Esquel sits at about 560 metres in the Chubut foothills of Argentine Patagonia, and it has two things that make it worth a stop rather than a night. The first is La Trochita, the Viejo Expreso Patagónico, a 750 millimetre narrow gauge steam railway built between the 1920s and 1945 to carry wool out of the interior, which still runs its original Belgian and German locomotives on the original track to the Mapuche village of Nahuel Pan. It is not a heritage recreation. It is the surviving fragment of a line that never reached where it was going.
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The second is what lies either side. West is Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017, which protects stands of alerce, the Patagonian cypress, including individual trees more than two and a half thousand years old, around a chain of glacial lakes. And twenty two kilometres south is Trevelin, the centre of Welsh Patagonia, where the descendants of the settlers who arrived in 1865 still run tea houses, the chapel records are in Welsh, and the place name means "mill town" in that language. The Welsh came looking for somewhere they could be Welsh without England, were given land by the Argentine government, and survived because the Tehuelche taught them how.
Esquel itself is a working provincial town of about thirty three thousand people, not pretty in the way Bariloche is pretty, with a ski hill called La Hoya above it and the wind coming off the steppe. It is a base rather than a destination, and it is a good one.
What Makes Esquel Different to Pack For
Dry, windy and colder than the latitude suggests
Esquel runs about 8°C to 24°C in the summer months of December to February, and about minus 1°C to 8°C from June to August with snow and a proper ski season. It sits in the rain shadow, so it is far drier than the Chilean side of the same mountains, and the wind is constant. Spring and autumn swing hard inside a day.
A merino wool base layer for women is the foundation here in every month, because the difference between a sheltered street and an exposed lake shore an hour later is the whole packing problem in Patagonia.
The wind is the weather
Patagonian wind turns a pleasant 14°C into something that needs a hard shell, and it is strongest in spring and summer. Umbrellas are useless. Hoods and a buff are not.
One road, and blockades happen
The FCDO records that demonstrations and picketing are more common in Argentina than in Britain and that protestors block roads, and in Patagonia that matters more than it would in a city, because there is frequently no alternative route. Build slack into your plans and do not attempt to cross a blockade.
Argentine money is its own subject
Argentina has had years of high inflation and multiple exchange rates, and the practical position changes faster than any guidebook. Bring clean, undamaged, larger denomination US dollar notes, expect to be quoted in pesos, and check before you fly whether cards are currently settling at a favourable rate, because that has flipped back and forth. Cash remains king in small Patagonian towns.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Esquel Packing List
Footwear
Waterproof hiking boots with ankle support for Los Alerces, where the trails are root, mud and loose stone.
Trainers or walking shoes for the town and the train. In winter, insulated waterproof boots with tread for snow and ice, and ice grips if you are here in July. Merino wool socks, several pairs.
Clothing
The Patagonian system, in this order: wool base layer, fleece or light insulated mid layer, and a waterproof windproof hard shell with a hood. Carry all three every day, in January as much as in June, because the wind does not care what the forecast said.
A warm hat, gloves and a buff for the wind and the dust. Quick drying trousers rather than jeans. In winter, a properly insulated coat and thermal bottoms for the ski hill.
One smarter layer for the evening, because Esquel has good restaurants and Argentines dress for dinner, which is later than you think: nine or ten at night is normal. Nothing that flaps.
Practical
Cash in Argentine pesos and clean US dollars, split between two places. ATMs in Esquel exist, have low withdrawal limits and charge heavily. A card as a backup rather than a plan.
A rechargeable headlamp and a power bank. A universal adapter: Argentina runs 220V at 50Hz on the Australian style angled three pin socket, which is not the European two pin and catches almost everyone out.
Sunglasses and high factor sunscreen in every season, because the ultraviolet index this far south is raised by ozone thinning and the snow reflects it. A wide brim sun hat with a chin strap, since a brimmed hat without one is a gift to the wind.
A refillable bottle; tap water in Esquel is safe and good. A basic medical kit, and note that Argentine pharmacies are good and widely available, which is a relief after Chilean Patagonia. Insect repellent for the tábanos, the large biting horseflies that make January and February by the lakes genuinely unpleasant.
What to Wear at Key Places
La Trochita
The narrow gauge steam railway from Esquel station to Nahuel Pan.
