The Patagonia Trail

Pre-ride arrival: Buenos Aires

Dependent upon your travel plans and budget of course, we recommend arriving a few days early and spending two nights in Buenos Aires to explore this vibrant city and recover from jet lag.

Day 1: Arrival

Fly to San Martin de los Andes (specific flight to be confirmed and booked closer to departure) where your hosts will meet you. We recommend that you travel in your riding clothes, as the luggage will go directly to camp while you go a separate way by mini bus, where you’ll be offered a little snack and drinks. After a two and a half hour drive, you will arrive at the shores of Falkner Lake to meet the motor boat in which you’ll cross to the other side, where the horses will be waiting. Travel light with little to carry – just your camera is enough, as the ride into camp takes just over an hour: long enough for you to get a feel for your horse and the gaucho saddles, which you might not be used to.

Once in Base Camp, you’ll be allocated a tent and get settled in before cracking open a nice Malbec for the first sundowner. The tents are very spacious and beautiful, with built in bathrooms. There are plugs for charging devices, but no lights; instead you’ll have rechargeable lanterns. The dining room is a very cosy log cabin overlooking the beautiful Filo Huahum River.

Please note that in the case of bad weather, the arrival will be directly by car from the airport, as the lake is too dangerous to cross when the water is choppy.

Day 2: Filo Huahum Valley and beyond

The mornings here are so beautiful that it’s worth getting up early. Breakfast is ready at 7am, but the wake-up call won’t be given until 8am, so if the sunrise isn’t enough to coax you from your bed, you can enjoy a bit of a sleep-in. Normally your guides will aim to have you in the saddle at 9am, but you’ll see that packing the saddle bags, readying the pack horses, rolling ponchos and fitting them to your saddle all takes a bit longer on the first day. Once mounted up, you will ride down the Filo Huahum Valley and border the lake to have a nice Argentine asado (barbeque) on the other side. Argentina is well known for its Malbec and good meat, and you’ll have a lot of it! Don’t worry if you’re not a meat eater, though – as long as you informed Globetrotting of your dietary requirements prior to departure, you’ll be very well catered for.

The morning ride is easy and only about 3 hours. In the afternoon you ride for the same amount of time, but it is slightly more challenging as you’ll have a little climb and descent to get the hang of mountain riding. It is important to keep an eye on your saddles when climbing. Your guides will always check on them and often stop to adjust tack, but it helps if you are aware of it. Saddles can slide back or forward on the steep slopes. You get back to camp at about 6pm, in time for a nice shower to shake off the dust and another sundowner in the cabin or at the river shore.

Day 3: Pass of Tears

Today you leave for fly camp – you won’t come back to base camp until the next day. You can leave your luggage in your tents -just pack what you need for one night away. The sleeping accommodation in fly camp is a little two-man tent with a good mattress and a good sleeping bag provided by your guides. Remember that there are no showers at fly camp, but there’s enough water to wash your hands and face, of course. At breakfast your guides will give you a little bag to put in your saddle bag, which contains all the basics: a little towel, wet wipes, some chocolate, nuts, lip balm and soap. Remember to pack your swimming gear,because for lunch the following day you will stop and have another asado by the river, with lots of time for a refreshing swim.

As for riding, this is an important day. You will face the ‘Pass of Tears’: possibly the most amazing scenery on the whole ride, but for the faint of heart and those prone to vertigo, it can be very challenging. You will ride up the mountain in the morning, pass the tree line, then have lunch among the rocky slopes without untacking. After lunch you’ll ride for three more hours to reach fly camp. This is a long day, so make sure you drink lots to stay hydrated. Fly camp is in a spectacular spot overlooking the ‘Buque’ mountain. Once you have arrived and settled into your nomadic homes, you can relax and join the gauchos around the campfire. Hannibal, our main gaucho, is the cook tonight and you’ll get to taste his delicious stew.

Day 4: Return to base camp

Today you will ride back down into the valley to a lovely spot by the river where you can swim and enjoy another delicious asado. The ride today is not long, about three hours in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, which you’ll welcome with open arms after clocking up some serious mileage on the previous days. When you return to base camp you will notice that everything feels, looks and tastes better. The little things that we take for granted suddenly become amazing.

Day 5:

This is a day to recover your strength for tomorrow’s ride. Day five varies depending on the weather, the horses and what your group feels like, but typically you’ll go for an easy ride in the morning, sometimes to check on the herd of horses and sometimes to visit Domingo’s place. Domingo is the owner of the property and sometimes he’s there, sometimes he’s not. Lunch is at base camp and there is plenty of time for relaxing, siesta, swimming or walking in the afternoon.

Day 6: Felipe's fly camp

Today you leave base camp for good. You won’t meet your luggage until two days from now, so pack a change of clothes and don’t forget your swimming gear. After a long day in the saddle with spectacular scenery and views over the volcanoes in both Chile and Argentina, you will arrive at Felipe’s fly camp, where you’ll settle in for the night with more Argentine cuisine before snuggling into your sleeping bag.

Day 7: Lake Traful

Scrambled eggs and bacon will fill you up at breakfast, then you’ll leave camp and ride about four hours to Felipe’s house on the shores of Lake Traful. You will have a light lunch and get settled in at Felipe’s barns, which have been converted into comfortable sleeping accommodation. The barns are simple but clean, with shared showers. Felipe is a third generation settler. His house and old barns and corrals are like something out of a fairy tale. The only access to the property is by boat or horseback. For dinner, Felipe will cook a delicious lamb ‘al asador’.

Day 8 : Departure

After breakfast, you will walk 20 minutes to the lakeshore where a boat will be waiting to take you to Villa Traful, a small community on the other side of the lake and the closest road access to Felipe’s home. You will say goodbye to your gauchos and guides on the shore, before crossing the lake to meet your luggage and the car that will take you to Bariloche Airport for your journey home.

Additional Activities: