Rows of upright poplars announce the approach to Los Antiguos, a garden spot, where vivid 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 has 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 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. 02963/49-1265, US$1.25 pp plus US$4 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. 02963/49-1140, US$12 pp dorm, US$30 d), with a dozen beds for shoestring travelers. Hotel Argentino (Avenida 11 de Julio 850, tel. 02963/49-1132, hotelargentino_sc [at] hotmail [dot] com, US$32 s, US$42 d) is a utilitarian hotel with a decent restaurant. On the eastern outskirts of town, Hostería Antigua Patagonia (RP 43 s/n, tel. 02963/49-1038, www.antiguapatagonia.net, US$53 s, US$63 d) is a three-story lakeshore hotel with a restaurant.

Getting to Los Antiguos

La Unión (Alameda 428, tel. 02963/49-1078) and Sportman (Patagonia Argentina 170, tel. 02963/49-1175) both provide bus service to Caleta Olivia (5 hours, US$18) and Comodoro Rivadavia (6 hours, US$22). Sportman also has daily service to Río Gallegos.

Both La Unión and Tacsa offer weekday and occasional Saturday services to Chile Chico (30 minutes, US$4), but never on Sunday.

For up-to-date information on Chaltén Travel buses to El Chaltén (13 hours, US$57) and El Calafate (14 hours, US$72) via southbound RN 40, contact Albergue Padilla (San Martín 44, tel. 02963/49-1140).