What are the most worthwhile things to do in Mendoza on a first visit?

Mendoza's wine tourism is not a sideline; it is the largest network of its kind in Latin America, according to the provincial government's own economic dossier, which counts 876 establishments registered as bodegas in 2024 — about 71.8 percent of Argentina's national total of 1,220 — of which 230 are open to tourism. The same document puts the province at 81 percent of national wine production in 2024, 8,792,740 of 10,868,843 hectolitres, and 52 percent of must production. Grape production exceeds 70 percent of the national figure.

The mountain side of the trip is organized entirely around permits. Two approaches are sold, the Quebrada de Horcones and the Quebrada de Vacas, and the price gap between the tiers tells you how different the undertakings are: in the 2024-25 advance-sale first stage, an international visitor paid US$96 for a short trek from Horcones, US$192 for a long trek and US$640 for an ascent, rising to US$760 for an ascent via Vacas. Rates were tiered four ways by residency — mendocino, nacional, latinoamericano and internacional — with Argentine-resident categories priced in pesos.

Both halves of the trip sit in the same province. The vines occupy 142,785 hectares of Mendoza, and the park lies above them in the high cordillera, so an itinerary that pairs a short trek with cellar visits is organized by altitude more than by distance.

There is a free way into the park for visitors who are not trekking at all. A published circuit to the Laguna de Horcones has been offered at no charge to children under 13, retirees, men over 65, women over 60, people with disabilities, Malvinas veterans, and listed schools and universities — and the park's published aerial-evacuation tariffs give a blunt sense of scale for anyone going higher: US$1,400 for a Horcones–Plaza de Mulas–Horcones flight and US$6,440 for Horcones–Gran Mendoza–Horcones, with other routes between US$840 and US$3,360.

• High ground — Buy the permit tier that matches the plan; the short trek costs a fraction of an ascent.
• Valley floor — 230 bodegas take visitors out of 876 registered; booking is the constraint, not choice.
• Low effort — The Laguna de Horcones circuit has been published as free for several named categories of visitor.

Foreign climbers have been required to hold rescue insurance or a contracted rescue service when buying a permit, so that evacuation costs the province nothing — and the published evacuation tariffs above show why. Ascent and long trekking have been limited to applicants of legal age, and an unpaid permit draws a fine of twice the ticket price. For entry, the State Department record last updated 16 July 2026 notes that Argentine citizens are generally required to leave Argentina on an Argentine passport, and that a parent or guardian traveling alone with a child under 18 who resides in Argentina must present a legalized permission letter in Spanish from the non-accompanying parent on departure; the FCDO adds that non-resident children who have been in the country a year or more need the same authorization.

The Mendoza when-to-visit answer gives the park's season windows and the advance-sale calendar; the food answer sets out where the province's Malbec is planted and what it exports.