Patagonian Route 40 Tour

Route 40 south from Bariloche, in order. El Bolsón, then Esquel: two Andean towns with Welsh roots, from settlers who arrived in the late 19th century. Then Los Alerces National Park and its alerce forest, the Patagonian cypress. La Trochita, the old steam locomotive, is a visit, not a ride. Cholila follows, where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out. The day ends at Hostería Los Antiguos, on the lake beside the Chilean border. It is a long day on the road, so read the stops as the shape of the route, not a schedule.

Cueva de las Manos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive follows Route 40 through Caracoles Canyon to the Visitors' Center in the Pinturas River Canyon, and from there a footpath first made by the Tehuelche, who lived here more than 10,000 years ago, leads to the cave. Their rock paintings are still on the wall: animal symbols and many painted hands. A second walk along the Pinturas River Canyon is optional, and shows how slowly this landscape was cut. Then back to Hostería Los Antiguos.

Marble Cave, Marble Chapel, Marble Cathedral: three formations shaped by erosion, on the lake Argentina calls Buenos Aires and Chile calls General Carrera. It is one lake, and the caves sit on the Chilean side, so today crosses into Chile. The way there runs overland toward the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, then out on the lake by boat to the caves. The blues shift with the season and the weather, and Andean condors may be overhead. Back to Hostería Los Antiguos for the night.

Breakfast at the hostería, one last look at the lake, then Route 40 on south to El Chaltén, a village in the mountains. The tour ends there. From El Chaltén, travelers head home or carry on through Patagonia and the rest of South America, with this extension as one leg of a longer trip.