Los Antiguos

Los Antiguos lies on the southern shore of Lago Buenos Aires, the second largest lake in South America, whose mass of water moderates the climate enough to let fruit grow in a region that is otherwise bare steppe. The result is a strip of orchards, poplars and windbreaks: cherries above all, along with strawberries, raspberries and apples, sold at farm gates and celebrated in a cherry festival each January that fills the town. The Tehuelche name means the place of the elders, given because older people came here to live out their days in the milder air. The border with Chile is a few kilometres west, and the road east crosses to the Cueva de las Manos region.

What you actually see

• The cherry orchards - fruit farms and farm-gate sales through the summer.
• Lago Buenos Aires - the vast lake whose water softens the climate.
• The cherry festival - the January celebration that fills the town.
• The oasis contrast - green orchards against bare surrounding steppe.

When to go

December to February for the cherry harvest, with the festival usually in January; the fruit season is short and varies with the year. Autumn is quiet and colourful. Winter is cold with much of the tourist economy shut.

Honest expectations

Outside the fruit season there is not a great deal to do. The town is small and remote, hours from anywhere on partly gravel roads. Wind off the lake is strong, and services are limited.

Nearby

Perito Moreno town lies east; Chile Chico is just across the border west.