Elite Traveler September-October 2015

EXPLORE ARGENTINA

elite traveler SEP/OCT 2015 ISSUE 5 126

THE DETAILS THE WEEKEND

HUB PORTENO hubporteno.com

LA BIELA labiela.com

Longer in… Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Iguazú, Patagonia

LA CABRERA parrillalacabrera.com.ar

MUSEO DE ARTE LATINO- AMERICANO DE BUENOS AIRES malba.org.ar

Once you’ve had enough of the delights of BA, why not head for its spiritual opposite? Patagonia is the vast region of steppe and mountain south of the Rio Negro, a land famed for the giants that explorer Ferdinand Magellan met when he landed here in 1520 – it’s still the kind of place where mythical beings might well linger. To enjoy the skies and open spaces, get a room at Eolo, a luxurious estancia -style hotel half way between the main town of El Calafate and the Perito Moreno glacier – one of the few tongues of ice coming off the Southern Ice Field that is growing. Take pictures from the walkways overlooking the ice, do a glacier hike, then ride in a Land Rover Defender up to the summit of Cerro Huyliche, south of Lago Roca (organized through specialists in adventure tourism Calafate Extremo), where you’ll be served an al fresco lunch in a stirringly barren landscape. Patagonia is one of the planet’s premier regions for dinosaur fossil hunting; up here you’ll grasp why that’s the case. The legendary Ruta 40 links El Calafate with the bijou hamlet of El Chaltén – Argentina’s newest town and

the “capital of trekking” – there is an excellent day hike to see the pinnacles of the Fitz Roy massif. Afterwards, have a craft beer or a glass of Patagonian wine at La Cervecería and dine on hare, trout or the legendary local lamb – and sleep at the town’s smartest big hotel, Los Cerros. The big windows afford cool views of the surrounding mountains. There can be blizzards even in midsummer, so pack a jacket for when you venture out for a brandy in one of the town’s fire-lit bars. Patagonia offers plenty of other adventures. Eolo can arrange horseback rides, mountain biking, birdwatching and fly fishing on Lago Roca. If you want to take fishing to the next level, transfer, by road and boat, to Estancia Cristina on a lonely bay at the northern extreme of Lago Argentino. The fishing may not be challenging, but there’s no one for miles and there’s a fair chance of catching a big trout from the Caterina river or in the local lagoon. Tag on Mendoza’s Malbecs and Iguazú Falls, and you have experienced the best of Argentina.

FORTABAT COLLECTION coleccionfortabat.org.ar

TARQUINO tarquinorestaurante.com.ar

FLORERIA ATLANTICO floreriaatlantico.com.ar

LA CATEDRAL lacatedralclub.com

PATAGONIA CHOPPER patagoniachopper.com.ar

LA BAMBA DE ARECO labambadeareco.com

THE WEEK

RELAIS & CHATEAUX CAVAS WINE LODGE cavaswinelodge.com

SIETE COCINAS sietecocinas.com.ar

THE VINES OF MENDOZA vinesofmendoza.com

LA MORADA lamoradadelosandes.com

SHERATON IGUAZU RESORT & SPA sheratoniguazu.com

Top right: Stir your spiritual depths in Patagonia’s mountains. Right: View of La Anita Valley from Eolo hotel

BELMOND HOTEL DAS CATARATAS belmond.com

LONGER

EOLO eolo.com.ar

CALAFATE EXTREMO calafateextremo.com.ar

LOS CERROS hoteldonloscerrosdelchalten. com

ESTANCIA CRISTINA estanciacristina.com

Photos Gallery Stock