How to get to Trevelin and Esquel?

Esquel has an airport, but being small the regularity of flights is scarce and the prices are high. We chose to fly to Bariloche from Buenos Aires, rent a car and drive the 5 hours that separate both cities. We found it convenient since we recommend having your own vehicle to travel around this area.

Where to sleep?

It is indistinct if you sleep in Trevelin or Esquel, as we told you it is a short drive away and from both places you can hire excursions. We decided to stay in Trevelin since we planned the trip with little anticipation and we only got a place there.

Activities to do

Los Alerces National Park

One of the main attractions of this area is Los Alerces National Park, a World Heritage Site. Its main attraction is the thousand-year-old alerzal trees, more than 2,600 years old. In the park there are also waterfalls, lagoons and forests. It also has hostels and several camping areas.

It is a super large protected area with 3 entrance gates: north, south and center. 

Here we tell you everything you can do in Los Alerces National Park.

2. Tulip field

Tulip bulbs have been grown in this area since 1997. Due to the favorable climate and soil conditions, the results were super encouraging. Currently the city exports tulips all over the world. 

The beautiful colorful Tulip plantations can only be seen in October and last only one month (we recommend to consult the date depending on the year). The private field where you can see the plantations you see in the photos is called "Tulipanes Patagonia" and is located 14 km from the center of Trevelin. At the location there is a small stall with food for lunch and a tea house. There is an entrance fee of ARS $800 (October 2021) per person.  

3. Nant and Fall Waterfall

This is a protected area near the Tulipanes field. Along its 400 meters you can see 7 waterfalls surrounded by a Patagonian Andean forest full of cypresses, coihues, lauras and maitines. 

The walkway that crosses the falls takes no more than 45 minutes. 

It is open daily from 12:00 to 18:00 hs and the fee is ARS $400.

4. Ice Tunnels

The ice tunnels are formations that occur in the La Torta hill, on the border of Los Alerces National Park. The snow accumulated during the winter and spring is transformed into ice, and as the summer progresses, it begins to melt from the lower layer to the surface, giving rise to these ice tunnels. 

It is an excursion that can only be done in the summer months of January and February and requires a certain physical condition since you have to walk uphill for approximately 1 hour. 

5. Trekking to Torrecillas Glacier

This excursion is available all year round and combines navigation and trekking for 1 to 2 hours with medium difficulty. We could not do it because there was just a storm but we wanted to know this incredible glacier.

6. Standing Stone

Deep in the Patagonian steppe, 150 km from Esquel, next to the Chubut River, you can find the standing stone with its 210 meters high and 100 meters wide. On the other side of the river you can see the cañadón de la buitrera with 100 meter high walls, a paradise for sport climbing. 

7. Wine Route

In the Trevelin Valley you can find vineyards that can be visited all year round. Among them are Casa Yagüe, Viñas del Nant and Fall and Contra Corriente.

8. La Hoya

If you visit the area during the winter season, you can practice winter sports in La Hoya.

9. La Trochita

This is the name given to the Old Patagonian Express that used to connect the provinces of Rio Negro and Chubut, due to the fact that its gauge measures only 75cm. 

Nowadays it is possible to take a 3-hour excursion on the famous Trochita. It departs from Esquel station and crosses the Patagonian steppe, passing through the towns of El Maitén, Ingeniero Jacobacci and the Mapuche community of Nahuel Pan.