Esquel: A Relaxed Pueblo in Patagonia

Esquel is a relaxed Patagonian town in Chubut. It’s refreshing change from the sometimes tourist-inundated bustle of Bariloche.

Founded by adventurous Welsh immigrants who arrived in 1865, the little 28,000-person pueblo has a reputation as a sleepy place, but it’s a good place to stay to explore the surrounding area.

Scientists may be familiar with the name Esquel because of the Esquel pallasite meteorite found here in 1951 by a local farmer.

A close-up of the Pallasite meteorite found in Esquel/photo courtesy of NASA — The Pallasite meteorite found in Esquel, Chubut

Oddly enough in chilly Patagonia, homeowners in Esquel seems to take huge pride in their front garden, and a stroll through town one will probably encounter several of the green-fingered inhabitants snipping away.

Aside from the rumbling antiquity of La Trochita, the town is a great base from which to enjoy some world-class Patagonia fishing and to explore the fabulous Alerces National Park, 50 km away.

The park is home to tranquil lakes and formidable hiking trails which wind past some of the world’s oldest Alcere (Fitzroy) trees. The park is named for the lovely species, which can live to be 3,600 years old.

Those curious about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid can also make a pilgrimage to the cabins built by the North American banditos on the outskirts of Cholila, a sleepy village near the park.

Built in the traditional American style by Cassidy himself, they housed the outlaws during their exile from the U.S. authorities from 1901-1906. During the winter months, Esquel and her surrounding hills offer excellent skiing opportunities, most notably at the small La Hoya ski resort, 13km away.

Esquel Travel Information, Hotels & Hostels

Most hostels and tourist services including the bus terminal, a short walk from the town center, are located on or just off Avenida Alvear, the town’s main drag .

The information center, Native Art Museum and post office can also be found at Avenidas Alvear and Fontana in the town’s center.

Esquel airport, 21km out of town, operates a regular service from Buenos Aires.

Plenty of accommodation options are available in Esquel, ranging from the typical backpackers’ lodgings to decent mid-range hotels — this isn’t exactly a luxury hotel town.

The trendy Planeta Hostel, ten minutes’ walk from the town center, offers clean and comfortable dorms or cozy private bedrooms and a well-equipped kitchen.

Casa del Pueblo is true to its name as a 40-person hostel run by a friendly Argentine-Swiss couple. This is a place to be social as there are only 6-bed and 10-bed dorm rooms available.

Hotel Sol de Sur is a three-star hotel with reasonable prices. It has a good central location and receives favorable reviews.

One of the town’s nicest places is the B&B, Hostería Canela. At 15km from La Hoya, it is a bit out of town but worth the five minute trek to get to know the gracious and eager-to-please hosts, Jorge and Veronica Miglioli — try Veronica’s homemade baked goods.

Esquel Apart, with its apartment-like accommodations, is another popular choice that rests only 12km from La Hoya ski center and 1.5km from town. The rooms are fully-equipped and visitors can select movies from the DVD library to watch in their room after a long day of skiing.

Hotel Tierra Mapuche has excellent mountain views, and is set in a cozy Patagonian-style building complete with a nice fireplace in the lounge area.

Across Patagonia, prices drop significantly outside of the peak summer months of January and February and the peak winter months of June and August.

Of the towns many restaurants, most are no-nonsense grills where Patagonian lamb (around AR$60) jostles alongside beef for pride of place on the chalkboard. Pizzerias are common too, but with a butcher on every block, it makes more sense for budget travelers to buy their own fresh meat and vegetables and take advantage of the hostel kitchen. —by George Warren

Lodging in Esquel

Top Range

Las Bayas Hotel -$$$$
Avenida Alvear 985

Esquel Apart -$$$$
Almafuerte 2349
• Check price and availability of Esquel Apart on Hotels Combined

Hostería Canela-$$$
Los Notros and Los Radales,
Villa Ayelen

Search all accommodation in Esquel on Booking.com

An outside view of Hosteria Canela, Esquel in the Chabut province of Argentina — -courtesy of Hostería Canela-

Mid-range

Sol del Sur -$$$
9 de Julio 1094

Tierra Mapuche-$$$
Av. Hípolito Yrigoyen 1475

Budget

El Caminata Hostel-$
Av. Alvear 1780

Planeta Hostel-$
Avenida Alvear 2833,

Casa del Pueblo
San Martin 661

→ Check all hostels in Esquel

→ Check all hotels in Esquel, Argentina

The Old Patagonian Express Today

The Old Patagonian Express is advertised as ‘a journey through the landscape and time.’ The train ride serves principally as a tourist attraction and for most this will entail a trip meandering from Esquel through the hills to the village of Nahuel Pan 22km away. The train is stationary for fifteen minutes before departure, allowing spectators time to take it the sight as well as a lungful of the characteristically thick steam-engine smoke as the train gets ready to depart.

The journey itself takes almost an hour, with the train rumbling along the tracks and affording excellent views of the vast, sparse landscape as it lists on one of the many broad bends in the track.

A tour guide gives a brief explanation in Spanish of the history of the train and its destination and will try and answer questions in English.

