Page 247 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

P A T A GONIA  245

z Museo Leleque
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Road map B4. 25 miles (40 km) S of
El Maitén. Tel (02945) 492-600. Open In 1901 the SS Soldier Prince set sail from New York for Argentina.
Thu–Tue. Closed May & Jun & - On board were James Ryan and Harry Place − better known as
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
A rustic estancia converted into Kid − America’s most notorious
a museum, Museo Leleque bank robbers and members of
holds a 14,000-strong collection the feared Wild Bunch. Fleeing the
of artifacts narrating Patagonia’s law, the two Americans, together
history. Displays are divided with Sundance’s girlfriend, Etta
Place, had decided to head to
between four rooms and follow remote Patagonia. In the village of
a historical itinerary, beginning Cholila, near Esquel, where Butch
with the arrival of the first and Sundance eventually settled,
indigenous populations in locals still talk of the gringo
Patagonia 13,000 years ago and gunslingers, while the house they
continuing up to the present The cabin built by Butch Cassidy and built and lived in for six years can
day. Among the fascinating the Sundance Kid be visited on the edge of town.
exhib its is a contract for the
acqui sition of horses signed by
Santiago Ryan, a pseudonym
used by outlaw Butch Cassidy. c Trevelin v Parque Nacional
Road map B4. 14 miles (24 km) S of Los Alerces
Esquel. * 10,000. @ n Plaza Road map B4. 28 miles (45 km) W of
Coronel Fontana, (02945) 480-120. Esquel. n Villa Futalaufquen, Ruta
∑ trevelin.gob.ar
Provincial 71, (02945) 471-015.
Open daily. & ®  0 =
A short drive from Esquel is ∑ parquesnacionales.gob.ar
the Welsh village of Trevelin.
Though officially founded in Covering 1,015 sq miles
1918, it had been a settlement (2,630 sq km) and considered
since the 1880s, when pioneers to be the most pristine of
made the journey from their northern Patagonia’s parks,
settlements near the Atlantic Parque Nacional Los Alerces
Coast. Here, they built the mills was created to protect
that gave the town its name. the alerce tree, a beautiful,
Housed within one of the flour towering species that can
A partially woven Tehuelche rug exhibit at mills is Museo Regional exceed 197 ft (60 m) in height
Museo Leleque Trevelin, displaying Welsh and live for 4,000 years.
artifacts. Capilla Bethel is the Though numerous hiking
town’s small Welsh chapel. trails crisscross the park, the
x Esquel A short trip from Trevelin are only way to access its alerce
the Nant y Fall waterfalls – woods is via the Circuito
Road map B4. 112 miles (180 km) S of
El Bolsón. * 35,000. ~ @ n Ave seven separate falls that drop Lacustre, a boat and trekking
Alvear & Sarmiento, (02945) 451-927. majestically from heights of excursion that traverses
_ La Fiesta del Esquí (Sep). up to 197 ft (60 m). majestic lake and glacier
∑ esquel.gov.ar scenery. The excursion’s
E Museo Regional Trevelin highlight is its end point,
With its beautiful valley setting Calle Viejo Molino. Tel (02945) 480-545 the striking Millennium tree,
and snowcapped Andean back- Open varies. & 8 on request. a 2,600-year-old alerce.
drop, Esquel is a welcome
change from the surrounding
arid steppe. A laid-back town
with a handful of tourist sites, it
is the ideal base from which to
visit nearby attrac tions such as
Parque Nacional Los Alerces and
the popular La Hoya ski resort.
With 24 pistes of varying
difficulty, this family-oriented
ski resort keeps Esquel open to
tourism in the winter months.
The town’s biggest draw, La
Trochita, departs from Esquel’s
well-preserved railroad station. A beautiful lake located in Parque Nacional Los Alerces

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