September 24, 2026, 5:34 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
South and Central America are home to countless dreamlike and exciting travel destinations. But where are the paths not yet too well-trodden, and where might there still be regions that can be considered hidden gems? TRAVELBOOK presents five of them in this year’s TRAVELBOOK Award. One of them is the Iberá National Park in Argentina.
The Iberá National Park in Argentina
The national park in Argentina’s northeastern province of Corrientes protects an area of about 1,500 hectares, nestled within the 1.3 million-hectare wetland of Esteros del Iberá. The Iberá Wetlands are the second-largest wetland and swamp area in the world, after Brazil’s Pantanal.
The national park is an untouched natural oasis of waterways, lagoons, and grasslands, home to numerous animal and plant species. Capybaras, caimans, yellow anacondas, and marsh deer live here, as well as pumas, jaguars, howler monkeys, giant otters, maned wolves, foxes, and around 350 bird species.
What can you experience there?
Laguna Iberá is often used for multi-hour boat safaris, where visitors can discover the landscape and numerous animal species up close from the water. According to the information site argentinien.de, these animals are not particularly shy and sometimes come close to the boats.
In addition to exploring on the water, Iberá National Park can also be discovered on horseback tours, as well as on guided hikes during the day and at night. Visitors can also explore at least part of the vast wetland and swamp area by bicycle.
The information site advises booking tour packages that include accommodation, transfer, and national park tours in advance. Boat tours can also be booked at the lodge or campsite. However, the site warns that both getting there and exploring the park can be challenging for individual tourists due to the infrastructure and unfamiliarity with the terrain.
When is the best time to visit?
The Iberá National Park and the Esteros del Iberá in Argentina are year-round travel destinations. According to argentinien.de, the best time to visit mainly depends on which animals you want to see there.
In spring (September to November), you can expect mild and low-rain days; it’s mating season, with plenty of mosquitoes, but also insects, birds, and butterflies are on the move. Summers (December to February) are hot, with temperatures up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, high humidity, and sometimes heavy rainfalls. Now, caimans and birds are nesting, plants are blooming on the water, and you might see many young capybaras. In fall (March to May), it’s less hot and relatively uncrowded, a good time to observe marsh deer. In the much cooler winter (June to August), with average daytime temperatures of 59 degrees Fahrenheit, many visitors come to the national park. During this time, you can often see caimans, yellow anacondas, and river otters.
Arrival by SUV
By car, preferably an SUV, you can reach the national park via several routes depending on your arrival point. For example, from the city of Mercedes in the south, from Ituzaingó in the north, or Colonia Carlos Pellegrini in the east. In addition to pre-booked SUV transfers and shuttle services, there is also limited public transportation with buses.
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Location of Iberá National Park in Argentina
Methodology for the TRAVELBOOK Award
Again this year, we say it: All nominated regions, countries, and others for the TRAVELBOOK Award are already winners. Even if they didn’t achieve overall victory. This also applies to the Iberá National Park in Argentina. Because: Every hidden gem travel destination has already made it to the shortlist in advance, meaning it was selected from a large number of contenders in its category.
The TRAVELBOOK editorial team asked the community on Facebook and Instagram for help and consulted experts from the travel industry to create the shortlist. For the first time this year, not only TRAVELBOOK readers but also BILD readers voted. In total, more than 150,000 votes were cast to determine the trend travel destinations for 2027.