8. Or one of the world’s most beautiful bookshops
This astounding shop interior has to be one of the world’s most glamorous, especially considering it sells books rather than designer clothing. The El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires is a bookshop set in a former theatre, the Teatro Gran Splendid, which originally opened in May 1919.
If you can get your head out of one of its thousands of books (and we’re sure that you can) red velvet curtains hang over a stage at one end, while the ornate stalls on the upper levels contain elaborately-lit shelves.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
9. The Metro is really rather quaint
The Buenos Aires subway system adds an element of travel glamour to the busy Argentinian capital. It was launched in 1913 – the first underground railway in Latin America.
10. You can have a more glamorous coffee break
There are a handful of grand coffee houses along the wide boulevards of Buenos Aires but Cafe Tortoni is one of the best, dating from 1858. It has perfect pastries and a cavernous interior with marvellous decorative glass ceilings.
11. Climb South America’s highest peak
The highest mountain outside of Asia, at 22,841 feet, Aconcagua is the second highest of the Seven Summits and can be climbed by those with know-how, even without roped mountaineering experience.
Aconcagua Credit: Gustavo Cherro
12. Join the crowd
Watching local team Boca Juniors play football at the La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires will undoubtedly involve blazing flares, bitter rivalries, chants you don’t understand and general mayhem.
13. Walk among angels
Romantic, ageing, Recoleta Cemetery in one of Buenos Aires’ most middle-class suburbs is where Eva Perón is buried, but is an atmospheric place for a stroll in any event. Free guided tours in English, Tuesday and Thursday at 11am.
Recoleta Cemetery.
14. Remember a leading lady
First peasant, leader, then legend, Buenos Aires’s Evita Museum is where you can find out about the life of Eva Perón. The city’s main square, the Plaza de Mayo, is where you will find the Casa Rosada – as pink in colour as its name suggests – the office of the president. Eva Perón made her carefully choreographed speeches from its balconies.
15. Feast on grilled meat
Argentina is famous for its high-quality, doorstop-sized steaks and there is nowhere better to try one than in a parrillada restaurant where you select a slab of meat still sizzling off a parrilla grill set at your table in front of you. As well as familiar steak cuts like lomo and bife de chorizo, locals like to load up their grills with “vaccio” (juicy flank) and “morcilla” (fat black pudding sausages) – while delving into impossibly chewy plates of melted provolone cheese. Delicious.
Tango: can your relationship stand up to the test?
16. Test your relationship
Tango is one of Portenos’ biggest passions and tourists are encouraged to book themselves into one of many classes held in Buenos Aires. Be warned though, the “dance of love” is tricky to master and it is said a couple’s aptitude at getting in sync with each other is a microcosm of the relationship.
17. Set foot in the world’s southernmost city
Ushuaia is the launch point for (small) cruises to Patagonia and Antarctica. They can visit South Georgia, where is possible to make contact with local whalers, and set off to retrieve his men and occasionally land on Elephant Island, from where the 22 remaining sailors were picked up on August 30 1916 – as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.
18. And try the world’s oldest team sport
Argentinians are known as some of the world’s best polo players. Just ask Jilly Cooper. Polo is a celebration of tradition, skill and family – and Argentina celebrates it like no other polo nation. Even novices can enjoy on neat lawns in the grounds of estancias around the country.
Best of the rest
Also worth mentioning are the artistic wonders on display at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires; the steam train Argentines affectionately call La Trochita; the show-stopping Iguassu Falls, on the border with Brazil, but closer and louder on the Argentinian side; Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, a Unesco World Heritage Site and home to the immense, ever-expanding (until it collapses) Perito Moreno Glacier; and the Thermal Baths of Villavicencio, which it is thought possess theraputic properties.
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Source: telegraph.co.uk
by ALCHEMY DMC | Nov 30, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Tourism News
A UNIQUE PLACE FOR THE EVENT OF YOUR DREAMS
Now your most important events will be enveloped by the most spectacular view of Santiago. Come! Rise to the top with us! Sky Costanera is open every day—365 days a year. With our elevators, in just 2 minutes you will be at the highest point in South America. 360° at 300 mts! In this unique place, you will enjoy Andes Mountains and Santiago from a totally new perspective. Located in the beginning of new area called “Sanhattan” this space will flawless match with a trendy cocktail, gala dinner or cool event.
