THE PATAGONIAN

The magic of Patagonia

The Río Neuquén winds its way down to Chos Malal in northern Patagonia. Left, a splendid specimen of Oxalis enneaphylla, a plant of the far south

Hilary Little, author of Patagonian Mountain Flower Holidays, the companion volume to Martin Sheader’s widely acclaimed Flowers of the Patagonian Mountains, takes us on a whistlestop tour of this plant lovers’ paradise

Icebergs from the Upsala Glacier – orchids grow in the hills nearby

‘Eat the Calafate berry and you will return,’ said the estancia owner, offering me a handful of unripe berries. I was two days into my first trip to Patagonia and loving it. I swallowed several berries and, 15 visits later, the magic of Patagonia still thrills and excites me, although these days I choose the softer option of eating Calafate berry jam or ice-cream.

This AGS trip, led by John Watson and Peter Erskine in 1992, enabled me to explore several different regions in Patagonia, from the windswept steppe of the far south to the sylvan uplands of the Argentine Lake District. I was awestruck by the majestic pinnacles of the Torres del Paine and watched enthralled as large blocks of the ice-blue cliffs of the spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier tumbled with a crash into the waters of Lago Argentino, covering bystanders with spray.

I was exhilarated by the remote fastnesses of the Parque Nacional Perito Moreno and revelled in the lush rainforest of the Parque Nacional Los Alerces and the snow-capped peaks of the Argentine Lake District. Everywhere there were exciting flowers in forms and colours that enchanted and captivated the eye but, at that time, most were unknown to me. I soon realised I wanted to get to know them better and

Adesmia parvifolia found near the Upsala Glacier

to explore the land that provided their natural habitat.

That was the start of my passion for Patagonia and within a few years I was returning on almost an annual basis. Early trips were remarkable for dodgy tour operators, unreliable vehicles, unsurfaced roads, painfully slow travel with frequent punctures and limited accommodation. However, since my first visit, Patagonia has developed as a tourist destination and, as a result, its remote wildernesses and the wealth of plants they harbour have become much more accessible, both for groups and for independent travellers.

Patagonia covers such a vast area, forming the southern half of both Argentina and Chile, that you can only hope to cover a relatively small part of it in a single visit. If you are planning a Patagonian holiday for the first time, consider focusing on, say, two centres and use an internal flight to get from one to the other.

Two locations which offer a lot in terms of the richness of the flora and visitor attractions are El Calafate in southern Argentina and San Carlos de Bariloche in the Argentine Lake District, and both have good airports.

Spring reaches the south of Patagonia earlier than the north because the mountains are lower. It is, therefore, better to visit El Calafate in late November and

Lago Puelo from its southern shore in the Argentine Lake District

early December and the Lake District from mid-December onwards. That said, January is also a good flowering period in the Lake District, especially in the more westerly mountains, and also further north in Patagonia. However, the visitor should note that the holiday season in Argentina begins at Christmas and accommodation is then markedly more difficult to find in popular tourist destinations.

If travelling to Argentina, you will probably fly initially to Buenos Aires. It is worth spending a couple of nights in this captivating city with its wide boulevards, street cafés, excellent restaurants, green and pleasant parks, European architecture and tango. If you are interested in wildlife, then you may wish to consider a brief diversion to Trelew to visit the Valdés Peninsula on the Atlantic coast.

On my first trip to Patagonia I enjoyed not only whale-watching out in the bay in an open wooden boat but being able to touch both a mother and baby southern right whale as they swam under the boat and gently lifted us up.

AGS authors Hilary Little and Martin Sheader in a close encounter with a tucu tucu, also pictured right, on Batea Mahuida

The area is rich with other creatures, such as Magellanic penguins, armadillos, burrowing parrots, elephant seals (often seen playing games at the water’s edge or lying on their backs sunbathing), sealions and their principal predators, the orcas.

El Calafate and the Far South

El Calafate is a thriving, rapidly expanding town with many comfortable

The fabled scarlet gorse, Anarthrophyllum desideratum

new hotels. In the surrounding countryside, several estancias provide luxury accommodation and recreational facilities for the visitor. Those situated on the meseta, known as El Balcón, enable the plant enthusiast to explore the hills and find many interesting species. From El Calafate, you can combine botanising with visits to spectacular locations such as the Perito Moreno Glacier, where there are good plants around the lake.

Another splendid excursion is to go by boat from Punta Bandera to Estancia Cristina to see the Upsala Glacier, especially memorable on a calm, sunny day. In the hills round about there are orchids and on the striated rocks near the glacier interesting colour forms of Adesmia parvifolia can be found.