Practically: layers, because the carriages are heated by wood stoves and are either roasting or freezing depending on where you sit, and a windproof for standing on the open platforms, which is where you want to be. Expect coal smoke and cinders, so nothing you mind and do not wear contact lenses if you are sensitive. It runs on a limited timetable that varies by season and sells out, so book ahead rather than turning up. At Nahuel Pan there is a Mapuche community selling food and weaving; buy from them rather than photographing them, and ask before any picture.
Los Alerces National Park
The UNESCO listed park west of town, with its lakes and its ancient alerce stands.
Practically: boots, full waterproofs and warm layers, because this side of the park catches the weather coming over from Chile and it changes fast. The big alerce trees are reached by a boat trip on Lago Menéndez followed by a short walk, which is the single best thing to do here and is weather dependent, so allow a spare day. Register at the park office, pay the entry fee, and check fire restrictions, which are strict and seriously enforced after several catastrophic Patagonian fires. No open fires, no cigarettes on the trails.
Trevelin and the Welsh valley
The Welsh settlement town twenty two kilometres south, with its tea houses, mill museum and chapels.
Practically: ordinary clothes and something warm, and an appetite, because a Welsh tea in Trevelin is an enormous multi course affair rather than a scone. The town is walkable and quiet, the mill museum and the small chapels are worth the time, and the story is more interesting than the tea: a people who left Wales to stop being governed in English, and kept the language for a hundred and sixty years. The tulip fields flower in October and November and are genuinely spectacular.
La Hoya
The ski hill fifteen kilometres north, which has dry snow and short queues.
Practically: full winter kit, goggles and sunscreen, and gear can be hired in Esquel or at the hill. It is a small, unglamorous, genuinely good ski area with a long season because of its aspect, and it is a fraction of Bariloche's price and crowds.
The border to Chile
Paso Futaleufú, the crossing west towards the Chilean town of the same name, about an hour from Trevelin.
Practically: your passport, patience and no fresh food, because the agricultural controls on both sides are strict and will confiscate fruit, meat, dairy, honey and seeds. The crossing has limited opening hours, closes on some holidays and can close for snow, so check before committing. It is the natural route to the Chilean Futaleufú and the northern Carretera Austral, and the road on the Chilean side is gravel.
Buenos Aires, on the way in and out
The connection point for almost every Chubut trip.
Practically: city clothes and a bag worn in front, because the FCDO records that thieves and pickpockets operate on public transport and at bus and train terminals, and that express kidnappings, short-term opportunistic abductions, occasionally happen. In La Boca, stay inside the designated tourist area where there are high-visibility police patrols. Avoid demonstrations, which the FCDO notes are more common in Argentina than in Britain and can occasionally turn violent. Use a radio taxi or a ride hailing app rather than hailing on the street.
What Not to Bring
Leave the umbrella, which the wind destroys. Leave jeans, which do not dry. Leave a brimmed hat without a chin strap. Leave the European two pin adapter at home, because Argentina uses the angled Australian style plug. Leave fresh fruit, meat, dairy and honey out of the car at the Chilean border. Leave anything you mind smelling of coal smoke off the Trochita. Leave your camera pointed away from people at Nahuel Pan unless you have asked. Leave cigarettes and open fires out of Los Alerces entirely. Leave sunscreen in the bag in winter, because the snow burns. Leave a spare day for the Lago Menéndez boat, which the weather cancels. And leave the road blockade uncrossed, which is FCDO advice and is also just sensible.
Essential Resources for Women in Esquel
Emergency numbers in Argentina: 911 works in most of the country including Chubut, with 101 for police, 107 for ambulance and 100 for fire still in service. Spanish is essential and English is limited outside the tour operators and some hotels. In Los Alerces there is no phone signal on most trails, so register your walk at the park office.
Tourist support: Esquel has a municipal tourist office and the national parks administration runs Los Alerces, and between them they are the authority for trail conditions, fire restrictions, the Lago Menéndez boat and La Trochita's timetable. Report a theft to the police for the insurance record. Book the train and the boat in advance through the official channels rather than a street agent.
