Rows of upright poplars announce the approach to Los Antiguos, Santa Cruz’s garden spot, where riotously colorful flowerbeds fill the median strip of Avenida 11 de Julio, flats of soft fruits like raspberries, cherries, and strawberries go for a song, and baskets of apples, apricots, pears, peaches, plums, and prunes adorn the storefronts.

Its microclimate has made Los Antiguos a getaway since Tehuelche times, its Spanish name (“the ancient ones”) derived from an indigenous term meaning “Place of the Elders.” After August 1991, when the eruption of Chile’s nearby Volcán Hudson buried the area in ash, both the fruit harvest and the tourist trade suffered, but it’s recovered nicely. Fishing and hiking are the main attractions.

On Lago Buenos Aires’s south shore, Los Antiguos (pop. 2,047) is 58 kilometers west of Perito Moreno via RP 43. Entering town, the highway becomes the divided Avenida 11 de Julio, which continues to the Chilean border; the Argentine border post is at the western end, while the Chilean Carabineros are across the Río Jeinemeni, about five kilometers farther.

Early January’s three-day Fiesta de la Cereza (cherry festival) can put a strain on accommodations. February 5’s Día de los Antiguos marks the town’s anniversary, while Día del Lago Buenos Aires takes place October 29.

For fresh fruit, as well as preserves, try any of several farms such as Chacra El Porvenir (walking distance from Avenida 11 de Julio) and the lakeshore Chacra El Paraíso.

Accommodations

Protected by poplars and cypresses, the lakeshore Camping Municipal (Avenida 11 de Julio s/n, tel. 02963/491265, US$1 pp plus US$1 per tent) provides picnic tables and fire pits at every site. Hot showers are available 5:30–10 p.m. only.

Chaltén Travel has opened Albergue Padilla (San Martín 44, tel. 02963/491140, US$10 pp, US$23 d), with a dozen beds for shoestring travelers, has both dorms and private rooms. Hotel Argentino (Avenida 11 de Julio 850, tel. 02963/491132, US$25/33 s/d) is a utilitarian hotel with a decent restaurant. On the eastern outskirts of town, Hostería Antigua Patagonia (RP 43 s/n, tel. 02963/491055, www.antiguapatagonia.net, US$87/102 s/d) is a three-story lakeshore hotel with a restaurant.

Getting There

La Unión (Alameda 428, tel. 02963/491078) and Sportman (Patagonia Argentina 170, tel. 02963/491175) both go to Caleta Olivia (US$15, five hours) and Comodoro Rivadavia (US$17, six hours). Sportman also has daily service to Río Gallegos.

Acotrans (Patagonia Argentina 170) crosses the border to Chile Chico (US$1 pp) three times every weekday and twice Saturday, but never on Sunday.

For up-to-date information on Chaltén Travel buses to El Chaltén (US$56, 13 hours) and El Calafate (US$72, 14 hours) via southbound RN 40, contact Albergue Padilla.