In the far south you will have your first encounter with two of the fabled plants of Patagonia: the scarlet gorse, Anarthrophyllum desideratum, low mounds of which cover the roadside and fields on the approach to El Calafate from the south, and the Chilean flame tree, Embothrium coccineum, which, in December, lights up the hillsides in southern Chile and provides a colourful foreground to the sparkling glaciers and lakes in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. The park is named after the spectacular granite pinnacles which lie at its heart and there is a magnificent

Gavilea patagonica and, right, Chloraea magellanica

all-day walk to the glacial lake at the base of the towers. The park provides a suitably moist habitat for Chloraea alpina, C. magellanica, several species of Gavilea and the pure-white dove orchid, Codonorchis lessonii.

San Carlos de Bariloche

The Argentine Lake District, in which this town is situated, is a region of lush beauty with majestic mountains and deep lakes. In the west, the abundant rainfall gives rise to luxuriant rainforest with trees such as Austrocedrus, Luma, Nothofagus and Pilgerodendron. Lichens festoon tree branches in the forests and mosses carpet the woodland floor. Many species of orchid thrive here together with ferns and moistureloving plants such as the scarlet Ourisia ruellioides. Ski lifts provide access to the summit areas of many of the high mountains. These lifts operate regularly in summer although less frequently before Christmas. Below the snow line, the plant enthusiast can find real alpine treasures such as Oxalis erythrorhiza and that most exquisite of buttercups, Ranunculus semiverticillatus, as well as Viola sacculus and V. columnaris.

San Carlos de Bariloche is a large, bustling town. Its civic buildings were designed by a famous Argentine architect, Alejandro Bustillo, who was

The striking Viola coronifera, one of many Andinium (rosulate) violas

responsible for introducing the alpine chalet style of building in the area. The German/Swiss influence also extends to the local specialities for which the town is renowned, such as chocolate, high-quality leather goods, dried salami sausage and cheese.

Further north, the town of San Martín de los Andes is quieter and more refined. It is an excellent place to stay, with good access to Cerro Chapelco and Cerro Colo Huincul, where striking plants such as Chloraea virescens, Viola coronifera and V. dasyphylla can be found.

While both El Calafate and San Carlos de Bariloche provide extremely good bases for floral exploration, you may wish to experience wilder, more remote areas. Happily, Patagonia still offers many possibilities for getting off the beaten track.

For the plant enthusiast the backbone of Patagonia is provided by the iconic Ruta Nacional 40 (RN40) which runs for more than 2,000km from Río Gallegos in the far south, then along the eastern fringe of the Andean chain to the northern border of Argentine Patagonia where it

Oreopolus glacialis growing below the Alfredo Glacier at Laguna Azul

crosses the Río Barrancas/Colorado and moves on into the province of Mendoza. From RN40 it is possible to branch off into the steppe to the east or towards the mountainous regions in the west and get into areas where you often can walk all day without seeing another soul.

The steppe

The steppe east of the main Andean chain is the habitat of many fine plants. In the south, various species of Adesmia, Junellia, Leucheria and Nassauvia flourish, together with golden mats of Brachyclados caespitosus and Oreopolus glacialis, as well as numerous cacti. Further north, different species of Junellia enjoy the aridity, as do species of spiny Adesmia, Chuquiraga and Loasa.

Around the large inland lake, Lago Cardiel, and further north in the vicinity of Río Mayo, the steppe is one of the best areas in which to experience the big wide open skies so characteristic of central Patagonia. There are no towns of any size in this region and places to stay are few and far between. Some of the old, traditional estancias, such as Estancia La

Angostura and Estancia La Estela, have opened their doors to welcome paying guests and their simple hospitality enables you almost to step back to the time of the early pioneers.

Monte Fitz Roy and El Chaltén

El Chaltén is a relatively new town, with a tourist industry centred around climbing. The rocky balconies above the Río Fitz Roy to the west of the town offer splendid views of the commanding spire of Monte Fitz Roy and the slender pinnacle of Cerro Torre.

At your feet, you may see several species of Chloraea and Gavilea growing in the tussocky grass. There are several good walks in this area with fine plants, such as the ascent of Loma del Pliegue Tumbado where, on the scree slopes above the tree-line, you may find gems such as Hamadryas sempervivoides, Leucheria leontopodioides and Oxalis loricata. On another walk in the vicinity of El Chaltén you could be lucky enough to see a rare yellow form of Embothrium coccineum.

