PATA

GO

NIA

A star-riddled sky and snarled grasses dwarf the rider on the steppe as his horse closes the gap on the horizon. In South America’s southern frontier, nature – long left to its own devices – grows wild, barren and beautiful. Spaces are large, as are the silences that fill them. For those who come here, an encounter with such emptiness can be as awesome as the sight of jagged peaks, pristine rivers and dusty backwater oases.

Though the paving of Ruta Nacional 40 (RN 40) is well underway – long stretches of the road are smooth enough for cycling, while others are uncomfortably rocky – the lonely highway, which has stirred affection in personalities as disparate as Butch Cassidy and Bruce Chatwin, still feels like a spellbinding road to nowhere. On the eastern seaboard, RN 3 shoots south, connecting oil boomtowns with the remains of ancient petrified forests, Welsh settlements and the spectacular Península Valdés. The map will tell you that Patagonia is a very large place, but motoring its distant horizons offers a whole other level of insight.

Then there is the other, trendy Patagonia: the tourist hubs studded with designer shops and reggae bars, where you will meet a dozen other travelers before one local. El Calafate and El Chaltén boast spectacular sights, but they remain a world apart from the mythical RN 40.

This chapter covers the region from its political start at the mouth of Río Negro, continu-ing through Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces south to the Strait of Magellan. Chile’s Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales and Parque Nacional Torres del Paine are also included.

Patagonia

POPULATION: 839,000 AREA : 475,000 SQ KM

HIGHLIGHTS

Gaze upon the blue-hued Glaciar Perito Moreno ( p487 ) as icebergs crumble in thunderous booms

Explore millennial forest in the eternal green of Parque Nacional Los Alerces ( p465 )

Trek the toothy Fitz Roy Range ( p478 ) near El Chaltén in the northern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares

See southern right whales up close in the waters of Reserva Faunística Península Valdés ( p430 )

Ride the wide-open range and feast on fire-pit-roasted lamb at an estancia ( p471 )

MorenoGlaciar Perito

Estancias

Los AlercesParque Nacional

Península ValdésReserva Faunística

Fitz Roy Range

418© Lonely Planet

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GrandeBahía

San JorgeGolfo

NuevoGolfo

San MatíasGolfo

O C E A NA T L A N T I C

ColoradoRío

Lim

ay

Río

GallegosRío

Chico

Río

eadoRío Des

NegroRío

Strait of Magellan

Río Chubut

Río Santa Cruz

Buen

os

Air

es

Región XII

Región XI

Región X

Santa Cruz

Río Negro

Chubut

Cholila

Villa Tehuelches

Rio Rubens

Las Horquetas

PuertoChacabuco

Río Verde &

Seno Otway

Bajo Caracoles

NatalesPuerto

PUNTA ARENAS

VistaBella

Perito Moreno

OesteAntonio

San

El CóndorBalneario

CostaGobernador

San JuliánPuerto

DeseadoPuerto

PlumasLas

AguilaPiedra del

los AndesJunín de

los AndesSan Martín de

ConhuéColan

Los Antiguos

SombreroCerro

GregoresGobernador

RivadaviaComodoro

Sarmiento

MadrynPuerto

PatagonesCarmen de

Cerro Castillo

MONTTPUERTO

Chile Chico

RAWSON

RÍO GALLEGOS

VIEDMA

Paso del Sapo

La Esperanza

El Chaltén

Tres LagosSanta Cruz

El Calafate

Esperanza

Río Turbio

Las Grutas

Sierra Grande

Ingeniero Jacobacci

El MaiténEl Bolsón

Esquel

Trevelín

Tecka

Paso de Indios

DolavonGaiman

Puerto Pirámides

Cabo Raso

Camarones

Río Mayo

Las Heras Caleta Olivia

Pico Truncado

Fitz Roy

Bariloche

Trelew

COYHAIQUE

Valdivia

Osorno

HelsingforsEstancia

Güer AikeEstancia

Estancia Río Verde

jj

La MaríaEstancia

DineroMonteEstancia

Estancia La LeonaHostería

MenelikEstancia

Estancia Casa de Piedra

La OrientalEstancia

TelkenEstancia

La Lobería

Lago PueloParque Nacional

Pali AikeNacional

Parque

O'HigginsBernardoNacionalParque

del PaineTorres

NacionalParque

Perito MorenoParque Nacional

Punta TomboReserva Provincial

Nahuel HuapiParque Nacional

Los AlercesNacional

Parque

PetrificadosBosquesNatural

Monumento

Monte LeónParque Nacional

Península ValdésReserva Faunística

Los GlaciaresNacional

Parque

(1286m)CristalCerro

(2388m)Cerro Catedral

TronadorMonte

(3554m)

ChapelcoCerro

(1340m)

Cerro Piltriquitrón (2260m)

(3405m)Cerro Fitz Roy

65ºW70ºW

40ºS

45ºS

50ºS50ºS

45ºS

40ºS

65ºW70ºW

PosadasLago

Lago Argentino

Lago Viedma

Lago Pueyrredon

AiresBuenos

VintterGeneralLago

Lago

CardielLago

HuapiColhuéLago

MustersLago

Cueva de las Manos

Cueva del Milodón

SarmientoPetrificadoBosque

Punta Delgada

ValdésPenínsula

Punta Norte

Cabo Vírgenes

Cabo Espíritu Santo

Punta Delgada

Punta Ninfas

(Islas Malvinas)FALKLAND ISLANDS

C H

I L

E

PalomaLa

de las ManosHosteria Cueva

La Hoya

Manosde lasAlero

Ria DeseadoReserva Natural

Dos BahíasCabo

(3706m)Cerro San Lorenzo

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RP

RP

RN

RN RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RP

RP

RP RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RPRP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RP

RNRN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

RN

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

22

23

7

7

288

237 251250

250

258

281

74

47

67 8

39

12

25

27

7

9

5

1

23

8

1

2

6

1

413

76

1262

191

30

18

55

12

49

43

20

40 3

3

23

3

23

25

25

3

26

26

40

40

26

3

215

PATAGONIA 120 miles0200 km0

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