Patagonia
_banner_Perito_Moreno_Glacier.jpg)
Patagonia is a region in Argentina, bordered in the north by the Cuyo and Pampas regions, by Chile's part of Patagonia in the west and by the Atlantic Ocean in the east. South of it lies the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego - the Land of Fire.
Regions
Cities
Other destinations
- Nahuel Huapi National Park
- El Chalten
- Los Glaciares National Park
- Peninsula Valdes - It is an important nature reserve (whales, sea lions, dolphins, penguins) which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.
Understand
Read
Patagonia: A Cultural History by Chris Moss: an overview of the indigenous narratives, travel writing, literary works and films of Patagonia.
Get in
By plane
El Calafate is served by Comandante Armando Tola Airport, Aerolines Argentina goes here along with Aerochacho, LADE Airlines, and LAN Argentina. Also Rio Gallegos has an airport, this airport is served by Aerlines Argentines, Austral Lineas Aereas, LAN Chile, LAN Argentina, and SOL Lineas Aereas.
By car
Route 40 runs in this region. Chilean Route 255 (This road comes out from Route 9) crosses into Argentina becoming Route 3. More Routes in this region include Route 53, Route 5, and Route 40.
Get around
See
- View the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park from El Calafate.
- View the Patagonian Ice Sheet from an airplane or nearby mountain.
- Visit penguin colonies near Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.
Itineraries
Do
- Motorcycle expeditions in Patagonia, Argentina [1] Compass Expeditions offers adventure Motorcycle Tours specializing in South America, in the long vast expanses of Patagonia, tours from 10 days to 5 months. (In US 503 369 1955 or in Australia 613 536 86473).
Eat
In Patagonia, there are plenty of unique and delicious things to eat. As in all of Argentina, beef is important, but particular to the area is the cordero, lamb, which is of a very unique flavor (supposedly because the Patagonian lamb eats a unique mixture of herbs found only in Patagonia) especially when grilled in the typical parrilla (grill).
Dulce de leche, similar to caramel and made by adding sugar to milk and cooking it, is used on nearly all desserts, including facturas (pastries eaten for breakfast or tea, or to accompany mate, filled with dulce de leche, dulce de membrillo, crema pastelera, roquefort, or many other things), alfajores (traditional cookies that consist of tiny biscuits stuck together), and many other Argentine desserts.
Drink
Mate (pronounced MAH-tay), a bitter tea, is drunk very frequently. Adding sugar is not rare because of its bitter taste. Many different things can be added to the drink, including milk, sugar, lemon or orange rinds, and cinammon sticks.
Go next