Patagonian Andes

Bariloche

Arrival at Bariloche’s international airport where a private transfer will take you to your hotel, located in the center of this beautiful city surrounded by lakes and mountains, situated in the very heart of the Patagonian Andes. Depending on your arrival time, you will have time to visit the city and do some last minute shopping before the horseback ride. Look for the store “Pampero” to buy the traditional guacho style pants your guides will wear. In the afternoon your guide will meet the group at the hotel to give you a brief outline of what you will spend the next few days doing. Dinner at a traditional steak restaurant.

El Sapucai

At around 10am you’ll begin the transfer by road along route 40, the famous junction at the foot of the mountain range between the north and the south of the country. First cross the region of the lakes of Norpatagonia, and then leave the highway and enter the immensity of the steppe on dramatic dirt roads. Finally after about three to four hours of driving you’ll arrive at “El Sapucai” in the Precordillera, the home of your hosts and horses. Here you will be assigned a yurt with a comfortable bed and wood stove and separate bathroom yurt with wood fire heated water. Meet the staff and enjoy the beauty of the afternoon before going for your first ride before dinner. You’ll be given a saddle bag to go behind your saddle on your horse.

About 1 hr riding.

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in Glamping – El Sapucai.

Lagoons from El Sapucai

The comfortable night in your yurt will leave you well rested for a full day’s ride from the ranch. Climb the mountain range to appreciate the panoramic view of the surrounding Andes. You will be impressed by the dexterity of the Criollo horse crossing different terrains: mallines, lenga forests and rocky ground. At the end of this climb, enjoy a 360 degree view, where you will be able to appreciate the rare “lagunas,” or cirque basins. Have lunch on the lush shore in front of the Cordillera with its eternal snow. Return by another steep trail – be prepared to walk on foot for a short portion – that continues through forests of stunted ñires and old lenga forests until you reach the refuge.

About 6-8 hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in Glamping – El Sapucai

La Angostura back to El Sapucai

Ride downriver to visit La Angostura, an old trail along the bank of the Chubut River that was once used to transport timber brought down from the mountains to the loading docks along the railway. Lunch on the riverbank. Afterward return to El Sapucai by another trail. You’ll be given a dry bag to pack for your next three nights camping.

About 4-5 hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in Glamping – El Sapucai

El Sapucai - Veranada Miranda

Today you begin our crossing of the Cordillera, which you will complete in four days’ time to Bariloche. You’ll be fortified with a delicious breakfast and coffee and given snacks for your saddle bags before you set out. The landscape becomes increasingly dramatic as you head deeper into the mountains. Ride up along the Chubut River, passing an abandoned gold, silver, and lead mine. Pass by the home of local settlers, the Miranda family, who will likely share some stories of the past as well as their current way of life. Continue riding upriver to a summer pasture (veranada). On the banks of the Cerrucho stream you will set up camp, sheltered within a stunted ñire forest. There is a chance to visit the only waterfall along the Chubut River’s entire 850 km course.

About 5-6  hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in camp.

Veranada Miranda – Pichileufu River

This morning continue up along the Chubut River until you reach a giant amphitheater where the river is born. In the afternoon you will cross the Cerro Carreras massif, the watershed between the Pacific and the Atlantic, and now riding downhill, first over  rocky terrain and then into a native lenga forest, continue about 2 more hours to reach the source of the Pichileufu River, where you will camp on the riverbank.

About 5-6  hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in camp.

Pichileufu River – Domes – Las Buitreras

Today’s ride begins in a valley is still enclosed by lenga and ñire forests. The Pichileufu River is calm and meandering. Summer pastures with good grazing begin to appear and the valley gradually opens up. Stop on the bank of the Pichileufu River, near the old Pacheco summer pasture, and enjoy these peaceful moments. In the afternoon you will reach the domes, the luxury accommodation in this remote spot facing Cerro La Buitrera, a rock
formation shaped by wind and water erosion, a landscape straight out of another planet.

About 4-5 hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in luxury Domes.

Domes – Ñirihuau – Bariloche

Leave from the domes, riding along the side of the Las Buitreras hill. Descending and nearing the town of Ñirihuau, cross the La Mina stream, where an old oil field is located, and if you look closely you can still see (and smell) oil seeping from the ground. In the Ñirihuau area, about 25 km from Bariloche, you will find a variety of small family-run farms. These settlers are
mainly engaged in raising sheep, cattle, and horses, as well as forestry. At the end of the horseback journey, a private transfer awaits you to return to Bariloche, leaving the faithful horses behind.

About 2-3 hrs riding

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in Bariloche hotel.

Departure

A private transfer takes you from the hotel to the airport in time for departing flights.