Esquel

Esquel sits where the Andean forest gives way to the Patagonian steppe, a working town of some forty thousand people that serves as the hub for a wide area. Twelve kilometres north, the La Hoya ski centre occupies a south-facing bowl that holds snow well into spring and is markedly cheaper than the resorts around Bariloche. West lies Los Alerces national park, and from the station in town the narrow-gauge steam train known as La Trochita still runs on its 750-millimetre track. In summer the town turns to trekking, fishing, rafting on the Corcovado and mountain biking, and it makes an unfussy, well-supplied base with more services than anywhere else for several hours in any direction.

History

The town's story goes back to the Welsh immigrants who landed in Chubut in 1865, and it was founded on 25 February 1906 as an extension of the Colonia 16 de Octubre, which also includes Trevelin; by one account the Welsh settlers called it Tre'r Ysgall, town of thistles, and the name Esquel comes from a Tehuelche word. La Trochita, the 402-kilometre narrow-gauge railway on 750-millimetre track, ran on oil-fired steam locomotives built by Henschel in Germany in 1922 and by Baldwin in Philadelphia, and until 1993 it ran all the way to Ingeniero Jacobacci in Río Negro; today tourist trains run from Esquel to Nahuel Pan (Wikipedia, Esquel, Argentina).

What's there

• La Hoya - the ski bowl north of town with a long snow season.
• La Trochita - the narrow-gauge steam train leaving from the town station.
• The park access - the road west into Los Alerces.
• The steppe edge - the meeting of Andean forest and open Patagonia.

When to go

July to September for skiing at La Hoya, which often holds snow into October; December to March for hiking, fishing and the park. Shoulder seasons are cheap and quiet. Winds pick up hard in spring.

Good to know

The town itself is plain and its sights are all outside it, so a car or tours are needed. Distances in this part of Patagonia are long. Snow seasons vary year to year, and summer weather can be wet for days.

Nearby

Trevelin lies south; Los Alerces national park is west and El Bolsón north on the RN40.

Key facts