Ciudad de Esquel

An icon among railways worldwide, the Old Patagonian Express runs on narrow gauge tracks only 29.5 inches wide.
The Old Patagonian Express was commissioned in 1945 and was affectionately dubbed ‘La Trochita’ because its tracks are barely 29.5 inches wide. Until 1993 it was used as a welfare train and ran from Esquel up to Ingeniero Jacobaci in Rio Negro province.
Today it is one of the major tourist attractions of Comarca de los Alerces. The most typical excursion joins the town of Esquel with the first original station, Nahuel Pan, only 12 miles away and the site of the Mapuche Indian community. Here the convoy comes to a stop and passengers can get down and visit some exhibits of Indian handicrafts or listen to Indian music, while the engine gets ready for the return trip.
At present, tourists from all over the world arrive at Esquel to travel through the landscape, history, and time in ‘La Trochita’, a national historic monument of the Argentine Patagonian steppes.

Old Patagonian Express "La Trochita" Frequency

From 03/01/2012 to 11/02/2012 From Monday to Saturday at 10 am and 2 pm 

From 13/02/2012 to 25/02/2012 From Monday to Saturday at 10 am

Carnaval Festivity, on February 20th and February  21st:   Wednesday and Saturday at 10 am 

From 01/04/2012 to 30/04/2012  Saturday at 10 am

www.latrochita.org.ar

The main excursion is the lake boat trip up to the centuries-old alerce forest, where visitors will wonder at the sight of a lahuán or alerce tree more than 3,000 years old and 210 ft high. There are also more than 20 other excursions available, including sports fishing, walks, horse rides and climbs to a variety of peaks.

Paseos Urbanos

La Zeta Lagoon

Starting at the crossing of Avenues Fontana and Alvear, in the centre of the town, a winding road leads up the slopes and reaches down to La Zeta Lagoon. This spot is only 2.5 miles away from Esquel and it can be accessed either on foot, on horseback, by car or by the especially designed MTB trail, which also stretches along the surrounding valley. To the west rise the snowcaps of the Situación Range, and to the north the 21 Range.

Alto Río Percy

A tan solo 5 km de la ciudad y por una senda vehicular, se llega a una tranquila laguna, ideal para un momento de relax. Luego de transitar unos 10 km más, se arriba a la zona de Alto Río Percy, pequeña comunidad a orillas del río, donde se ofrecen caminatas conducidas por intérpretes de senderos.

Turismo rural

A pocos km de Esquel hay chacras orgánicas donde se pueden realizar caminatas guiadas por las distintas plantaciones de frutas finas y visitar huertas y corrales con animales de granja.

Bicisenda

Un recorrido de 6 km que va en forma paralela a la Ruta Nac. N.º 259, donde hay estaciones para el ejercicio físico y se propone un viaje imaginario del Sol a Plutón.

Arroyo Esquel

A la entrada de la ciudad, a orillas del arroyo Esquel, se encuentra el Paseo de la Cascada y una zona de recreación con juegos para niños. En el balneario hay guardavidas todos los días de verano.

Relojes de sol

Caminando por las calles de Esquel, es muy grato sorprenderse con los interesantes relojes de sol, que tienen diferentes temáticas y evocan distintas culturas.

La Cruz

Por un sinuoso camino, se arriba a la cumbre del cerro La Cruz, donde es posible apreciar la ciudad de Esquel, con una vista panorámica que invita a contemplar la inmensidad del valle.

Its name means “the village of the mill” in Welsh. Its first inhabitants were Welsh settlers who arrived in the area with Colonel Fontana´s expedition on 25th November 1885, a historical date for the town. Trevelin is the starting point for several excursions related to the Welsh and Mapuche Indian cultures, to the nearby nature reserves, and the road leading to Chile and the Futaleufú hydroelectric dam.

For more information, check out:
www.trevelin.org