It is situated 320 km (200 miles) south from Bariloche, and it is the head of the Parque Nacional Los Alerces (Larch-tree National Park). It is the perfect place for wildlife and ecology lovers. The city is sheltered by an amphitheater of mountains that surround it. The area offers several paths that are worth hiking. Esquel is a land of legends and where nature never fails to impress the visitor with its landscape of lakes, woods and rivers.

Esquel is the terminal station of the Old Patagonian Express, locally known as La Trochita. It is one of the latest narrow-gauge trains in the world, which formerly run from this city to Ingeniero Jacobacci. Nowadays, it does not serve this route any longer, but it is possible to cover a 22-kilometer (14 miles) tourist circuit across the Patagonian steppe up to Nahuel Pan Station. This tour operates once a week.

Nahuel Pan is a small Mapuche hamlet where it is possible to be in touch with the life, customs and handicrafts of local aborigines. In March, each year, they gather at the foot of the Nahuel Pan Hill to celebrate the camaruco, a ritual dance accompanied by the sound of their traditional music instruments, by which they pray God for a good year for their crops and other activities.

Esquel has also its own ski resort called La Hoya, distant 13 km (8 miles) from the city. It lies on the slopes of a 2,150-meter-high (7,160 foot-high) mountain and its base is located at 1,200 meters (3,995 feet) above sea level. Assorted winter sports are available from July to October. It has 60 hectares of ski slopes that offer excellent snow quality during these months.

The Parque Nacional Los Alerces (Larch-tree National Park) is situated to the south of the city. The paved National Route 259 first, and a gravel road afterwards leads there. The latter part travels an amazingly beautiful scenery of lakes, rapids, cascades, and mountains. The largest lake is Lake Futalaufquen, around which the homonymous village is located, composed by a few inns and several campsites. The National Park was named after the millennial larch wood which is also its main attraction. The visit there is a full day tour. It sets sail at Puerto Limonao (Port Limonao) to navigate through Lake Futalaufquen, the Arrayanes River, Lakes Verde and Menéndez. When the level of the Arrayanes River waters do not allow navigation, the tour is done overland till Lake Menéndez, where you embark at Puerto Chucao (Port Chucao), to set sail from there towards the coasts of the Alerzal Milenario (Millenarian Larch Wood).

A visit to Alerzal Milenario is strictly defined by a walking tour. You must follow the delimited paths all the time, keeping the guide's instructions and avoiding leaving any trash there, since it is an intangible area of the national park where only strictly controlled sightseeing tours are permitted. This millennial wood is composed by three-meter across, up to 70 meter-high (233 foot-high) and 3,000 year old larch specimens. The tree was highly rated as timber for carpentry which led to unchecked abuse and consequently the species ended up close to extinction. There are several other places within the park that are well-worth a visit, such as: Mount Alto del Dedal, Lake Kruger, the Cascada del Tío Mindo (Uncle Mindo's Cascade), a few rupestrian paintings and some other imposing natural beauties.

The Welsh colony of Trevelín is located 23 km (14 miles) south from Esquel on National Route 259. Its name means "The town of the Mill" in Welsh language and it was named like that after the first flour mill that operated there. The old red-bricked building of the "Old Flour Mill" is nowadays a historic museum which is worth a visit. It treasures interesting assets representative of the Welsh colonization. There are also numerous tea-houses where the best of the Welsh pastry can be tasted, especially the so called black cake or Welsh cake.

The same route leads to the artificial lake called Amutui Quimey, which means "lost beauty" in Mapuche language. The lake is the outcome of the huge dam of the Futaleufú Hydroelectric Power Plant, built in the 70s to supply electric power to the aluminum plant developed in Puerto Madryn. Guided tours to the complex are available.