With various proposals for hiking, sports in nature, wildlife sighting and geological and archaeological tours, this space that less than a decade ago was considered a “place of passage” became a genuine tourist destination.
According to data from the Tourism Directorate of Perito Moreno -the closest town to the Park-, the number of tourists increased fivefold compared to January 2021 in two of its four access portals: La Ascensión and Cañadón Pinturas.
In the first of them, admissions rose from 466 in January 2021 to 2,540 in the same month of 2022, while in the Portal Cañadón Pinturas they went from 1,000 visits to 4,500.
“What is clear is that nature tourism has a very strong potential in the post-quarantine period and the northwest of Santa Cruz offers these attractions, with virgin nature where there is still no mass of people,” Claudio Figueroa, Director of Tourism, assured Télam. by Perito Moreno.
Regarding the native fauna restoration project launched in the region, the official and tourist guide pointed out that “it is having a very good impact on local development and people are beginning to see tourism more and more as a job alternative, due to the attractions we have”.
The lands of the Patagonia Argentina (65,000 hectares) and Patagonia National (102,000 hectares) parks, as well as those of its counterpart in Chile, at the same latitude beyond the Andes, were acquired by Fundación Rewilding and, in the last two cases, already donated to create state-managed nature reserves.
A first attraction of the Patagonia Argentina Park is the La Ascensión Wild Nature Reserve, on provincial route 43, which is a former ranch of 20,000 hectares -of the same name- that was donated by the Foundation and since 2019 is managed by the Parks Administration. Nationals.
Emilio de Paoli, one of the three La Ascensión park rangers, told this agency that his proposals “are those of a friendlier tourism in harmony with nature, something that is increasingly sought after and that visitors enjoy a lot,”
Home to various native species, this is an ideal place for wildlife sighting, especially birds such as ducks, swans, flamingos, coots, and the endemic grebe, which lives on the plateau of Lake Buenos Aires.
This formation, which constitutes an oasis in the middle of the steppe, can be reached after an eight-hour walk through landscapes characterized by volcanic cones, canyons and plains with grasslands.
La Ascensión is the first national protected area that conserves the high plateaus of Santa Cruz, an environment with many peculiarities and endemisms and that preserves an important water reservoir that provides water to nearby towns, many of them dedicated to the production of fine fruits.
54 kilometers south of Perito Moreno along National Route 40, is the Portal Cañadón Pinturas, a private reserve for free public use managed by Rewilding Argentina, which will also be donated to the Patagonia National Park to provide maximum protection to the Pinturas River. and its canyons up to 300 meters high.
This portal is also access to the Cueva de las Manos Provincial Park, the only fee-bearing attraction, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and houses 9,000-year-old petroglyphs.
In addition to the archaeological tours, there are geological tours with specialists who offer unique panoramic views of a region shaped by glaciation and volcanism, such as those obtained on the Tierra de Colores trail, meters from the portal entrance.
The sighting of native fauna generates great enthusiasm in the tourists who arrive in the canyon area, waiting to see the little-known orange chinchilla or more common species such as the Andean condor, the gray and red foxes, the piche and, with luck, , the cougar, among others.
“Nature tourism offers unique experiences that are unrepeatable,” Facundo Epul, a puma-watching guide from Perito Moreno, told Télam and clarified that “this is not like seeing a work of art in a museum, which will always be the same, but here the tourists come to let themselves be surprised by what happens in nature”.
The old ranch of Los Toldos was converted into the only shelter of the Portal Cañadón Pinturas, where those who visit the park can spend the night and enjoy the star observatory at night.
On Provincial Route 41 there is a geological route considered unique in Argentina, which leads to the two remaining portals: Meseta and Paso Roballos.
Near the Portal Meseta is the access to the Patagonia National Park, which is home to the Juan Mazar Barnett Biological Station, of the Aves Argentinas organization, where they work with the few reproductive colonies of the Tobiano Grebe.
The protection of this species and the claim of residents of the town of Los Antiguos due to the progress of gold mining projects in the area more than a decade ago was what motivated the Rewilding Foundation to acquire these lands, where in 2014, The Patagonia National Park was created by law, with the aim of conserving one of the most important nesting sites for this endemic bird.
To the west along the so-called “Scenic Route” 41, territories of pristine nature surprise with new landscapes upon reaching the little explored Portal Paso Roballos, on the border with Chile, in an area that promises to become a binational tourist destination.
Source: Ambito
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