Chubut was named after its namesake river flowing around its lands from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic ocean. The term “Chubut” was coined by the Tehuelches indian tribe formerly inhabiting this province and it means "transparent", due to the clarity of the water carried by this river in its flow.
It is located in the Argentine Central Patagonia region and it extends along the South latitude parallels standing between 42º and 46º respectively. It borders with the province of Río Negro in the Northern region, and with the province of Santa Cruz in the South. In the Western region, it shares borders with Chile, and with the Atlantic ocean in the east.
It is inhabited by roughly 413,240 people, comprising an area of 224,686 km2. It is regarded as Argentina´s third largest province.
Rawson, the capital city of Chubut, was the first Welsh settlement discovered in the Southern region at the end of the XIX century. With respect to its population, it is inhabited by over 27,000 citizens. Furthermore, it currently records a significant urban growth and offers a large number of cultural attractions such as the Saleasiano Museum endowed with a great anthropological signficance, the José Hernández Cultural Center, the city´s Historical Rescue Center and the Berwyn chapel, among other buildings.
Comodoro Rivadavia stands as one of the major cities in this province. It is known as the "National Oil Capital city" since it was the first site in Argentina where oil was discovered back in 1907. The oil fields lie around the San Jorge Gula basin and account for a significant national consumption supply. Additionally, it is regarded as Southern Patagonia´s largest city. As to the services therein provided, it offers an outstanding gastronomy and hotel infrastructure as well as settings targeted at entertainment and recreational activities.
Puerto Madryn, in turn, is a touristically relevant and strategically located point of attraction as it actually leads visitors towards the Valdes Peninsula, declared National Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1999. Such acknowledgment was based upon the fact that it is the only one place in the world where visitors may watch orcas (killer whales) intentional beaching aimed at capturing their prey. This peninsula also shelters sea lions and sea elephants, whose male members openly struggle to seize their females during the breeding season. Within a very short distance as from this area, visitors may have the chance to get close to the enormous Patagonia right whales, play with dolphins, or simply enjoy watching the toninas overas, which belong to the dolphin family even if they look like small orcas (killer whales).
In the vicinity of Puerto Madryn lies Punta Tombo, the largest South American continental penguin colony inhabited by Magallan Penguins and sheltering over 175, 000 active nests.
Chubut´s peculiar geographic features like the Andean woods and mountains, its lakes and vast inland plateaus, and the cliff shores and beaches definitely turn this province into a unique natural setting enriched by a captivating history evidencing cultural phenomena such as the settlement of Welsh inhabitants and the preservation of archeological and panteological remains currently regarded as major touristic attractions.
Chubut is also endowed with Protected Natural Areas, known as regions specifically targeted at protecting and preserving biological diversity, and that of the cultural and natural resources being linked to such resources.
Economy and Investment opportunities
Chubut stands as a province whose development and growth potencial can actually be perceived in all of its regions. Among the most appealing investment areas reference should be made to the following sectors:
-Tourism: providing investment opportunities especially in terms of hotel and infrastructure undertakings and supplementary services
- Metalmechanics: displaying a high sustainable growth potential and serving as a construction and oil sector input supplier
- Fruit growing: comprising primary production related activities and value chain advances
- Winemaking: the agro-climatic potential and the successful outcomes deriving from current crops actually position this sector as one perfoming a high-quality activity
- Wood making
-Textile-wool industry
Tourism
Due to its vast areas, the diversity of its geographic regions and the types of landscape unfolding in this province, Chubut is said to be a major national and international touristic center. As a matter of fact, tourists can take up all type of activities such as skiing, rafting, trekking, scuba diving, repelling, landsailing, sandboarding, kayacing, surfing and windsurfing, targeted at all ages. Other activities to embark on also include mountainbiking, cavalcades, fauna watching, rural tourism and 4x4 tours, among many other options.
Natural Protected Areas
These areas undoubtedly stand as the most captivating point of attraction in this province. They are endowed with landscapes of unmatched beauty where biodiversity allows tourists to enjoy unique and unforgettable moments that are only to be witnessed in these majestic Patagonian lands.
Few places in the world offer the possibility of enjoying untouched nature and the chance to watch a vast diversity of fauna living in its natural environment. Whoever visits these areas may engage in different activities ranging from watching the enormous Patagonia right whale, penguins, poultry, sea lions and sea elephants, or going for a walk along the Patagonian Andean woods or taking safari photos in the petrified wood, among other activities.
