Patagonia, Chile

Patagonia, Chile

According to medicinelearners, Patagonia is a completely different civilization. You live in your world, and this end of the earth in its own. And you only cross when you want to see the wonders of this planet. Then you spend a lot of money and fly here to Argentina. To visit Patagonia and understand that the world is not limited to an office chair and fast food. Perhaps real life is just here.

Traveling through Patagonia is an endless series of glaciers, fjords, lakes, forests, frozen ground and Andes peaks. Here nature shows itself without hesitation, in pristine beauty.

By the way, until 1881 this land did not belong to any of the states. Today, Argentina and Chile own Patagonia. The Argentine part includes the provinces of Rio Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, the Chilean part includes Los Lagos and the continental parts of the Aisen and Magallanes regions.

How to get there

Journey to the ends of the world begins from the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. It is connected by air with the main cities – El Calafate, Neugen, Trelev, Bariloche, Ushuaia. The most popular points on the map for tourists are Calafate and Ushuaia, a little more than 3 hours to fly here.

Also between the cities of Patagonia, planes of the Chilean carrier LAN fly. The city of Puerto Madryn is connected by several flights to Buenos Aires and bus lines to the rest of the country

From Ushuaia you can get to Antarctica – a two-week cruise on a steamboat will cost about 4 thousand dollars.

Transportation

Given that the transport network in this area is not particularly well developed, it is best to rent a car. So you can free yourself time and not be attached to sightseeing tours. Car rental will cost about $50 per day, including insurance. You can rent a car at car repair shops, at gas stations or immediately at the airport, upon arrival.

The beaches of Patagonia

The beaches of Patagonia sometimes resemble a lost and found office. What is not here! On the sand you can meet the bones of sea elephants, huge skeletons of crabs, shells of abalones. In a word, a solid piece of a textbook on biology will appear before your eyes.

One of the best beaches in Patagonia is La Visera. Sea lions and penguins live here all year round and do not pay attention to people. This does not mean that they are harmless. In case of danger, they will give change – be healthy!

Cuisine and restaurants

According to thembaprograms, Patagonia may be the end of the world, but man managed to grab a part of the territory for himself and build restaurants, cafes and hotels on it. So that tourists admire the local beauties on a full stomach.

In Argentinean Patagonia they love and know how to cook meat. Beef will be served to you in various angles and types. Local steak is akin to Bavarian sausages – the same gastronomic attraction that must be tasted.

Cafes and restaurants most often offer South American and, so to speak, international cuisine, which includes everything else. Fish dishes are good in Patagonia, for example, fried trout or baked salmon. There are the usual small eateries where you can eat pizza and drink a glass of fortified wine with orange juice.

Hotels

In Patagonia, the organization of tourism is well established. For example, right at the airport, at the information desk, they will help you book a hotel room if you have not taken care of it in advance. The tourist city of Ushuaia offers a variety of hotels – from 3 to 5 “stars”. The cost of living is surprisingly low. You can rent a double room for only 20-30 dollars. Luxury hotels will take more – from hundreds of dollars.

In addition, in Patagonia you can stay at the campsite. A tent for two will cost about $50 per night. Next to each tent there is a table, benches, a place for a fire, a canopy from the rain. There are showers, toilets and a cafe on the territory.

The shops

In the provinces of Patagonia, you can buy good leather items – bags, shoes, clothes. In addition, jewelry made of silver and gold, woolen items (sheep breeding business is developed in Patagonia), dishes.

In the town of Ushaya, various electronics are sold at bargain prices. The fact is that factories for the production of equipment operate in the vicinity. So the goods arrive on the shelves without duties.

3 things to do in Patagonia

  1. Feed the sea lions and penguins – you can, of course, do this at the zoo, but then there will not be that effect. Penguin colonies live near the lighthouse Les Eklireurs and on the island of Martillo. An island with sea lions is nearby. It is better to feed them under the supervision of a professional instructor who will tell you what you can give the animals and how to contact them.
  2. Traveling by train to the “end of the world” is a journey on the famous train that was launched through the territories for prisoners. It is on those lands that the prisoners began to develop more than 100 years ago. The train will take you to the Macarena Falls to meet the Yamanas Indians, the Pipo River, and Tierra del Fuego National Park.
  3. Plant a bush of grapes – in Patagonia, due to the special climatic conditions, the grapes take root not so hot, and the wine is mostly fortified. But local farmers do not give up and continue to hope for good harvests. A vine bush will replace the obligatory tree in a series of three main male actions. It remains only to build a house and raise a son.

