Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Atrium Gualok
RESTAURANT $$$
( 442-0500;
www.atriumgualok.com.ar
; San Martín 1198; mains AR$60-90; 11am-3.30pm &
7pm-midnight; )
In a town of few gourmet choices, this hotel restaurant does its best
with modern design and well-presented pastas, meats and more at fair prices.
Information
Av San Martín has several banks with ATMs and numerous internet/telephone places.
There's tourist information available in the Complejo Termal Municipal.
Getting There & Away
The
bus terminal
( 420280; Petris btwn Avellaneda & López)
is seven blocks east of
downtown; take bus 1 from Mitre. There are regular buses to Resistencia (AR$68, two
hours), and services running west to Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Mendoza and Salta
also stop here.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
PENETRATING 'EL IMPENETRABLE'
If you have a yen to get off the beaten track, the more remote areas of the Chaco
are for you. Key access point for the Impenetrable is
Juan José Castelli
, 115km
north of Roque Sáenz Peña, and served by four daily buses from Resistencia
(AR$110, five hours) and several from Roque. From Castelli, you can head west
along ripio(gravel) roads to remote Fuerte Esperanza (buses and shared remises
run this route), which has two nature reserves in its vicinity:
Reserva Provincial
Fuerte Esperanza
and
Reserva Natural Loro Hablador
. Both conserve typical dry
Chaco environments, with algarrobo and quebracho trees, armadillos, peccaries
and many bird species.
Loro Hablador
, 40km from Fuerte Esperanza, has a good
campground and short walking trails with ranger guides. Fuerte Esperanza has two
simple hospedajes(guesthouses). Further north,
Misión Nueva Pompeya
was foun-
ded in 1899 by Franciscans who established a mission station for Matacos in tough
conditions. The main building, with its square-towered church, is a surprising sight
in such a remote location. There are cheap hotels in town.
In the north of the region, in Formosa province, the
Bañado de Estrella
is a vast
wetland environment that's one of Argentina's standout bird-watching spots. The
river Bermejo divides Chaco and Formosa provinces and, at the time of research,
the westernmost crossing was the bridge northeast of Castelli, near Villa Río Ber-
mejito.
