Patagonian asado at Estancia Nibepo Aike

Observe the working life of a sheep ranch in Argentine Patagonia, and round off your day with a delicious asado (traditional barbecue).

You can’t get much more of an authentic experience in rural Argentina than spending a day or more on a working ranch in the pampas, Andean foothills or here, in deepest Patagonia.  

It’s a rough but scenic road journey from El Calafate to the traditional sheep ranch Nibepo Aike, which enjoys a remote and gorgeous setting beside Lago Roca within Los Glaciares National Park. The drive itself is extraordinarily beautiful, and you may well be lucky enough to spot endemic wildlife such eagles, hares and skunks en route.

While you are in the grounds you can absorb the daily goings on at the estancia: the herding and milking of cows in the morning; the shearing of sheep later in the afternoon. You may also take a walk or ride a horse to a viewpoint from which to survey sweeping views over the steppe to the craggy snow-streaked mountains beyond.

The scrumptious climax of any overnight stay or day visit is the savouring of an Argentinian asado: a Patagonian lamb barbecue served at the estancia’s quincho, a rustic semi-al fresco dining room warmed by an enormous open fire over which the meat is cooked on a cross stake until it is truly succulent..