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Gauchos in berets on horseback beside a wire fence on open pampas

Life on the land
Pampas, Patagonia, the north

A night or a day visit

Estancias.

Ranches of the pampas, Patagonia and the north.

  • Horses
  • Asado
  • A very big sky

An estancia is a working ranch, and in Argentina the word carries a whole culture with it: gauchos and their horses, the asado cooked slowly over wood, mate passed around the table, and sky in every direction.

Gauchos in berets on horseback beside a wire fence on open pampas

Some are still family farms that take a few guests; some are grand houses built by 19th-century cattle fortunes; in Patagonia, many were founded on sheep. Staying on one is the best way to understand the country beyond its cities, and to slow down between flights.

Three kinds.(03)

  1. 01

    Pampas estancias

    Flat, green, endless grassland a couple of hours from the city. Ride out with the gauchos, eat an asado under the trees, and sleep in a colonial-style casco with a gallery and a pool. San Antonio de Areco is the traditional gaucho town, with silversmiths and saddlers, and celebrates the Día de la Tradición every November. Easy to add at the start or end of any trip, even a short one. A day visit (día de campo) works too.

    Around San Antonio de Areco and the province of Buenos Aires

  2. 02

    Patagonian sheep estancias

    Remote ranches on the steppe, founded by pioneer families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some covering tens of thousands of hectares. Watch shearing and sheepdogs at work, eat lamb roasted on an iron cross by the fire, and walk or ride to see guanacos, rheas and condors. Near Ushuaia, Estancia Harberton is one of the oldest in Tierra del Fuego. Pairs with El Calafate, El Chaltén, Península Valdés or Ushuaia.

    Near El Calafate, along the Patagonian coast and in Tierra del Fuego

  3. 03

    Fincas of the north

    In the north they are called fincas: adobe farmhouses with vineyards, walnut groves and horses, at the foot of the mountains. Rides go up into the hills among the cardón cacti. A good base between Salta and Cafayate.

    The Calchaquí Valleys, Salta

A typical day.

From mate in the morning to starlight on the gallery.

  1. 01 / 04

    Morning

    Mate and breakfast, then out on horseback with a gaucho. Riding is suited to all levels, but tell us honestly how confident you are.

  2. 02 / 04

    Midday

    The asado: beef, lamb or kid cooked slowly over wood embers, with salads, wine and a long table.

  3. 03 / 04

    Afternoon

    Siesta, a swim, a walk, or a demonstration of gaucho skills.

  4. 04 / 04

    Evening

    Drinks on the gallery as the light goes, and a sky full of stars.

A dark pinto horse stands in rocky grassland on a hillside above Tandil, with the flat farmland of the pampa fading into haze below.

Add an estancia.

Easy to fit at the start or end of almost any trip.

Ask about estanciasThe one-week journey