Argentina's Patagonia Progressive Trail
2008
Day 1 Pick-up at San Martín de los Andes Airport. Meet your guide and transfer to the Estancia (very simple accommodations with bed and blankets, shared rooms). Enjoy a welcome dinner.
Day 2 After breakfast and last minute packing you meet the horses. Say farewell to the last sight of civilization in this working Estancia as you start the ride into remote territories. The group is heading west, to the Andes range. At first the typical dry Patagonian steppe surrounds you but it gradually fades out. You are riding towards one of the largest giant monkey puzzle tree woods in Patagonia. You stop for lunch under the first small group of them, just as you are entering their kingdom. When you reach Puesto Ignacio, the campsite for the night, you leave all heavy items behind and go for a ride into the wood. This is the first chance to feel Patagonian vastness and the immense size of these trees.
Day 3 After breakfast riders leave the campsite. This day you will ride north and then west. After riding through the valley, there will be plenty of chances for cantering and galloping for those interested. The steppes landscape is cut by woods of ñires trees, a typical tree of the region. You enjoy lunch under the shade of huge monkey puzzle trees. The afternoon ride will take you into higher ground, with a chance to see the condors, before you reach a Mapuche Indian reservation territory. The night campsite, Mallín de las Lengas, is at the border of a fairy tale lengas forest, worthy of a Tolkien novel. It is so pristine that the giant trees have piled up over the centuries. They are all there still lying on the ground, offering a moving scene. You will ride into this fairy tale forest, and at night partake in an energizing meal.
Day 4 After breakfast you will be heading to the Picudo Mountain. It is the highest riding point of the trail and offers a spectacular view. The climb and descent are through the lengas wood, an unforgettable ride in the half light of this dense wood. You head west towards the lake where the group will make camp. The monkey puzzle trees will be your hosts for the night as you camp close to the Polcahue Lake.
Day 5 During the morning you will ride straight to the west. This valley has been used over the centuries by the Mapuche Indians to reach the Pacific Ocean, crossing the Andes range. You will stop close to the Chilean border, and ride past the Pulmarí Lake. After a long day, you arrive at sunset at the Estancia, ready to enjoy a few basic privileges of civilization: electricity and hot water. Farewell dinner.
Day 6 After breakfast you are driven to San Martín de los Andes Airport.
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