Stephanie Sympson, along with her Gaucho partners, will lead you into many back-country areas of Patagonia. Discover for yourself the rich qualities of the countryside via horseback that otherwise you might not ever see. Or you may also choose to ride at our private estancia, La Elvira. You will have over 60,000 acres to ride through the steppe of Patagonia.

Come and enjoy the peace, beauty and grandeur of riding through the Nahuel Huapi National Park and it´s surrounding area.

Trail rides will take you through an extremely varied terrain, from rocky snowy mountains through bamboo and beech forests out to the patagonian steppes. with a great variety of plants, animals and birds, such as the magellanic wood pecker, parakeets and the magnificent andean condor. The horses are reliable sure footed criollos, with comfy argentine-chilean saddles.

Day trips: Picked up at your hotel and a pleasant 18 kilometer drive to a private family ranch. Spend a full day riding up to see indian paintings in a cave, red deer roaming amongst cattle and horses and a variety of bird life. A barbecue lunch included.

Pack trips: Three to ten days is ideal and three to eight people the right number to make this trip an enjoyable and unique experience. Setting out from the ranch with pack horses, leaving civilization behind to ride up to the summer camp (base camp). From here on, it´s wild country with no set tracks, riding six to seven hours a day, stopping by some stream for lunch and choosing a pleasant place to unpack and set up camp for the night. One soon gets into the swing of caring for one´s horse and anticipating good meals around the camp fire. These are authentic trail rides in which you will have time to know and feel the Patagonian outback and its inhabitants-- a place accessible to few.
So bring your sleeping bag, sun lotion and rain gear and Carol or Stephie, the gauchos and the horses, will take care of the rest.

Best time: November through March

Stephie Sympson has been living in Bariloche since 1970, a tourist guide and English teacher, she has been working with Carol for a number of seasons.

Carol Jones, grand daughter of an american cowboy pioneer who settled in this area, still has the family property from where she operates her riding trips since 1984.

Days trips: US$ 45.- per person

Pack trips : US$ 145.- per person a day