 visiting the south |
 The Patagonia Region |
This vast region south of Buenos Aires begins at the Río Colorado and stretches to the Straits of Magellan. It encompasses interior mountains and glaciers in the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén; sandy beaches on its Atlantic coast, and forests of beechwood and monkey puzzle trees where it meets the Andes. The beauty of Patagonia has been preserved in several national parks.
Patagonia fauna: This area has a grear variety of animals. Some of them, the guanaco for example, are a symbol of the Indian culture. Some of them are protected, like the bird lesser rhea”. Pinguens and wales attract thousands of touristes every year. There are also plenty of seabirds and big sea-mammals like the elephant seal.
Patagonia flora: Patagonia plants have small, throny and succulent leaves to avoid loss of water through evaporation. Bushes are geneally low to avoid the strong wind.
| NEUQUEN |
Neuquén The capital
This provincial capital, 265 meters above sea level, sits at the point where the Limay and Neuquén rivers converge. It has a population of 300,000 and is the agriculture service centre for the Río Negro valley.
San Martin de los Andes
On the shores of Lake Lacar, at 640 m. above sea level, San Martín de Los Andes is only 40 km. from the Chilean border. In 1883 a fort was built in Vega del Maipú, near the present location, but the 4th. of February of 1898 was moved to its present place. This date was registered as the official foundation day. Until 1911 it was mainly a military post consolidating argentine sovereignty in the region. For many years its main activity was forestry. It was not until 1937 that tourist activity began, with the creation of the Lanin National Park. The great impulse came in the seventies thanks to the promotion by the provincial government. Its 20,000 inhabitants almost exclusively live off the tourist activity. Its lakes, rivers, waterfalls and mountains make this place a paradise for the traveler. A few km. away, you will find Chapelco, an excellent ski center that since its opening in 1946, has not stopped improving facilities and services offered to the lovers of the sport. Salmon fishing and big game are other attractions of the Andean city and its surroundings. It is the most important tourist center in the Province of Neuquén.
The points of interest are in addition to its typical mountain architecture, the Secretaría Municipal de Turismo, Museo de Los Pioneros (Pioneer Museum), San José church exhibiting a real size reproduction of the Holy Shroud, Lanín National Park Administration and monuments like Los Ciervos on the shore of Lake Lacar.
| RIO NEGRO |
San Carlos de Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche (known simply as Bariloche) is the heart of northern Patagonia and headquarters of this year's Eco-Challenge race. A quaint Argentine city that looks like a little Swiss village, Bariloche serves as a winter ski resort and a bustling summer base for those exploring the lakes and mountains of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi.
Bariloche attracts backpackers doing the South American or world tour, avid fans of the outdoors with enough skills (and gear) to be independent, wealthy Argentines on holiday, and stragglers in need of renewing their Chilean visas (it's right near the border). Patagonia's more famous southerly tip can be described as a sort of mini-Alaska, with a multitude of lakes, waterfalls and glaciers terminating in Tierra del Fuego, the largest of all South America's islands.
Bariloche, is one of the most popular vacation destinations in South America with fishing in the summer, hunting in the fall and skiing in the winter.
Fishing
Near Bariloche is the Lake Nahuel Huapi - a lake with fishing opportunities for rainbow, browns, trout, salmon and many other fish. Other excellent fishing regions in Patagonia: San Martín de los Andes, Esquel and Los Alerces Park.
Nightlife
The most popular spot is the disco Grisú. Another hot place for dancers is the Paladium, close to the Edelweiss Hotel.
| TIERRA DEL FUEGO |
The Tierra del Fuego province is the southernmost in Argentina. It includes half of Tierra del Fuego island and Staten island, and it is separated from the country by the Strait of Magellan. Argentina shares half of this island territory in the South Atlantic Ocean with Chile. It's a place of oil derricks, sheep, glaciers, wind and waterways. The original people, the Onas and the Yahgan, are few in number and they have almost disappeared. Ushuaia and Río Grande are the two main towns; awesome scenery, wild walks and fishing are the island's main attractions. Argentina's only coastal national park comprises rivers, lakes, forests and glaciers, with great trekking and wildlife-spotting opportunities.