Facts:
Floor 61: Heated and high-rise indoor space
Floor 62: Open-air Terrace
More than 50 events have taken place in the 11 months since Sky Costanera began operating as one of the most innovative event centers that the Chilean market has seen in recent times, located at the top of the highest tower in Latin America and offering an exclusive 360 ° view of the Chilean capital. Product launches, press conferences and corporate end-of-year parties, among other meetings, have taken place in this unique space that is revolutionizing the industry. His proposal is calling the attention not only of companies but also of institutions for a cause and even government offices, especially related to tourism. MICE events have been successfully placed. Place is becoming a milestone in the city and in the industry that has allowed the realization of very novel events. “There was a climb up the tower, a vertical run, commemorating the Glaucoma Week,” says the executive.
The launch conference of the Rolling Stones concert, at the end of last year, and the Davis Cup draw, recently, are two other important events that have given the brand a presence in the mass media. Also, they emphasize the massive spinnig Skymorphosis, that counted on the participation of international and Chilean instructors.
Sky Costanera has positioned itself as a tourist/MICE landmark, placing itself in that sense as a top in Tripadvisor, something that companies have read very well, understanding that this attraction can be very well used to organize attractive events. “The companies understand that if they want a world class event, they need a space like this, which has enough advantages for it.
The demand for events at the top of the tower has been intense since the venue opened its doors for this purpose.
The safety and comfort for users is one of the decisive elements in the management of this place as a center of events, in such a way that two different meetings are not held at the same time, although technically there is room for this. On the one hand, Sky Costanera wants to assure its clients a 360 ° vision, which is an important differential, and at the same time having two floors is also a great advantage.
by ALCHEMY DMC | Nov 30, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Tourism News
The Inca sanctuary of Machupicchu is one of the 10 Unforgettable Trips listed by National Geographic Travel magazine that are sure to create unforgettable memories in the New Year.
The article is introduced with a question about the perfect trip to take with someone special.
New York City, in the United States, tops the chart as a place for the would-be National Geographic photographer.
Peru’s iconic Inca citadel, Machupicchu, comes next and is described as a destination for the hiker who appreciates comfort at the end of the climb.
One of the highlights includes hiking snowcapped peaks of the Vilcabamba mountain range.
The article recommends other tours through sites that are not as popular as the above-mentioned Inca masterpiece.
For instance, exploring coffee plantations and traditional Andean villages on your trek to Machupicchu could be a good option.
“Spot bird species like the golden-headed quetzal and the Andean cock-of-the-rock, plus 18 different hummingbirds, while walking the trails at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel with a naturalist,” the author suggests.
“Return to your adobe casita, set in the cloud forest at the foot of Machupicchu, and enjoy a cozy fire, a chance to relax in the eucalyptus sauna, and traditional Peruvian cuisine,” she adds.
The list also includes trips to Antarctica, Belize, Japan, Southern Africa, Southern Italy, Galapagos Islands, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
by ALCHEMY DMC | Nov 30, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Tourism News
SANTIAGO – Chile has been named in Lonely Planet’s just-published Best In Travel 2018 book as the No1 country to visit in 2018, followed by South Korea, Portugal and the obscure Djibouti.
The best cities for 2018 have been named as Seville in Spain, followed by Detroit, Canberra and Hamburg, while Belfast and the Causeway Coast are named as best region and the UK is the seventh best-value country.
The book of the world’s largest travel guide book publisher, also picks out the coastal city of Valparaiso as a big plus point for Chile, with its ‘art-filled streets, bohemian cafes and romance-inducing promenades’.
The country also boasts the wilds of Patagonia in the south and the Atacama desert in the north where ‘there’s been a big bang in astrotourism, with new stargazing hotels and geektastic tours to groundbreaking observatories’.
by ALCHEMY DMC | Nov 30, 2017 | ALCHEMY DMC News, Tourism News
Argentine gastronomy is living its best moment. In 2017, Buenos Aires was the Gastronomic Capital of Latin America and 9 of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America are in Buenos Aires, according to the San Pellegrino ranking known as Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, released on October 24. Neither more nor less than one fifth of the total.
The now famous Tegui (10th place) was named The Best Restaurant in Argentina, for the second consecutive year, followed by Don Julio (13), El Baqueano (19), Chila (26), Elena (37), Aramburu (44) ), Crizia (48), Proper (49) and Mishiguene (50). While these last three debuted this year, the other six held onto and improved their positions.
During the awards ceremony and thanks to an agreement with Wines of Argentina, the event sponsor, regional wineries offered their wines to be tasted. Among them were, Casa Bianchi, Familia Zuccardi, Rutini Wines, Navarro Correas, Finca Las Moras, Finca Sophenia, Bodega Luigi Bosca, Trapiche, Susana Balbo Wines, Tapiz, El Esteco, Finca La Luz, Los Toneles, Terrazas de los Andes and Trivento.
