The steppe is also worth traveling: Route 40 and La Trochita
A 5,200-kilometer road and a steam train with a 75-centimeter gauge. Two ways to look at the Patagonian steppe.
Photo: Gonce · CC BY-SA 4.0The longest road
Route 40 runs through 11 provinces, from Santa Cruz to Jujuy. Its kilometer zero is at Cabo Vírgenes, at the southernmost end of the continent, and it ends at La Quiaca, on the border with Bolivia. The Patagonian stretch is the longest.
According to a 2017 report by Tiempo Argentino, that stretch includes the Don José estancia, in Río Mayo, the 42nd Parallel with the Nant y Fall winery and Los Alerces National Park, Nahuel Pan with La Trochita, and El Chaltén, at the foot of Fitz Roy. The text calls El Chaltén the national capital of trekking.
A steam train
La Trochita is the narrow-gauge steam train, 75 cm between rails, that reached Esquel in 1945 and is now a National Historic Monument. The tourist stretch goes from Esquel to Nahuelpan: 19 km across the steppe, with 49 curves.
October departures
Hay 20 salidas en octubre: los días 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13 al 17, 20 al 24 y 26 al 30. En septiembre salía a las 10:00, con check-in una hora antes, y volvia hacia las 13:00. Los horarios de octubre se confirman en el sitio oficial. En Nahuelpan están el Museo de Culturas Originarias Tehuelche-Mapuche y la Casa de las Artesanas.
Before you go
- The Route 40 report is almost ten years old: check the state of the road with each province's highway authority.
- Tickets are bought on La Trochita's official site or at the Esquel station.
Keep reading
Sources
- Tiempo Argentino: Ruta 40, cinco mil doscientos kilómetros de historias (26 Feb 2017)
- ANBariloche: La Trochita fija 20 viajes en octubre (28 Sep 2026)
- ANBariloche: escapada a Esquel (7 Sep 2026)
- Revisado el 9 Oct 2026