The capital: Ushuaia
The capital city of Tierra del Fuego is Ushuaia. It is considered the southernmost city in the world. The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan named it in 1520, when he saw fire in the coast.
Few relics remain testifying to life at this former missionary base and subsequent Argentinean prison. It became a key military base in 1950 and is now a major vacation destination. Forestry and fishing are the chief occupations of its inhabitants.
| CHUBUT |
The Península Valdés
The Península Valdés is a special treat for lovers of wildlife, with large numbers of sea lions, elephant seals, guanacos, rheas, Magellanic penguins, sea birds, flamingos and right whales. Tourism is a very important activity in Península de Valdés and is not limited to any particular season, although the number of visitors peaks during late winter and early spring. Facilities for visitors exist both in the Península and nearby cities such as Puerto Madryn and Trelew. The town of Puerto Pirámide, located in the southern coast of the Península, is the tourist centre for the off-shore whale-watching. However, most visitors spend the night in Puerto Madryn. The road network, which connect the Península main attraction points with neighbouring cities is well-developed; an estimated 83% of the visitors travel by car and remain in the area for periods of three days or more.
Wales on Península Valdés: Southern Right Wales are sea mammals which feed, mate give birth and nurse their offspring in the península. They have baleens instead of teeth and filter their food through them. Their strong, black body has some white spots in the abdomen. They are between 12 and 15 m long and weight 30-35 tons. They lack dorsal fin, their side fins are big and the tail can be 5m wide. They breath through blowholes on top of their head. Wales watching tours leave Puerto Piramide from May to December. Feeding is supposed to take place in the South Atlantic in Summer and Autumn. They spend winter and spring in the Peninsula, were they bread. Females give birth to their first calf at 6 and then bread approximately every 3 years. Calves are 5.5m long when born and grow about 3.5cm a day for the first months.
Puerto Madryn (Major historical city)
On July 28th, 1865, 153 Welsh migrants landed near Madryn. With their Celtic origin, the Welsh made the first permanent settlement in the whole of Pantagonia. They were all Protestant, but of different denominations. This is why nearly three dozen chapels were built, most of them still standing today. It was in these chapels were the Welsh went to school, held their meetings and their trials. Nowadays, everyJuly 28th, the Welsh still remember the Gwyl y Glaniad (the day of the landing). They have tea in the vestry of chapels ad sing or read religious hymns. Peace was what they came after and even today, peace is what they strive for, in spite of progress”.Chubut Valley, Municipalidad de Trelew
For more information on excursions, contact RECEPTIVO PENINSULA
*rcvtw@cadenarayentray.com.ar *
| | NATIONAL PARKS IN PATAGONIA |
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi:
The main feature of the park is Lago Nahuel Huapi, a 100 km long lake formed by the Pleistocene glaciers, possessing a single narrow island at its centre. Isla Victoria as it is now known, is notable for its rare species of trees and for a number of exotic animals, including the pudu and the huemul, both rare indigenous deer. The lake is home to a number of native fish species, plus several newcomers such as trout and salmon, offering exceptional sport fishing. However, the real attraction of this region is excellent high country trekking, among its rugged mountains and alpine meadows. Just west of the lake is Tronador -meaning thunderer-, a 3554-metre/11722-foot extinct volcano, and the Chilean border. The area is noted for its forest-covered mountain slopes and the summer blanket of wildflowers.
Parque Nacional Laguna Blanca:
Laguna Blanca is located 30 km from Zapala in a barren volcanic area of Neuquén. The shallow lake was formed when lava flows dammed two small streams. One of only two swan sanctuaries in the western hemisphere, it is a breeding ground for the distinctive black- necked swan. Laguna Blanca also features other bird species, such as coots, grebes, upland geese, gulls, and flamingos.
Parque Nacional Lanín:
This tranquil forest area extends 150 km north from Nahuel Huapi to Lago Norquinco, with snow- capped, 776-metre/ 12615-foot Volcan Lanín as its centerpiece. Its flora includes huge stands of broadleaf deciduous southern beech, rauli, and pehuen (monkey puzzle tree), plus lenga, nire, and coihue, which are characteristic of more southerly forests. Many finger-shaped lakes attest to the passage of glaciers.
