For a place so close to the exuberant Andean forests of Parque Nacional Los Alerces, ESQUEL , 180km south of El Bolsón, can surprise you on arrival for the aridity of its setting. Enclosed in a bowl of dusty ochre mountains, it has something of the feel of a cowboy town, but a pleasant one nonetheless. Few sites of tourist interest exist in town, although there's the tiny, under-funded Museo Indigenista (Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat & Sun 5-9pm; free), Belgrano 330, which has a small collection of artefacts from Mapuche, Tehuelche and pre-Tehuelche cultures. The reason why most people make the trip to Esquel, however, is to visit the nearby Parque Nacional Los Alerces , with the trip on the Trochita as the next biggest attraction.

Some 13km to the northeast is the skiing centre of La Hoya , which sometimes has later snow than larger, more challenging complexes such as Chapelco, lasting on occasion into early October. It has eight lifts, is good for powder snow, and is promoted as a low-key family skiing centre.