Wayne Bernhardson - Moon Patagonia: Including the Falkland Islands

guanaco crossing the river

Patagonia is notoriously hard to define. For the purposes of this guide, its a pragmatic matter that corresponds closely to political geography.

Patagonias primary gateway is also South Americas highest-profile capital. Many visitors spend weeks or even months enjoying its first-rate hotels, innovative cuisine, all-night entertainment, nonstop shopping, and matchless cultural resources. Despite its international sophistication, its also a city of intimate neighborhoods where no one is truly anonymous.

Patagonias other gateway remains one of the continents most underrated cities. While it lacks the international profile of its Argentine neighbor, Santiagos setting at the base of the Andes is more impressive, and its hotels, food, and entertainment scenes are catching up rapidlynot least because Chile is the continents most politically stable and prosperous country.

ONE WEEK: Visit Buenos Aires, El Calafate and the Glaciar Perito Moreno, and Torres del Paine.

TWO WEEKS: Add El Chaltn, Tierra del Fuego (possibly including the Cruceros Australis voyage from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia), and Santiago. Alternatively, add Laguna San Rafael, including parts of the Carretera Austral and Termas de Puyuhuapi, or the ferry from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt.

THREE WEEKS: Add Pennsula Valds and Bariloche, or Parque Pumaln and Pucn.

FOUR WEEKS: Add the Falkland Islands or Chilo and vicinity.

SIX WEEKS: Add a road trip along RN 3 and RN 40 (Argentina) or the entire Carretera Austral (Chile).

In this guide, northern Argentine Patagonia comprises Neuqun and Ro Negro, plus northwesterly parts of Chubut. While most of Argentine Patagonia is arid steppe, the densely forested sector near the Chilean border boasts numerous national parks. San Carlos de Bariloche is the countrys playground for hiking, skiing, rafting, kayaking, and fly-fishing.

The Sur Chico, popularly called the Chilean lakes district, is a wonderland of rivers, lakes, forests, and volcanoes. It comprises La Araucana and Los Lagos; the latter includes the Chilo archipelago. It is common to cross the Andes into Argentine Patagonia here. Its also the official starting point for the Carretera Austral, the southern highway that links parts of southern Chile to the mainland.

Chiles Aisn is mostly wild islands-and-highlands country. In this guide, it also includes the southernmost part of Los Lagos, often known as continental Chilo. Running most of the regions length, the Carretera Austral