ARGENTINA REGION BY REGION - Argentina - page 239

z Museo Leleque
Road map B4. 25 miles (40 km) S of
El Maitén. Te l [phone]. Open
Thu-Tue. Closed May & Jun & -

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
In 1901 the SS Soldier Prince set sail from New York for Argentina.
On board were James Ryan and Harry Place − better known as
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid − America's most notorious
bank robbers and members of
the feared Wild Bunch. Fleeing the
law, the two Americans, together
with Sundance's girlfriend, Etta
Place, had decided to head to
remote Patagonia. In the village of
Cholila, near Esquel, where Butch
and Sundance eventually settled,
locals still talk of the gringo
gunslingers, while the house they
built and lived in for six years can
be visited on the edge of town.

A rustic estancia converted into
a museum, Museo Leleque
holds a 14,000-strong collection
of artifacts narrating Patagonia's
history. Displays are divided
between four rooms and follow
a historical itinerary, beginning
with the arrival of the first
indigenous populations in
Patagonia 13,000 years ago and
continuing up to the present
day. Among the fascinating
exhibits is a contract for the
acquisition of horses signed by
Santiago Ryan, a pseudonym
used by outlaw Butch Cassidy.

The cabin built by Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid

c Trevelin
Road map B4. 14 miles (24 km) S of
Esquel. * 10,000. @ n Plaza
Coronel Fontana, [phone].
∑ trevelin.gob.ar

v Parque Nacional
Los Alerces
Road map B4. 28 miles (45 km) W of
Esquel. n Villa Futalaufquen, Ruta
Provincial 71, [phone].
Open daily. & ® 0 =
∑ parquesnacionales.gob.ar
Covering 1,015 sq miles
(2,630 sq km) and considered
to be the most pristine of
northern Patagonia's parks,
Parque Nacional Los Alerces
was created to protect
the alerce tree, a beautiful,
towering species that can
exceed 197 ft (60 m) in height
and live for 4,000 years.
Though numerous hiking
trails crisscross the park, the
only way to access its alerce
woods is via the Circuito
Lacustre , a boat and trekking
excursion that traverses
majestic lake and glacier
scenery. The excursion's
highlight is its end point,
the striking Millennium tree,
a 2,600-year-old alerce .

A short drive from Esquel is the
Welsh village of Trevelin.
Though officially founded in
1918, it had been a settlement
since the 1880s, when pioneers
made the journey from their
settlements near the Atlantic
Coast. Here, they built the mills
that gave the town its name.
Housed within one of the flour
mills is Museo Regional
Trevelin , displaying Welsh
artifacts. Capilla Bethel is the
town's small Welsh chapel.
A short trip from Trevelin are
the Nant y Fall waterfalls -
seven separate falls that drop
majestically from heights of
up to 197 ft (60 m).

A partially woven Tehuelche rug exhibit at
Museo Leleque

x Esquel
Road map B4. 112 miles (180 km) S of
El Bolsón. * 35,000. ~ @ n Ave
Alvear & Sarmiento, [phone].
_ La Fiesta del Esquí (Sep).
∑ esquel.gov.ar

E Museo Regional Trevelin
Calle Viejo Molino. Te l [phone]
Open varies. & 8 on request.

With its beautiful valley setting
and snowcapped Andean back-
drop, Esquel is a welcome
change from the surrounding
arid steppe. A laid-back town
with a handful of tourist sites, it
is the ideal base from which to
visit nearby attractions such as
Parque Nacional Los Alerces and
the popular La Hoya ski resort.
With 24 pistes of varying
difficulty, this family-oriented ski
resort keeps Esquel open to
tourism in the winter months.
The town's biggest draw, La
Trochita, departs from Esquel's
well-preserved railroad station. A beautiful lake located in Parque Nacional Los Alerces