Entertainment and attractions of Patagonia

The main attraction of Patagonia is the nature of this region. The only thing left for a person was to organize everything and flaunt it in the best possible way.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

The area of ​​the Tierra del Fuego park is more than 60 thousand hectares. It is located near Ushuaia, near the border with Chile. The park has preserved unique unique subantarctic tree species. Mountainous terrain is everywhere here, and valleys are mixed with rivers and lakes. The park is home to beavers, colored foxes, rare marine mammals and an amazing bird, the black-headed albatross, can be found on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Hand cave

The cave is located in the province of Santa Cruz. The name comes from handprints, some of which were made over 90 centuries ago.

This is a tricky cave – first you go to your full height, and then you begin to bend unbeknownst to yourself, because the ceiling is getting closer to your head. To save the cave, UNESCO included it in the World Cultural Heritage List.

One of the best beaches in Patagonia is La Visera. Sea lions and penguins live here all year round and do not pay attention to people.

Bosques Petrifados Natural Monument

This area is located near the town of Sarmiento. There are petrified forests that formed in the Cretaceous period. Due to the uplift of the mountains, much of Patagonia was buried under lava and ash. So there are practically no forests in these places. Or they were preserved in this form – petrified.

Los Glaciares National Park

The famous Glacier Park with an area of ​​more than 4 thousand square kilometers covers lakes, steppes, forests, Andes peaks and glaciers. The park is under the protection of UNESCO. There are many different wild animals here, and famous sights include Mount Fitz Royce, Uppsala Glacier, Santa Cruz River, Lake Argentino and another glacier…

Perito-Moreno

The hallmark of Los Glaciares Park and, probably, the whole of Patagonia. The glacier goes up to 60 meters. It slowly flows down from the mountains and sometimes blocks the strait opposite for several days. Water and ice converge in a fierce battle, as a result of which the ice walls collapse and raise huge waves.

This is a very impressive sight that can only be observed from a safe distance. Otherwise, you will be washed away with water or doused with sharp ice chips.

The glacier breaks up about every 2-3 years. It is very difficult to predict when the next performance will begin and how you can get to it. Unless you have a native acquaintance in Patagonia who will warn you in advance. Then you drop everything and rush to this show.

Puerto Montt

It is believed that in Puerto Montt civilization ends and Patagonia begins. Tourists fly into the local airport to then take to the sea into the fjords or start by car along the South Highway, a thousand-kilometer highway leading from Puerto Montt and ending in the remote Patagonian village of Villa O’Higgins. Winding along it at the foot of the Andes, between glaciers, fjords, lakes and rainforests, you can see this region in its pristine beauty. It is important to remember that the highway is not continuous: it alternates with ferry crossings.

The San Rafael lagoon can only be reached by the rugged fjords (ferries from Chacabuco and Puerto Montt) or by air – on the “corncob” from Coyaique.

A giant glacier is sliding into the lagoon (and will slide all year by 2020), breaking off into the water with an impressive 70-meter wall of ice.

It is believed that in Puerto Montt civilization ends and Patagonia begins.

Grey-Castor-Ushuaia

This is a ski resort, which is located almost 30 kilometers from the city of Ushuaia. The skiing season lasts from June to October. During this period, many tourists come here. The snow cover in the resort is excellent, the infrastructure is developed at a high level. The total length of the tracks is more than 20 kilometers.

Torres del Paine

The Torres del Paine Nature Reserve is a towering mountain of the most fantastic forms (it is the local massifs of the “Towers” or “Horns” that flaunt on countless souvenir waste paper sold throughout the country). Most hikers explore the reserve on foot, either on the easy Circuito trail (one week) or the shorter but more strenuous W trail (4-5 days).

Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas means end of the world in Chilean. The town is boring, but the only one in these parts with an airport, so it can not be avoided. Planes and ferries fly to Tierra del Fuego from there, boats go to Magdalena Island with tens of thousands of penguins. Not far from the city are the famous Great Falls, penguin colonies in Otway and the cave of Mylodon with the remains of prehistoric animals.

Patagonia, Chile