Parque Nacional Perito Moreno

A wild and remote park little visited by tourists is the Parque Nacional Perito Moreno. This park is dedicated to the preservation of native fauna such as the puma, and the shy, small species of deer known as huemul. Herds of guanaco, the local llama relative, roam this area too. Towering over the landscape is Monte San Lorenzo, with imposing, fluted, icy columns on its east ridge. Although it is not possible to gain access to the mountains in the west of the park, those to the east offer rewarding walks, breathtaking views and flowers such as Benthamiella azorella, Calandrinia caespitosa, Nassauvia lagascae, the magenta form of Oxalis loricata, both pink and white forms of Primula magellanica, Valeriana moyanoi, and the golden-flowered Viola auricolor. The only accommodation is provided by estancias within or just outside the park.

Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires

The Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires is a fascinating area, richly rewarding for the plant enthusiast. If you are able to avail yourself of 4WD transport with a driver who knows the area well, then a trip across the volcanic landscape of the Meseta to Laguna del Sello will provide an unforgettable experience.

Staying in Los Antiguos also enables you to explore the outstandingly rich flora of Monte Zeballos and the Zeballos-Jeinimeni valley on the western edge of the meseta, about which Martin and Anna Sheader wrote in The Alpine Gardener of June 2011, pp. 250-265. From Los Antiguos, it is easy to cross the border into Chile and botanise on the slopes of Cerro Pico Sur or venture into the Jeinimeni National Park.

The Volcanoes of Northern Patagonia

You may wish to follow in the footsteps of the AGS tour to Patagonia in December last year which offered the opportunity to explore part of the most northerly region, the land of the volcanoes. The beautiful cone of Volcán Lanín dominates the landscape in the south of this area.

Batea Mahuida, on the Chilean border, has a broad summit ridge with

Calandrinia affinis can be found around the active Volcán Copahue

many excellent plants including Oxalis adenophylla and Rhodophiala andicola on the lower slopes and, further up in the screes, Viola cotyledon flourishes together with good groups of Loasa nana and isolated patches of Calceolaria pennellii. On the slopes, tucu tucu burrow in the sandy soil.

Another rich area for plant enthusiasts is to be found around the active Volcán Copahue near the small town of Caviahue. Several good walks can be undertaken, all with interesting plants, including Calandrinia affinis, Jaborosa volkmannii and Viola copahuensis on the upper slopes of CajÓn Chico, and good cushions of Maihuenia poepiggii in the Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle) forest near the Cascades. The amphitheatre above the thermal spa and ski centre of Copahue contains Calandrinia colchaguensis, C. graminifolia, Oxalis adenophylla, Olsynium frigidum and Perezia fonckii.

Continuing northward, you reach the town of Chos Malal, a convenient centre from which to explore Volcán Tromen and Cerro Wayle. Dangerously fierce winds can blow you off your feet on these slopes, as I have experienced at first hand, and the presence of lenticular clouds, indicating strong winds, should not be treated lightly. Above 3,000m on the eastern ridge of Cerro Wayle, Viola

Viola sp. aff. congesta is found at Las Lagunas de Epu Lauquen

atropurpurea can be found. Westward from Chos Malal, you pass through Andacollo to Las Lagunas de Epu Lauquen where Viola sp. aff. congesta and Euphrasia chrysantha grow. Moving further north still, you reach Volcán Domuyo, the most northerly volcano in Patagonia, where you may be rewarded by finding Chaetanthera villosa and wonderful forms of Viola atropurpurea, (or is it V. skottsbergiana?), some with black falls, others with beards; the names of these violas can be a little uncertain!

All the areas described above offer good plant-hunting opportunities, but they are far from the only locations worth visiting in Patagonia. About two years ago Chris Brickell suggested that our group of six regular travellers should make our combined knowledge of Patagonia and its flora available to others. The result of this has been the production of two complementary books.

Flowers of the Patagonian Mountains, for which Martin Sheader was the lead author, is a comprehensive guide to the mountain and steppe flora of Patagonia, and Patagonian Mountain Flower Holidays, which will be published this month, focuses on providing detailed information on where to find the choice plants, how to get there and where to stay.

The town of Caviahue with Volcán Copahue smoking quietly in the background

You do not have to be particularly fit, or a strong walker, to enjoy a visit to Patagonia. Patagonian Mountain Flower Holidays contains something for everyone, from the keen plant-hunter who wants to spend all day walking in the mountains to the car traveller who is looking for interesting routes where high-alpine treasures can be found within easy reach of the road.

As the title indicates, this book is about holidays, so some places of more general interest are included, such as La Trochita, featured in Paul Theroux’s Old Patagonian Express; the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; and the cave of the painted hands – La Cueva de las Manos Pintadas. The inner person is not forgotten either with locations for excellent ice-creams, local beer and Welsh teas.

Armed with these two books you should have a really enjoyable trip to Patagonia. As for me, I’m continuing to eat the Calafate berry jam to make sure I go back again.