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Horseback Riding in Argentina

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Overview

Spend three nights at your hosts’ home in the valley of the Chubut River in the Argentine Patagonia. This lush oasis is an idyllic base for three days of riding Criollo horses along the riverbank and up mountains for spectacular views. The hospitality is warm and welcoming, with generous meals and thoughtful conversation. Your hosts invite you into their life as they visit with neighbors in this small yet strong community on the fringes of civilization. There is no electricity and no phone or internet service, so be prepared to be fully present and immersed in nature. You sleep in beds in comfortable yurts, with woodstoves and full bathroom amenities and are well taken care of in and out of the saddle.

For a longer trip including a camping pack trip and nights in Bariloche, consider the Patagonian Andes tour.

Accommodations

3 nights at your hosts’ home, El Sapucai, in yurts sleeping two, three or four

Meals & Drink

The cuisine on the trip will be a special blend of flavors and ingredients consisting of an ethnic variety of Patagonian Criollo gastronomy. A traditional wood stove in the El Sapucai lodge will give a special flavor to the dishes. If it is the right season, you will be able to taste the delicious rainbow trout. The asado criollo will likely be served in several meals. It consists of delicious beef or local venison roasted on embers and firewood. As a typical main dish, it is cooked in different ways, usually accompanied with salad, potatoes and, of course, red wine. Vegetables and fruits are excellent and varied. Vegetarian and gluten free dishes are an option with advance notice, but vegan diets can not be accommodated.

Ride & Horse Details

  • Overview:
    Criollos Argentinos and crosses. The Criollo breed descends from the Spanish horse brought by the conquistadors in the XVI century. Since then, its specimens acquired extraordinary conditions of hardiness, resistance and adaptation to the environment, aptitudes to which they add their great patience, agility and docility. With a short, broad head and pointed muzzle, muscular neck, broad chest, powerful flanks and short, strong legs, the Criollo is an animal especially suited for field work. Its type corresponds to that of a balanced and harmonious saddle horse. Well muscled and strongly built, with a low center of gravity. Good footing and loose gait, agile and quick in its movements. With an active, energetic and docile character, its characteristics are defined by its hardiness, longevity, fertility, resistance, courage, recuperative power and aptitude for livestock work.
  • Horse Breeds:
    Criollos
  • Trip Pace:
    Mostly slow
  • Tack:
    Endurance
  • Weight limit:
    200 lb

Activities for Non - Riders

Non-riders are welcome to use the home base for hiking or fishing.

Meeting Point

Bariloche, Argentina

Tour Itinerary

Accommodation in Bariloche before day 1 and on day 4 can be arranged for you, as can transfer from the Bariloche airport to your hotel.

Day 1

Bariloche to El Sapucai

At around 10am you’ll begin the transfer by road along route 40, the famous junction at the foot of the mountain range between the north and the south of the country. First cross the region of the lakes of Norpatagonia, and then leave the highway and enter the immensity of the steppe on dramatic dirt roads. Finally after about three to four hours of driving you’ll arrive at “El Sapucai, ” in the Precordillera, the home of your hosts and horses. Here you will be assigned a yurt with a comfortable bed and wood stove and separate bathroom yurt with wood fire heated water. Meet the staff and enjoy a generous lunch. In the afternoon you’ll have time to settle in, walk the banks of the Chubut river or visit the horses before dinner.

Breakfast, lunchbox, dinner. Overnight in Glamping – El Sapucai.

Day 2

Local valley

After a quiet night without the noise of “the big city” you’ll enjoy a breakfast and a leisurely start to your first ride. Today you will pass by small settlements of people who live year round in this area of the Chubut river, caring for livestock. These inhabitants, mostly descendants of the original Mapuche tribes, live in a slow and quiet style that is mostly forgotten by the modern world. You’ll likely meet some members of the neighboring Miranda family before returning to Sapucai.

About 4-6 hours riding.

Breakfast, Lunchbox, Dinner; Night at EL SAPUCAI.

Day 3

Lagoons

The second day on horseback takes you to the high peaks of the mountain range. The panorama views are simply breathtaking: the endless steppe, the view of the high peaks, the dry steppe and the plateau plains. The hard uphill ride will be broken up with several breaks for you and your horse before you ride down to a lush lagoon, where you enjoy lunch  surrounded by the rocky peaks of the high cordillera.

About 6-7 hrs riding.

Breakfast, Lunchbox, Dinner; Night at EL SAPUCAI.

Day 4

Arroyo las Minas

Today is the last day with the horses. First enjoy a final breakfast meal at Sapucai with your hosts before mounting up for your ride. Follow the course of the Chubut River until you reach the pickup point in Arroyo las Minas. It is a quiet ride, which offers another spectacle of unique landscapes, condor nesting rocks and the first villages of the people who live in the valley. The terrain is gentle compared to previous days and you can experience Criollo canters. Say goodbye to the guides who cared for you so well during the past few days and depart  back to the city of Bariloche.

Breakfast, Lunchbox, Transfer, End of our services.

Tour Map

Tour Dates & Pricing

Available October through April
Additional Pricing Information:
Ride price is set, guaranteed and final at the time deposit is paid.      

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Do you have questions about this tour itinerary? Do you want to make sure that this it is the right tour for you? Or are you ready to book? Please call or email our experienced and friendly ride consultants for more detailed information. With first-hand knowledge of the exciting tours we offer, the tour consultants at Equitours look forward to answering any questions you might have

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Contact Megan Barrett

The whole operation at Estancia los Potreros is first class and every horse is so fit and well-trailed and so agile. The gauchos, wranglers and all staff were extremely helpful and fun to be with.

Barnes, 2014

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