TREVELIN & WELSH COLONY ROUTE
Located 25 km away from Esquel, Trevelin is a peaceful Andean town with a marked presence of Welsh culture. The story begins with the arrival of the first settlers in 1985 and settled in the valley to develop productive activities mainly the wheat with the installation of the mills, thus taking the name that today characterizes Trevelin "Village of the Mill". History is kept alive in museums and stories. The beautiful valley also gave rise to different undertakings such as vineyards, Trout farms or Tulip plantations. We will visit the Nant & Fall Waterfall, the Nant Fach Flour Mill Museum and Nant & Fall vineyards. The tour ends in Trevellin, enjoying a typical Wales tea (optional).
This is a very leisurely hike, on almost flat terrain, ideal for those who enjoy a quiet walk. We begin by picking up passengers from their hotels and traveling 18 km to the trailhead. Our dirt route follows the course of the Río de las Vueltas River toward Lago del Desierto, until we reach the Río Eléctrico Bridge. At this point, the hike begins, following the right bank of the Río Eléctrico valley for much of the route and eventually detouring toward the reddish walls of Cerro Eléctrico. It's a two-hour hike to reach Piedra del Fraile, where Father Agostini established a base for his explorations in the area. There is currently a private campsite (Piedra del Fraile), where there is a shelter where we can eat or have a snack. A few meters away, there is a small viewpoint overlooking the north face of Fitz Roy. The return journey follows the same path until we reach the Río Eléctrico Bridge, where we take ground transportation back to El Chaltén.
Early in the morning we depart to Valdés Peninsula. At the entrance the fee to the World Heritage Area is paid; then arrival at the Ameghino Isthmus where we stop at the Interpretation Center. We continue to Puerto Pirámides where (between June and December) we can embark for a close encounter with the ballena franca Whale (optional). After that we visit Punta Pirámides lobería (seals settlement). Then we leave to Caleta Valdés where we will have time to have lunch (optional) and we will see an elephant seals settlement. We will pass by a penguin rookery in formation, where (between September and April) we will have the opportunity to see some specimens of the "Magellan" type from the top of a cliff. During the tour we can observe Patagonia typical fauna (maras, choiques, guanacos, and piches) and different birds. In case we fail to sail in the morning for bad weather, we will go to Pirámides Port for whales sighting. Late in the afternoon we arrive in our accommodation.