Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Located 10km west of Sarmiento, working cherry farm
Chacra Labrador
(
0297-489-3329, 0297-15-404-3222;
www.hosterialabrador.com
; d AR$800; )
is a charming
1930s homestead offering bed and breakfast. Rooms are few but luxuriant, with
big cozy beds, antique furniture, pots of tea and crackling fires.
The eager staff at Sarmiento's
tourist office
( 0297-489-8220; cnr Infanteria 25 & Piet-
robelli; 8am-7pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun)
can provide remiserates, maps and
lodging information. Sarmiento is 148km west of Comodoro along RN26 and RP20.
Etap buses run daily to Comodoro Rivadavia (AR$70, two hours).
Buses Etap
(
0297-4893058)
goes to Río Mayo (AR$70, 1½ hours) go at 9:30pm daily.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Perito Moreno
02963 / POP 4620
Don't confuse this dull town with the jaw-dropping national park of the same name or
the glacier near El Calafate - the only tourist attraction here is cruising the strip on
Saturday night. A brief stopover en route to the more inviting Andean oasis of Los An-
tiguos, Perito Moreno does have a good range of services for a town on RN40, though
area mining means hotels are often booked. Attractions Cueva de las Manos and Parque
Nacional Perito Moreno are not far off. A dedicated archaeological museum, Museo
Gradin, which exhibits a variety of archeological discoveries from the Rio de las Pintur-
as, was in the works at the time of research and promises to be a useful companion stop.
The town's glory came in 1898, when explorer Perito Moreno challenged Chile's bor-
der definition of '
divortum aquarum continental'
(which claimed the headwaters of
Pacific-flowing rivers as Chilean territory) by rerouting Río Fénix, which flows through
town, to Atlantic-bound Río Deseado. The river and the area remained Argentine, and
the town took his name. The main drag, San Martín, leads north to RP43 and south to
RN40; it's 128km south to Bajo Caracoles and 135km north of Río Mayo.
Tours
GuanaCondor Tours
TOUR
( 432303; jarinauta@yahoo.com.ar; Perito Moreno 1087; 10am-noon & 4-8pm Mon-Wed &
Sat, 5-8pm Sun)
The experienced GuanaCondor Tours runs tours in summer to Cueva de
las Manos (AR$350 per person), accessing the park via the former Estancia Los Toldos,
with a challenging hike that adds considerably to the experience. Also ask about its trips