US Embassy: the Embassy is in Buenos Aires at ar.usembassy.gov, about nineteen hundred kilometres north. There is no consular presence in Chubut, so a lost passport means a flight to the capital. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: Esquel has a zonal hospital and private clinics, which is better provision than anywhere on the Chilean side of this frontier and is adequate for ordinary illness, fractures and ski injuries. Anything complex goes to Comodoro Rivadavia, Bariloche or Buenos Aires. Argentina's public hospitals will treat emergencies regardless of nationality, which is genuinely reassuring, and travel insurance is still needed for private care, repatriation and any adventure activity. If you are skiing at La Hoya, check the policy covers it.
Official health authority: the Argentine Ministry of Health, reached through the national portal at argentina.gob.ar/salud, with the CDC destination page for Argentina for vaccination guidance. Tap water in Esquel is safe and good. Routine vaccinations should be current and nothing exotic is required; there is no malaria and no yellow fever risk in Patagonia. The genuine considerations here are environmental: a high ultraviolet index from ozone thinning, hantavirus in rural southern Argentina carried by a wild rodent, so do not sleep in abandoned buildings and air out closed cabins, and hydatid disease in sheep farming country, so wash your hands after handling dogs. Tábano bites in high summer are a nuisance rather than a danger.
US State Department travel advisory for Argentina: current advisory level and detail. Read it directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for Argentina: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, plus the safety and security section, which carries everything of substance. There are no areas of Argentina the FCDO advises against travelling to. One caveat: at the time of writing this advice had last been updated in May 2026, which makes it the oldest of any country in this group, so check for a newer version rather than reading a stale page as current.
What the safety and security section adds: "Political demonstrations and picketing are more common in Argentina than in the UK. Some demonstrations attract large numbers of people, and they can occasionally turn violent," with advice to monitor local news, not attempt to cross blockades and follow local authorities. On crime, "thieves and pickpockets operate on public transport and at bus and train terminals," and it records that "kidnappings including express kidnappings, short-term opportunistic abductions, occasionally happen in Argentina," where victims are typically held briefly and forced to withdraw money. For Buenos Aires it advises staying inside the designated tourist area in La Boca, where there are high-visibility police patrols. None of that describes Esquel, which is a quiet provincial town, and all of it describes the capital you will transit.
Official tourism authority: Argentina Travel at argentina.travel, with the national parks administration for Los Alerces access and fire restrictions.
Solo women safety assessment: Esquel is a comfortable and unremarkable place to travel alone, which is what you want from a Patagonian base. It is a small working town with low crime, a walkable centre, a hostel and guesthouse scene geared to trekkers and skiers, and enough other travellers that sharing a Los Alerces transfer or a Trochita ticket is easy. Argentines are sociable and helpful, street harassment is present, verbal and moderate, and the Patagonian version of it is notably milder than in Buenos Aires. Eating alone at ten at night is completely normal here. The everyday precautions are ordinary: bag closed at the bus terminal, which is the one place in any Argentine town where theft concentrates, and a taxi rather than a long walk in the dark in winter. What actually requires attention is the environment. Patagonian weather is the real hazard and it kills people who dressed for the temperature rather than the wind: carry the shell and the warm layer on every walk, including a two hour one in January. In Los Alerces there is no signal on most trails, so register your route at the park office and tell your accommodation. Fire restrictions are strict for good reason after several catastrophic fires in this region, and a discarded cigarette here is a serious matter. Hantavirus means not sleeping in abandoned buildings. If you are skiing, check your insurance. The transport is the other consideration: a single road, occasional blockades that the FCDO specifically warns about, long distances between towns and a bus network that is good but slow, so build in slack rather than tight connections. Buenos Aires at either end is where the FCDO's city warnings actually apply, particularly at the terminals. With the layering sorted and a spare day in hand, Esquel is a friendly, cheap and easy place to spend several days alone.
Reading On
Esquel sits an hour from the Chilean border and in the middle of the Argentine Patagonian road network. The Patagonia travel guide for women is the parent for the region and the Patagonia packing list for women covers both sides of the border. Straight over Paso Futaleufú, the Futaleufu packing list for women covers the Chilean whitewater village an hour away, and beyond it the Carretera Austral packing list for women covers the road south. North, the Bariloche packing list for women and the San Martin de los Andes packing list for women cover the Argentine lake district. East on the Atlantic, the Peninsula Valdes packing list for women covers the whales in the same province. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why wool is the base of a Patagonian layering system, the best merino wool base layers for women explains it, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
