Route 40

La Payunia is a 25,000 km2 volcanic area located southeast of the Argentinian province of Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes and between rivers Atuel and Colorado. It is one of the regions with more density of volcanoes in our planet, with more than 800 cones of different sizes and eruption styles. These quantity and density make La Payunia one of the most important volcanic districts on Earth. Its landscape, made by vast lava plains with many volcanic cones, basalt flows and pyroclastic fields looks like a different planet, making the visit to La Payunia a wonderful experience. The area is candidate...

After spending the last couple of days in the pristine Perito Moreno National Park we started the third and last part of our tour. Our last destinations were two of the highlight spots in Southern Patagonia: El Chaltén and El Calafate, both in Los Glaciares National Park. This park protects an area of 724.000 hectareas of colossal glaciers and lakes, surrounded by magnificent landscapes of steppe and forest. Due to its amazing splendour this park was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1981 and it is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful natural landscapes in the world. El Chaltén,...

On this post we will relate the second part of our last Route 40 tour from San Martín de los Andes to El Calafate with Ana, Pedro and Gaetano. South of Esquel Route 40 turns slightly to the east, moving away from the Andes mountain range and entering the immense and mostly flat Patagonian steppe. Even for the Argentinians this is a very unknown and almost uninhabited territory; there are no major towns and the only little ones are very distant one from the other. Most part of this apparently void land is privately owned, divided in huge estancias or ranches, separated by wire fences. When...

Last February we were on the road again, on a new edition of our ever-changing "Lake District" & "Southern Patagonia" tours, this time starting from San Martín de los Andes, instead of Bariloche. Our travelling companions were Ana & Pedro from Spain and Gaetano from Italy. It was their first time in Patagonia, so we designed a comprehensive itinerary for them catching the best of Patagonia from north to south in two weeks filled with landscapes, wildlife and action. We can divide the itinerary in three sectors: the Lake District in north Patagonia, the steppe in the middle and the glaciers...

Perito Moreno National Park (do not confuse with Perito Moreno Glacier, which is 450 Km south, in Los Glaciares National Park) is a protected area on the center west of the Santa Cruz province, in the southernmost part of the Argentine Patagonia. Limiting with Chile on its west side it has a surface of 115,000 has., covering a representative mix of the Patagonian Steppe and the humid Subantarctic Forest. The area was declared national park in 1937, and due to its isolation and harsh weather it is one of the most unknown national park in Patagonia. It also the less visited, with less than 2,000...

We used our previous post to describe the Ruta 40 part that covers the North and Cuyo regions; on this one we will take you through the Patagonian stretch of this mythical route. Geographers consider Patagonia to comprise all the territory south of Colorado River, so almost half of the mileage of Ruta 40 goes through Patagonian territory. This includes the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut y Santa Cruz.   Neuquén The route enters north of the Neuquén province coming from Malargüe in Mendoza. In the town of Barrancas the road cuts the Colorado River, which marks the entry in Patagonian...

Ruta 40 ("Route 40"), or National Route 40 is the longest and most spectacular road in Argentina. It covers the whole country from north to south, parallel to the Andes mountains, from La Quiaca, on the Bolivian border, to Cabo Vírgenes, in Santa Cruz province, the southernmost place in the continental territory of Argentina. The route covers more than 5.200 Km., crossing 11 provinces, 20 Reserves and National Parks, 13 big lakes and salt mines, 126 bridges and 26 mountain passes, reaching a maximum altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level.   The road was planned in 1935, having suffered...

The Seven Lakes Route, also known as Seven Lakes Road, is one of the most famous touristic circuits in the Argentinian Patagonia, located in the area known as the "Lake District". It is a 110 Km. stretch of route, that links the towns of San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura, both in the Neuquén province, covering the south sector of Lanín National Park and the north of Nahuel Huapi National Park. The route passes by lakes Lácar, Hermoso, Falkner, Villarino, Traful, Correntoso, Espejo and Nahuel Huapí, as well as by other minor lakes. Together with the lakes the other big attraction...