<Reserva Provincial Punta Tombo:
Situated at 107 kms south from the city of Trelew (a 1 hour and 30 minutes trip), the Punta Tombo Reserve is one of the world’s greatest wild fauna spectacles, comparable to the Galapagos Island. There is no other penguin colony of this magnitude that is so easily accessible. In its territory one of the country’s most important colonies of maritime birds and the mayor continental colony of Magallones Penguins (at the height of the season it exceedes one million exemplaries) find refuge. It is a narrow and rocky fringe that penetrates around 3.5 kms into the sea and has extense and soft sloped beaches, a characteristic that penguins take advantage of to make their nests, arriving to firm ground by the beach, were we can observe them contantly coming and going from and to their nests, an actitude that grows in the morning and in the afternoon when temperature is lower. In 1979 the Province of Chubut created this reserve in order to protect the Magallanes Penguins, as well as the other species that cohabit with them. Nowadays it is the reserve that recibes the greatest amount of visits (50,000 persons annualy is the average in the last years). The reserve is open from September to March.
| The Penguins Annual Cycle | | Late August | The first males arrives | | September | The remaining males and the females arrive. Territorial fights. Nest/burrow preparation | | October | Egg-laying. Incubation: 35-40 days | | Early November | Egg-hatching. Males and females takes turns in the feading and care of the chicks | | December | Juveniles and non-breeders crowd on the beach. Heavy traffic of adults to and from the sea. Chicks constantly demanding food. Skuas and seagulls preying nests. | | January | Chicks leave nests, they moult and get into the sea | | February | Juveniles and non-breeders moulting. Access to the sea jammed | | March | All chicks leave. Juveniles and non0breeders and moulting and migrate north (south of Brasil). Adult moult. | | April | Adults end moulting and migrate north. Tombo is empty | | May-June | Magellan penguins live at sea |
Parque Nacional Los Alerces:
The park was built to protect extensive groves of alerce a large and ancient conifers that can exceed 150 feet in height and 12 feet in diameter. Alerces well over two millenia in age grow amongst stands of cypress and incense cedar. The park is located west of Esquel and also features pristine lakes and streams, enchanting views and excellent fishing. The area is usually mild in the summer although it can be quite wet at other times.
<Parque Nacional Los Glaciares:
Home to almost four dozen major glaciers, this 2300 square mile/ 6000 square kilometer park is a unique opportunity to see some of the most powerful forces of nature. The northern section of the park is characterized by its steep jagged peaks, including Cerro Fitz Roy which exceeds 11000 feet. This section of the park is particularly popular among trekkers and mountaineers. It is known as an exceptionally challenging and dangerous climbing area. The southern section of the park is more hospitable to casual sightseeing and containe many interesting glaciers. The Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the world's few remaining advancing glaciers is the most spectacular, currently grinding its way down the Cordillera directly into an arm of the enormous Lago Argentino. About every three years the glacier cuts off the flow of water into the lake resulting in an immense accumulation of pressure as the water behind the glacier rises. The explosive resolution of these forces is a spectacular event to those lucky enough to witness it.
<Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados:
During Jurassic times, the extensive forests that once covered this part of Patagonia were buried by volcanic ash. Subsequent erosion revealed mineralised trees measuring three metres in diameter and 35 meters / 90 feet in length--some of which remarkably remain standing.
Parque Nacional Perito / Perito Moreno:
The Moreno Glacier of Santa Cruz is a 60-meter-high (197-ft-high) river of rising, toppling and exploding ice, though it hasn't been advancing for several years. This jewel of a park is often overlooked by visitors to the area. Here, glacier- covered mountains rise majestically above blue lakes where migrant birds sojourn and herds of guanacos lazily feed. The weather here is often windy and cold, even in summer.
History: As the Piedra Museo settlement ( Santa Cruz province) shows, it seems that the first "Argentineans" lived there as far as 13,000 years ago. Its inhabitants were hunters and nomadic gatherers.
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