La carretera más larga y espectacular de la Argentina. La mágica Ruta Nacional 40, a través de más de 5.000 Km por la Cordillera de los Andes, llega desde Cabo Vírgenes (Santa Cruz) hasta La Quiaca (Jujuy). Trepa sobre el nivel del mar hasta casi 5.000 metros, atraviesa 236 puentes, cruza 18 importantes ríos, bordea 13 grandes lagos y salares, lleva a 20 reservas y parques nacionales, y conecta con 27 pasos cordilleranos. La RN 40, creada en 1935, une de sur a norte once provincias de tres regiones del país. Patagonia: Santa Cruz, Chubut, Río Negro y Neuquén. Cuyo: Mendoza, San Juan y La Rioja. Norte: Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta y Jujuy.
Uno de los recorridos más agradables de esta carretera funciona de SAN CARLOS DE BARILOCHE a EL CALAFATE. Está área mítica y fascinadora, recorrida antes por los pioneros y los aventureros, donde lo mejor de la ruta se abre para ser transitado.
El recorrido esta en versiòn en Inglès
DAY 01: BARILOCHE / EL BOLSON / LOS ALERCES NATIONAL PARK / ESQUEL
323 km – estimate 7 hours + stops (paved and gravel routes)
Departure from BARILOCHE towards EL BOLSON, first ecological town in Patagonia located on in the Valle Nuevo, near Puelo Lake. This town is one of the best microclimates in the country and famous for its organic products and fine fruits, and most importantly, its unique and beautiful way of life. Hippie communities and descendants of immigrants from Europe come together here and create a unique and special environment.Continue to Cholila where famous bank robbers Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid spent four years under de names of Santiago Ryan and Enrique Place ranching peacefully together with Etta Place, Sundance’s wife before running away to Bolivia in the early 1900´s.
The drive continues across Los Alerces National Park, considered one of the most beautiful parks of Argentina, to enjoy its millennial lenga, coigüe, cypress and alerce forests and rivers and lakes of incredible beauty as Lake Futalaufquen, Arrayanes River. The drive continues to Trevelin (Welsh colony dating from 1885) on the way to Esquel. Overnight in ESQUEL, a village founded by the Welsh immigrants and set in a beautiful mountain valley.
DAY 02: ESQUEL / JOSE ORMACHEA PETRIFIED FOREST / LOS ANTIGUOS
750 km – estimate 11 hours + stops (paved and gravel routes)
Very early departure from ESQUEL towards Gobernador Costa and Colonia Sarmiento to arrive in Jose Ormaechea Petrified Forest. This forest is a big reservation of petrified wood, with remnants of logs, branches, leaves, fruits and seeds. These are the world's biggest fossil trees and it is estimated that the original coniferous trees were more than 100 metres tall. After a walk in the wood and time for lunch (box lunch recommended), the drive continues to Rio Mayo and up to LOS ANTIGUOS, on the shore of Buenos Aires Lake, South America's d biggest lake after Titicaca Lake. Overnight.
DAY 03: LOS ANTIGUOS / EL CHALTEN
650 km – estimate 10 hours + stops (paved and gravel routes)
Departure from LOS ANTIGUOS of a drive of 230 km towards Río Pinturas that runs along a 170 mts deep Canyon. In this place we will visit the Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) that contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, executed between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago. It takes its name from the stencilled outlines of human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of animals, such as guanacos still commonly found in the region, as well as hunting scenes. The people responsible for the paintings may have been the ancestors of the historic hunter-gatherer communities of Patagonia found by European settlers in the 19th century. This cave has been declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its artistic magnificence and for being one of the main testimonies of the prehistoric hunters that lived in the steppes ten thousand years ago.
The drive continues to EL CHALTEN: ahead of us, the solitude of Route 40, the plains, wild animals and solitary farms with red roofs. Route 40 presents so much beauty, so many views and extensive plains that it is hard to describe. Colonization does not go unnoticed but even so, there are hikes of spectacular beauty. Nothing compares to being there and feeling the immensity and desolation of Patagonia.
Arrival in EL CHALTEN located on the northern margin of Viedma Lake where Las Vueltas and Fitz Roy rivers join. The surrounding landscape combines the magic of glaciers, hidden lagoons, estancias, lakes and the magnetic presence of Mount Torre and Mount Fitz Roy with the unmistakable majestic silhouette of its summit. Overnight.
DAY 04: EL CHALTEN
Full day at leisure to relax and explore the area.
This new town in Argentina, created in October 1985 after a limit conflict with Chile over Laguna del Desierto, is the focus of trekkers and climbers, mountaineers and mountain lovers who come to the Andes to marvel at the towering peaks for Cerro Fitz Roy (or Chalten) and Cerro Torre. Indeed, El Chalten has been declared National Hiking Capital for the variety of activities performed by hikers and climbers. Most outings start in town, and it is not necessary to be an expert to follow the circuits if you walk on a current trail. There are several circuits available for all levels.
A very easy one is CAPRI LAGOON. The Capri Lagoon is a beautiful water mirror lying very close to the town and featuring a sheltering camping that that lets the visitors rejoice with the scenery. Reaching this singular lagoon does not imply major efforts. The very easy hiking tour takes only 2 hours from town and may be done without a guide as the trail is well signalled. You cannot get lost.
DAY 05: EL CHALTEN - EL CALAFATE
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