I had taken a side trip from the carretera austral to get to Futaleufú for rafting. The problem with this border region is that there are beautiful things on both the Chilean and Argentinian side. Planning a logical route seemed impossible to me, so I decided to take a holiday to Esquel, Argentina. Particularly, I wanted to visit the Los Alerces national park, although it was also nice to spend some time in the city and in a totally different landscape.
Futaleufú is situated among deep blue rivers and green forest. Crossing the border, the mountains seemed more spread out and made room for dry, yellow fields. The mountains show a broader color palette. Yet it’s only about 75km apart. Esquel itself was pretty quiet, perhaps also due to a long weekend. Many things are within walking distance. I found a nice hostel in the centre and also spent some hours sitting in their big garden. Furthermore, Esquel had its 119th anniversary and put on a free show. There were some local bands and Estelares, a famous rock band.
Cerro la cruz
Right next to town lies Cerro la Cruz, with just over 1000m in altitude. Esquel sits at 563m, so the top provides a nice overview of the city and a look towards its surroundings. I just started walking from my hostel to the neighborhood higher up and could access some dirt roads from there that kept zigzagging up the mountain. An old man started talking to me and hugging a bit too enthusiastically. He had alcohol on his breath and I politely managed to shake him off: “hasta luego”. Being a road, the trail itself wasn’t that interesting, but this time it was more about the destination. They had made a nice viewing platform halfway and near the top. I sat next to a small building, overlooking the city and a cross. Meanwhile a couple of cars arrived, taking a picture and turning around. Small airplanes seemed to fly back and forth. I wondered if they were hobby pilots or if it had to do with the fires in the national park. On the way down there were more people on the streets. A man came out of a side street and we walked down together. He informed where I was from and if I had enjoyed the view from the mountain. We chatted until he reached his destination and I headed back to the hostel.
Laguna la zeta
On the other side of the city, hidden behind a hill, lies a popular recreation area: laguna la Zeta. I had to walk up a steep, dusty road to reach it and could then choose from a bunch of different trails. It was very windy and there were waves on the lake. Around it were places to bbq, many benches and picnic tables and even a little beach. It was still quiet and a dog started following me, excited to accompany me on my walk. I saw a sign at some point that dogs need to be on a leash and told the dog ‘fuera!’, ‘go’. He whined and looked at me in disbelief, but I didn’t want to get in trouble for a dog that isn’t even mine. I was taking a trail via Mate square to the square of the hilltops. It was a super pleasant walk through pine forest, with many viewpoints along the way. I loved the top, which had four different benches with views and signs explaning what you’re looking at. Unfortunately the sky looked dark at times and some raindrops were falling. I decided to go down to the lake, rather than stay. But actually, the sun came back out. It had gotten a bit busier, with more people and many horses grazing near the lake shore! I sat for a bit, enjoying the sun before the dusty walk back.
Laguna Willmanco
The third easily accesible walk goes from the Northern end of town to the laguna Willmanco. It’s along the road leading to the ski field and I saw a few cars parked at the entrance. Where their owners were was a mystery, because I saw hardly anyone inside. Perhaps they’d continued up the road by mountainbike, like many others. Laguna Willmanco lies in a military zone, but according to the sign, you could enjoy the area if you filled out a Google form that was linked in a QR code. Did the locals really do that every time? Perhaps it was because of this, but I was under the impression they didn’t want you to stay very long. Near the lagoon I saw signs that said taking chairs or anything to make yourself comfortable was prohibited. There was a path of mowed grass that led alongside the lagoon until I hit a fence. Then there was a short loop over the hill, with another point of view of Esquel. The colorful mountains in the background were gorgeous, but this visit was much faster than the other lagoon.
The Cascada park
Because I had time and energy left, I took a detour through La Cascada. Instead of waterfalls, I found a small canyon. There’s a closed dirt road along Río de los Bandidos. I followed it and had to cross the river, with very low water. On the other side a smaller path continued until some really cool rock formations appeared. The river flowed through the little canyon and you could climb up the rocks and walk through a big window in the rocks to see the river from a bird’s perspective. I wasn’t really sure if I should be there, since it may have been military terrain, but there were dozens of footsteps and bike tracks, and plenty of evidence of people hanging out at this scenic spot. On my way back I saw some women running towards the canyon. It really was the perfect running spot.
And this was Esquel for me. A week long holiday from traveling. Partly because I was waiting for the weather to improve at the end of the week, but also because I was comfortable, enjoyed calming down, got a haircut and just felt great in the city. There was more sun here than in the rest of the region and it was great to waste some time in the hostel garden, chatting to other travelers.