Fauna
Fauna is no doubt regarded as the most appealing option for Chubut visitors. Watching whales, penguins, sea lions and sea elephants, orcas (killer whales) and dolphins causes this province to be thought of as the unique fauna exhibiting venue.
The Patagonia right whale may be watched in the Valdes Peninsula right from Puerto Pirámides from June to mid-December. Visitors to this beautiful resort village may choose to hire a bus company to tour them into such a breathtaking scenario. As a matter of fact, this sea mammal chooses to live amidst the tranquillity of Nuevo and San Jose Gulfs water for mating and breeding purposes. The watching activity itself may take roughly one hour. Small ships get reasonably close to the Patagonia right whale habitat and wait there until the arrival of such a striking mammal. Due to the water transparency, this mammal may be photographed while going past under the ships.
Additionally, orcas (killer whales) may be watched as from February to April and from September to November.Also, dolphins watching occurs from January to March. In terms of another special sea character reaching out to these shores, we can refer to the tonina, known to be the smallest dolphin in the world. By sailing from Playa Union located in the resort village of Rawson between April and November, visitors may come into contact with this black and white 1 meter and a half long mammal moving around in clusters of 2-10 species.
The Valdés Peninsula hosts the unique sea elephant continental rookery. In fact, sea lions and sea elephants share the same beaches in summer time: a time in which the former ones go into breeding season. They are brown- coloured animals crawling over the land by using their front and hind flippers. In turn, sea elephants are light grey and only move forward by using their front flippers. The best season for watching sea elephants is springtime, particularly in October since sea elephants go into breeding during the August-November season.
As for penguins, Punta Tombo hosts the Magallan Penguins´ largest breeding colony, which may be watched as from September to April.
Petrified Wood
Located in the Central-Southern region of this province, this wood is endowed with a vast paleobotanic richness made up of the ancient wood large conifer logs formerly extending over the current steppe. This wood stands amidst what used to be the old sea bed, therefore giving rise to a moon landscape unfolding a great colour diversity.
In the same reserve, visitors may tour the Interpretive Center where the region´s archeological and paleontological remains are on display.
Cabo Dos Bahías
As a consquence of the striking landscape contrast evidenced in its reddish stones and the blue sea, this region stands as the most beautiful within the array of Protected Coastal Areas. Visitors here may appreciate a large colony of penguins, South American sea lions, flocks of guanacos and other Patagonia fauna species.
Nant and Fall Falls
Amidst the Patagonina Andean woods lying in the province´s most western area near Trevelin district at 540 meters above sea level, there rise the Nant and Fall Streams embracing four of Nant and Fall Streams falls clearly highlighting a multicolour tapestry of tree species such as coihues linked cypresses, radales, lauras and maitenes. Manifold types of fauna species may occasionaly be watched in this region such as ringed kingfisher, ringdove, chimango, austral thrush, á Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, fio-fios, sparrow hawks, vultures, wild cats and wild boards.
Piedra Parada
This region offers tourist attractions involving cultural, historical, paleontological, archeological and active tourism activities. It is located 42 km from Gualjaina hosting eaves with cave paintings, petrified logs and mammoth rocky formations, therefore turning this Chubut River valley into a unique point of attraction.
The Piedra Parada valley extends along a 95-kilometer area and lies between Gualjaina and Paso del Sapo. Its landscape is made up of deep ravines, slight mountainous areas, enormous caves and a captivating polychromy. Its natural features have caused this site to become a warm stopping-site for native Indian populations.Therefore, it can be currently conceived as a major gathering of objects and small items, in addition to the manifold sites displaying cave paintings; all of these objects, sites and items being regarded as anthropologically significant. Furthermore, extremely arid environmental conditions jointly with the geological formation process giving rise to the appearance of this stop raises expectations that it may also be turned into a center of paleontological concern.
National Parks
Los Alerces National Park (the Larches National Park) stands as one of the major testimonial pieces of evidence accounting for Chubut´s natural wealth. It is, in fact, the unique Argentine millenary wood and one of the remaining four in the world. The enormous larch locally referred to as "El Abuelo", being over 2,700 years old and roughly fifty-seven meters high, takes more than eight people to embrace it round its log circumference.
What primarily distinguishes the Chubut´s Andean mountains region is the fact that larch woods can be found in this area. As a matter of fact, this is a clearly distinctive feature if we consider that larches are basically found scattered around, just as it happens in the few other remaining places where this amazing conifer lives.
Lake Puelo National Park stands as a setting where the Valdivian rainforest is preserved and it shelters the breathtaking Lake Puelo, for which this park has been named.
