Villa Unión is a small town in western La Rioja, set in the Bermejo Valley between red hills, dry riverbeds, vineyards, and the first serious lift of the Andes. The town is useful rather than beautiful, but it has a clear travel identity: this is the base for some of Argentina's most dramatic desert landscapes.
The headline is Talampaya National Park, a UNESCO-listed canyon country of red Triassic rock. Villa Unión also gives access to Laguna Brava, a high Andean salt lake with flamingos and huge empty views, and to the red bends of Cuesta de Miranda on Ruta 40.
Come for the excursions, not for urban polish. With a vehicle, a guide, or a well-chosen tour, Villa Unión is a very good spare-day stop on a north-west Argentina trip.