Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Wealth of Wildlife
Meet the neighbors - that would be the penguins, seabirds and elephant seals -
around Península Valdés' Estancia Rincón Chico (
Click here
)
.
Spot dozens of the namesake species of Estancia El Cóndor (
Click here
)
at this
rugged mountain ranch north of El Chaltén.
View the diverse fauna of Magellanic penguins, sea lions, guanacos and pumas
at Hostería Monte León (
Click here
)
.
Breathtaking Beauty
Luxuriate among glaciers, lakes and the ragged Cerro Fitz Roy in the exclusive
Hostería Estancia Helsingfors. (
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)
Explore the wonders of a petrified forest and sea islands inhabited solely by
birds, penguins and sea lions at the magical Bahía Bustamante (
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)
.
Just Like Indiana Jones
Trek to Unesco World Heritage site Cueva de las Manos from Hostería Cueva de las
Manos (
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)
, via the serpentine red-rock canyon of Río de las Pinturas.
The Bargain Bin
Grab your zzzs in a bunk bed and save some bucks: Estancia El Cóndor (
Click
here
), Hostería Cueva de las Manos and Estancia Casa de Piedra (
Click here
)
all of-
fer affordable refugio(rustic shelter) lodgings. Some with higher price tags include
all meals and excursions, delivering a lot for your money.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Cueva de las Manos
Unesco World Heritage site
Cueva de las Manos
(Cave of the Hands; admission AR$80;
9am-7pm)
features incredible rock art, a must-see if you pass through. Dating from about
7370 BC, these polychrome paintings cover recesses in the near-vertical walls with im-
prints of human hands, drawings of guanacos and, from a later period, abstract designs.
Of around 800 images, more than 90% are of left hands; one has six fingers.
The approach is via rough but scenic provincial roads off RN40, abutting Río de las
Pinturas. Drive with caution: bounding guanacos are abundant. There are three points of
access: a 28km unpaved road from RN40, direct but with loose gravel; a route via Bajo
Caracoles, with 46km of gravel roads; and another from the north side and Hostería