Lakes
The so-called Lakes Region also features specific types of attractions such as the amazing millenary larches, the mammoth Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex, a countless number of Welsh settlement remains, above all those found in the picturesque city of Trevelín, as well as the manifold chances of coming into contact with nature.
With long kilometres extending over the Andean ranges and the major advance achieved in services provided to fishermen, this Region offers a wide scope of options for fly fishing in lakes and rivers.
With respect to skiing and snowboarding sports, the La Hoya Ski and Snowboard Resort stands only 13 kilometers away from Esquel. Furthermore, visitors may take a ride along a steam train locally referred to as La Trochita and built at the beginning of the XX century, which has been preserved just as it was originally designed and will tour them around plateaus and valleys; thus linking this area to the 42nd parallel Andean Region.
Lake Puelo rises as one of the major lakes in this region. It lies a few meters away from its namesake National Park and it borders with the district of El Bolsón in the province of Rio Negro´s Northern area.
Together with other nearby districts such as El Hoyo, Epuyén, Cholila and El Maitén, this lake forms part of the so-called 42nd Parallel Andean Region. In fact, Lake Puelo features a very particular microclimate. The fact that it lies just 170 meters above sea level along a longitudinal Northern-Southern looking valley allows winter mean temperatures to be less harsh and enables tourists to enjoy a wide range of activities throughout the whole year.
Another point of attraction beginning to capture visitors´ attention is Lake Baggilt lying 10 kilometers away from Chile, and thus standing as a tourism heavily influenced area, specially targeted at adventure tourism related activities. Huemul and Arco Iris (rain bow) and Fontinalis trouts characterize this region´s local fauna. This lake also shelters an eternal-ice Glacier, which can be accessed by going trekking along beautiful and untouched areas.
Similarly, Lake Futalaufquen, flowing along the Alerces National Park, blends transparent waters and an unequeled vegetation, thus turning it into one of the most beautiful parks in all of the Patagonia region.
Snow
The La Hoya Ski resort and Mountain Activities Center located in Esquel, welcomes white sport lovers while featuring the purest and most resilient powder snow ever in Argentina. It owns 24 ski slopes offering various degrees of difficulty, therefore suitable both for experts and beginners.
Alpine skiing targeted at all levels can actually be practised in this mountain resort. This resort features a Mountain Ski and Snowboard area as well as a snow motorbikes circuit. In fact, the wide range of activities that visitors can practise here turns La Hoya resort into the destination chosen by families and advanced skiers, as it actually provides options for everyone to enjoy and have fun. With respect to options and benefits offered, there are 11 ski lift devices such as 4 cablecars, 5 teleskies, 1 T-bar and a Poma bambi. In addition, the resort also has three cafeterias, a skiing school, a day care center, and a store where visitors may hire ski suits, snow motorbikes and ski locks.
As this hill stands in a region known as Comarca de los Alerces (Larch District), visitors may enjoy other points of attractions such as La Trochita and the Alerces National Park.
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving amateurs and professionals from all over the world come to Chubut to enjoy the natural beauty of its marine depths. Actually, nobody can resist to the temptation of scuba diving in the transparent and unexplored blue sea, which is said to be rich in unique fauna species. Furthermore, visitors wanting to try scuba diving will be assisted by highly qualified scuba diving instructors.
Fly fishing and sport fishing
With more than 800 kilometers extending along a vast mountain range area and the major development achieved in services for fishermen, Chubut offers a wide range of sport fishing options. Fishing environments offer two clear-cut features: the steppe and the Patagonian Andean woods, both of them endowed with wild trouts of unmatched quality.
The Lake Puelo National Park located in the Andean Mountain range is suitable for fly fishing. Actually, this lake is inhabited by rainbow, brown and stream trouts. Its major affluents known as Azul, Turbio and Epuyén Rivers as well as its Puelo River drainage stand as good options for fishing. Lake Epuyén is a beautiful water mirror where good quality rainbow trout can be found. The vastness of the landscape and fishing involving a wide scope of species and fish sizes are said to complement each other in the Alerces National Park. Also, Lakes Rivadavia, Futalaufquen and Krugger, and their affluent rivers are regarded as the quintissential fishing areas.
At the steppe region, the Chubut River stands out due to its low waters and its vast fish population. Lake Cholila is the site where coveted salmon migrated to. Its major affluent is the Tigre River characterized by milky though plentiful waters when it comes to fishing salmon. The Carrenleufú River is a beautiful mass of water which finally empties into Lake Rivadavia.
