Patagonia Overland travel Route 40, Cueva de las Manos

Route 40 (MRC) More information

Route 40, from Comodoro Rivadavia to Chalten - Patagonia Adventure Trip

This overland Patagonia itinerary from Comodoro Rivadavia in the San Jorge Gulf over the Patagonia Atlantic coast to El Chalten allows us to get in touch with the legendary Route 40, with its long and gravel roads crossing the vast isolated Patagonia steppe, that will lead us to visit the 10.000 years old Handpainted Cave (Cueva de las Manos) on Río Pinturas canyon, the Lake Buenos Aires & Los Antiguos town, the Lake Posadas & Lake Pueyrredon, the Río Oro canyon where we will trek with a view of Cerro San Lorenzo (the highest peak in Patagonia), while stopping at the small towns of Patagonia pioneers.

Departures 2008/2009:

    4 days - 3 nights

    Season: October to April

    Starts at: Comodoro Rivadavia Airport (CDR). The Meeting Point for the Group on Day 1 is at 2 PM at the Restaurant of the Comodoro Rivadavia Airport.

    Ends at: El Chalten.

Itinerary
Day 1: Comodoro Rivadavia – Los Antiguos
Our journey begins from the town of Comodoro Rivadavia, going 70 Km south to visit the Patagonia Adventure Trip: Rio Pinturas canyon - Cueva de las Manos

Patagonia Adventure Trip: Rio Pinturas canyon - Cueva de las Manos

town of Caleta Olivia bordering the San Matias Gulf on the Atlantic Ocean coast. From there we will cross the Patagonia to the West to move away from the sea and towards the mountains to arrive after 350 km of paved road to the town of Los Antiguos, located on the southern shore of Lago Buenos Aires, the second largest lake in America after Titicaca, 2 Km from the border with Chile, with views of the Cordillera de los Andes mountain range. (total 420 km / 260 miles).
Lodging at Inn Double room with private bathroom
Lodge option: Inn Single room with private bathroom
Included meals: dinner (D)

Day 2: Cueva de las Manos. Los Antiguos – Posadas Lake Patagonia Adventure Trip - Handpainted Cave, Cueva de las Manos

Patagonia Adventure Trip - Handpainted Cave, Cueva de las Manos

We leave from Los Antiguos town, famous for its cherry production, towards the south along Route 40 to arrive to the Río Pinturas canyon, where we access the hand-painted cave ("Cueva de las Manos"), an impressive place with ancient paintings from 10.000 years ago of human hands and animals made by the first inhabitants of Patagonia. Then we continue traveling west to lodge in the small and picturesque Lago Posadas town. (360 km/220 miles).
Lodging at Inn Double room with private bathroom
Lodge option: Inn Single room with private bathroom
Included meals : breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 3: Rio Oro Canyon - Cerro San Lorenzo Lake Posadas, Patagonia - Route 40 - Patagonia Adventure Trip

Lake Posadas, Patagonia - Route 40 - Patagonia Adventure Trip

We transfer in the morning to Rio Oro Canyon, where we trek for 5 hours between its high stone walls until we get a wonderful view of the Cerro San Lorenzo, the highest peak of Patagonia (3706 m / 12159 ft). We return to Lago Posadas town with the special view of the contrast between the blue waters of Posadas Lake and the green waters from Pueyrredon Lake, probably two of the most beautiful lakes of southern Patagonia, separated each other by only 100 m / 328 ft of land.
Lodging at Inn Double room with private bathroom
Lodge option: Inn Single room with private bathroom
Included meals : breakfast (B), box lunch (BL) and dinner (D)

Day 4: Lago Posadas – El Chalten
After breakfast we depart in our bus to El Chalten. We travel a long road where we will be able to appreciate the different birds and fauna of Patagonia in a dessert-type landscape. We stop to have lunch at a typical Patagonia saloon close to Cardiel Lake. The final 100 km westbound features lake and glacier Viedma and the spires of Fitz Roy massif and Cerro Torre group. We estimate to arrive at El Chalten around 7 PM. (total 550 Km / 341 miles). End of the Adventure Trip.
Included meals : breakfast (B)

Price (u$d):

Lodging type	Departure Month
Lodging type	[ Oct - Feb - Mar - Apr ]	[ Nov - Dec - Jan ]
Inn Double	619	650
Inn Single	732	763

Included Services: Bilingual Spanish-English tour leader during all the trip, 3 nights inn (double or single), 3 breakfast (B), 2 box lunch (BL) and 3 dinners (D), all transfers in Patagonia and trekking activities. Transfer Comodoro Rivadavia Airport – El Chalten with private transportation.

Not included: international and domestic flights, airport taxes, transfers in Buenos Aires, nights in Buenos Aires, drinks, foods not detailed, ticket entrance to Handpainted Cave (5 u$d), medical covering, tips, services not detailed in the program. More information