So without further-a-do here are the 9…
Tegui. Germán Martitegui is an eminence of Argentine haute cuisine. After working with Francis Mallmann and Beatriz Chomnalez in the nineties, it took him two decades of stylistic work to find the equation that defines Tegui as the best: a combo that crosses Buenos Aires cuisine with the techniques of haute cuisine, on a personal journey of flavours that remind you of adolescence and the present, endowed with much detail and aesthetics. Behind the graffitied door of Tegui in the heart of Palermo, the spacious and warm living room with the kitchen in the background is the ideal refuge to try a menu in constant renovation.
Costa Rica 5852, Palermo / Buenos Aires.
Don Julio. This temple of good beef and the best wines occupies a corner of Palermo with one of the best treasures stored in the cellar: vintage bottles from the 1950s of classic labels, as well as complete verticals of those wines that gave fame to Argentina. In that, the passion of Pablo Jesús Rivero, its owner, has no competition in the city. But in addition to the drinks, Don Julio’s secret is his beef. You can try aged cuts of more than 5 years – a rarity – to delicate pieces like entraña or cuadril.
Guatemala 4699, Palermo / Buenos Aires.
El Baqueano. The duo formed by the sommelier Gabriela Lafuente, and the chef Fernando Rivarola, has been bearing fruit in this culinary vanguard restaurant for several years. In fact, they created Kitchen Without Borders, which looks for the diffusion of local cuisines and products. Combining international techniques with products from these latitudes, in its cozy and renovated lounge you can try llama and quinoa croquettes, among other delicacies. Specialists in discovering new flavours, the wine list also offers some sophisticated bottles.
Chile 499, San Telmo / Buenos Aires.
Chila. With a display of cosmopolitan modernity, this restaurant whose glass terrace overlooks the docks of the old port of Buenos Aires is one of the pillars of Argentine gastronomic renovation. Andrés Porcel, its owner, has been building its reputation for over a decade, and this year has joined the Relais & Château chain. The kitchen is a search for excellence in the dishes supported by the seasonal menu, which was created by Soledad Nardelli and continues today under the watchful eye of the young Pedro Bargero.
Alicia Moreau de Justo 1160, Puerto Madero / Buenos Aires.
Elena. Since its launch in 2013, this restaurant inside the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires has attracted the attention of meat lovers. With the executive direction of Chef Juan Gaffuri, in his spacious room with a colourful metal structure and open kitchen you can taste Angus and dry aged cuts and the best charcuterie and local cheeses. A mix of luxury and executive, the atmosphere is pleasant. The wine list, by sommelier Laura Cagnani, is a gem.
Posadas 1086/1088, Recoleta / Buenos Aires.
Aramburu. For the gourmet lovers, this small restaurant in the south of the city is a must stop, for three reasons. One, Gonzalo Aramburu is one of the most creative chefs of his generation. Two, he offers a step-by-step menu where you can see countless products and presentations, from fake corals to stones on which shrimp are cooked. Three, it is an intimate place where the experience of the dishes acquires a singular aesthetic character. With a well-chosen wine list, the choice of pairings is memorable.
Salta 1050, Constitución / Buenos Aires.
Crizia. The chef and owner Gabriel Oggero manages, in this sober and spacious Palermo premises, to combine the cuisine of the sea and the mainland, oysters as well as beef and lamb. With an oyster farm in the north of Patagonia, it is the right place to eat them and then jump to other dishes made from the menu. In the thirteen years it has been open, it has gone from strength to strength, with impeccable service. A more than deserved promotion to 50 Best.
Gorriti 5143, Palermo / Buenos Aires.
Proper. It only opened two years ago but is already among the best. With the help of chefs Leo Lanusol and Augusto Meyer in what could be a workshop, Proper is a vanguard of the wood-fired clay oven. In a combination of hipster aesthetics and accomplished and simple cooking, word of mouth consecrated the dishes of this duo of thirty-somethings.
Aráoz 1676, Palermo / Buenos Aires.
Mishiguene. Last but not least at number 50, is a recognition of a kitchen that does not usually shine in the city. Tomás Kalika, co-owner with Javier Ickowicz, is the chef who developed a concept of classic aggiornados. In a sophisticated environment, in a way that redefines Sephardic and Eastern European cuisine, with Middle Eastern influences. From the Liebe Tuna, the Kreplaj and the Meorav Yerushalmi, the kitchen of Mishiguene shines with its own light.
Lafinur 3368, Palermo / Buenos Aires.