The Pico and Corcovado River regions are probably the best endowed for trout fishing in all the Patagonian region. The Corcovado river upper course and its mouth located in lake Vintter allow catching large rainbow and stream trouts, the latter displaying the highest trout quality on a worldwide level.
Lake La Plata undoubtedly stands as one of Chubut Andean Range´s most beautiful lake featuring quite enclosed bays and a majestic lengas wood. A large number of streams flow into this lake, therefore turning those drainages into suitable fishing settings.
Chubut embraces a conservationist philosophy boiling down to tough fishing regulations, and encouraging fish capture and return. Entities enforcing fishing control programs call for fish guards to be placed in all areas and the performance of technical studies aiming at securing the sustainability of environments where outstanding ecological quality species, wild trouts and transparent waters can be found.
Rural Tourism
Tourists may go on agrotourism excursions throughout the province. Home-made cheese, fine fruits, canned mushrooms, hydropony, fruit and vegetables crops, locally manufactured sweets and licquers are some of the products you may buy after learning the secrets hidden in their production and manufacturing processes.
Visiting rural ranches allows tourists to enjoy being in a traditional type of environment by tasting the most delicious home-made dishes and becoming familiar with the farming business.
Welsh Culture
The Welsh settlers´ arrival in this region embodied the first step towards developing this Argentine soil. Similarly, it epitomized the preservation of a millenary cultural chain lasting up until today, which has become part of Chubut inhabitants´ every day life. This phenomenon is clearly evidenced by the Welsh religious architecture, tea houses and the Eisteddfod, and a VI century´s literary-musical festival currently taking place in Wales and Chubut. Esquel, Trevelin and Corcovado, and Trelew and Rawson included, have also kept this tradition alive and are currently regarded as major Welsh cultural centres.
Museums, paleontology and oceanography
Museums keep large paleontological and archeological collections and hoard pieces and relics unveiling amazing facts about ancient times. Furthermore, they preserve old settlers and native Indians´ customs, as well as the epic story of the Welsh settlement. Some of Chubut ´s most renowned museums are the Ecocenter, the Museum of Natural Sciences and Oceanography and the Paleontological Museum “Egidio Feruglio”.
Puerto Madryin features Ecocenter, the country´s first Interpretive Center engaged in marine ecosystem. In fact, it brings together science, education and artistic expressions. Furthermore, its unique exhibition taking place along the 3,000 Km.of the Patagonian coastline and the activities being performed there, provide a wide scope of tips to understand nature.
The Museum of Natural Sciences and Oceanography is located in the Pujol Chalet, one of Puerto Madryn city ´s most emblematic buildings. The different rooms inside this museum focus on Puerto Madryn´s history, by specially addressing the Welsh immigration issue and the great ecological diversity characterizing Chubut´s landscape.
The Paleontological Museum “Egidio Feruglio” located in Trelew stands as the major paleontology specialized museum in South America. It hoards a collection of significantly relevant pieces and it aids towards conducting research projects and activities aiming at unveiling the mysteries of fauna and flora evolution. It is characterized by an ongoing exhibition looking back into past times, from the moment the first human beings came into being up until the onset of life on the planet. It is worth mentioning that dinosaurs species formerly inhabiting the region, such as the remains of the world´s most renowned and largest vertebrate, referred to as the Argentinosaurus, are on display in this museum.
Trochita, the old Patagonian Express
Chubut hosts a steam train invented at the beginning of the century which has been preserved just as it was originally built. It is known as El Trochita and it runs along the wild Patagonian plateaus. For over 40 years, this steam train has served as a unique train in the world, since it has actually carried passengers up until today.
It may set off from Esquel or El Maitén stations. If it sets out from Esquel it covers a 36 km distance until reaching the Nahuel Pan colony, which is regarded as a settlement of the Mapuche native Indians tribe´s ´ descendants. It is a two-and-a-half hour train ride that no visitor should miss. The train sets off from the station daily in Summer mornings, and it does so in the afternoon in winter and autumn time.
National Celebrations
The district of El Hoyo, referred to as the National Capital of Fine Fruits, hosts the Argentina´s National Fine Fruit exhibition in January aiming at paying homage to its most precious produce: Fine fruits. Such fruits as strawberries, red currants, blackberries and blackberries, among others.
Furthermore, the district of Cholila is the hosting venue for the National Asado Festival. As to the National Salmon Celebration, it takes place in Camarones and both of these festivals are held in February.
The National Lamb Festival is held in Puerto Madryn in March and the unmissable National Ski Festival takes place in Esquel in September.
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