Much of the land through which the route travels is part of a vast estancia, an Argentine ranch. A herd of horses might playfully gallop alongside the train, and the journey affords the ability to spot other Patagonia wildlife, including packs of llama-like guanacos, ostridge-like rheas and occasionally, condors.

It is fitting that Paul Theroux championed in his work of the same name the importance of the journey itself, not the destination. The little pueblo of Nahuel Pan is an underwhelming, sparse place to arrive.

Half a dozen shacks greet the passengers disembarking the train each offering different services: soft drinks, snacks and several local handicraft workshops. The torta fritas, literally ‘fried cakes’, are very similar to a doughnut without the jam and are a delicious value. A tiny museum offers an exhibit on the history of the area and its native Mapuche Indian inhabitants.

The highlight of the Nahuel Pan stop is getting a look at the pair of disused trains resting beside the tracks. It is a sad sight to see these formerly imperious engines, brown with rust, lying dormant and slowly being eroded by the Patagonian breeze, but they are fascinating objects to inspect close-up and pose for a photograph with (bonus points for those clutching their copy of Theroux).

The schedule changes according to the season and unfortunately The Patagonia Express has developed a reputation as being unreliable. As well as the trip from Esquel to Nahuel Pan, another more substantial 406km journey is offered from the town of Maiten, near Bariloche, to Bruno Thomas Pass 55km away.

The official website is now up and running again but the information can be at odds with what the stationmaster has to say in his authentic wooden ticket office at Esquel station. Those interested would do best to just show up to see if the train is running, you can also try to double check details over the telephone, if anyone answers.

The last word should go to Paul Theroux, who after his journey on board ‘La Trochita’ in the 1970s noted, ‘The engine looked derelict, as if it would never run again – but it had a hundred more years in it, I was sure.’ Nearly halfway there, he might just be right.

—by George Warren

← cont. from: Rolling through the Andes: The Old Patagonian Express

La Trochita
Esquel to Nahuel Pan

All trains depart Esquel at 10 a.m., returning at 12:45.
Telephone Inquiries – Esquel: (02945) 45 1403
El Maitén: (02945) 49 5190

Rolling through the Andes: The Old Patagonian Express

On the outskirts of Esquel, a tranquil town in the heart of Patagonia’s Chubut province, the quiet is broken at regular intervals by the piercing whistle and familiar chugging of ‘La Trochita,’ as the Old Patagonian Express is affectionately called to by locals.

La Trochita, which translates as ‘narrow gauge,’is steam-powered locomotive that appears as old as the surrounding foothills. As this ‘little engine that could’ splutters and wobbles along, it retains a defiant majesty despite its countless years of service.

patagonia-La_Trochita_Vagonesinside — La Trochita’s interior with the original stove on the right

The paint on the 1922 engine is parched and cracked from decades of exposure to the diffused Patagonia sun and dry wind. The well-worn track, with a gauge just 75cm wide, covered in dust and sprouting grass, looks like something out of the Wild West. The original carriages remain too; in the center of each cabin is an original wood-burning stove, traditionally used to heat the cabin and warm water for the popular local beverage, mate.

The uncomfortably rigid wooden chairs serve as a reminder of this train’s authenticity. A battered beast, this train has fought off the elements, accidents and several attempts at closure through the years and today provides one of the world’s most famous train journeys and arguably South America’s finest.

Cherished by Esquel’s residents and surrounded by the rolling hills of the Andes, the Old Patagonian Express still attracts tourists from across Argentina and the world. In a country whose train industry withered away decades ago with the development of paved roads, La Trochita remains as a fine working example of the rare narrow-gauge locomotive. The engines as well as the track itself are a decade away from their centenary, and visitors flock to Esquel all year round to ride one of the finest, not to mention oldest, of the few working long distance narrow-gauge steam trains in the world.

A Journey through Time

At the time of its construction, the Old Patagonian Express line was intended to form part of a planned rail network across Patagonia.Although the project to connect the area to Bariloche and beyond was launched in 1908, it was subject to numerous setbacks caused by governmental wrangling and the difficulties brought on by the onset of the First World War.

Construction began in 1922, but progress was painfully slow and the track only reached Esquel in 1945, operating as a freight service bringing supplies, and later on passengers, to and from the region.

Service declined throughout the 1960s and 1970s, although the train journey was popularized by Paul Theroux and dubbed ‘The Old Patagonian Express’ in his 1979 book of the same name.

Deciding one snowy winter to travel from his home in Boston as far as he could by train, Theroux calculated that the tracks finally ran out in Esquel. His book recounts his journey across the United States, through Mexico and Central America and along the Andes until its conclusion in deepest, dustiest Patagonia. Once off the train in Esquel, so ended his journey and with it the final chapter of the book.

Despite its fame, in part a result of Theroux’s book, the unprofitable line was closed in 1993 but after strong public outcry was saved from extinction by the local government, which operates the line today, albeit on a more limited service. In 1999 the line was declared an Argentine National Heritage Site. Far from resenting the constant influx of tourists, such is the popularity of the train with the townspeople that they still wave each time it passes.

→ continued, George Warren’s: The Old Patagonian Express Today