Estancia Nibepo Aike

an incredible private valley, with access to Perito Moreno

Estancia Nibepo Aike is located in the Los Glaciares area in southern Argentina.

Set in an unusually remote position adjacent to Los Glaciares National Park, Estancia Nibepo Aike is a simple but very authentic property.

The lodge is remotely located around 40 km southwest of El Calafate as the crow flies, in a dramatic glacial valley, overlooking the southwest corner of Lago Argentino. It’s reached via a long and lonely dirt road along the southern shore, which terminates at the property.

The estancia was originally founded by a Croatian pioneer, who established the 200 square kilometre (77 square mile) La Jerónima farm around 1910. Today both the farm and the lodge continue to be run by the original pioneer families.

The lodge is centred on an original old farmhouse, with a characteristic green tin roof, protected from the weather by a copse of conifers. Inside there are cosy lounge and dining areas, with open fires.

It’s worth pointing out that the lodge does welcome day-trippers, who typically arrive here mid-morning for a farm visit, followed by lunch, before continuing across the lake to the Glaciar Perito Moreno. It may be worth working your activities in such a way that you avoid this busy period, although you may well want to join a trip across to the glacier at some point.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Estancia Nibepo Aike is in around 10 rooms, each with a private bathroom.

• Superior Rooms : x2
• Standard Rooms : x8

Activities

Estancia Nibepo Aike provides access to a range of outdoor activities, including backdoor access by boat to the famous Perito Moreno glacier and various explorations of the fabulous valley on foot, by boat and on horse-back.

The property is also a working farm, which guests are welcome to explore.

Estancia Nibepo Aike is usually visited for three nights.

In Argentina only trips, it is almost always visited in combination with a lodge in the El Chalten area further north, which is renowned for its hiking trails.

Trips which combine with Chile head from here by road across the border to the Torres del Paine area, which is best known for its dramatic landscapes and puma tracking experiences. However, these trips are inherently a lot more expensive.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Los Glaciares is generally considered to be during the Oct-Mar southern spring-summer-autumn period.

Los Glaciares officially has a ‘cold semi-arid climate’, with two reasonably well-defined seasons …

During the Oct-Mar summer season the weather is cool and wet. Daytime temperatures usually struggle their way up to around 16C/61F, with nighttime lows holding up around 7C/45F. Rainfall during this period is only around 25mm (1”) per month. Sunshine is around 7-8 hours per day (around 50% of daylight hours, the summer days being very long this far south).

During the Apr-Sep winter season the conditions are significantly colder, but still reasonably dry. Daytime temperatures usually struggle up to around 6C/43F, with nighttime lows falling to around -1C/30F. The rainfall during this period is around 50mm (2”) per month, commonly falling as snow. Sunshine is down around 2-3 hours per day (around 40% of daylight hours, the winter days being very short this far south).

The vast majority of people visit during that Oct-Mar summer season. Personally we enjoy the off-season when, although the weather is colder and the days shorter, the blissful absence of strong winds (usually), coupled with the peacefulness of the area at this time can prove to be a winning formula. This is particularly true if you are keen to avoid the summer visitor traffic.

It also has to be said that the weather in this part of the world is notoriously changeable, you really can experience all four seasons in a single day, so you need to be ready for everything and allow extra time in your trip to ensure that you have the necessary flexibility.

Getting there

Los Glaciares is usually accessed by air from Buenos Aires into El Calafate Airport (FTE).

There are also direct flight connections from Bariloche (around 1000 km further north) and Ushuaia (700 km further south, down at the southern tip of the continent, which is the main jumping off place for cruises to Antarctica).

It is also sometimes possible to connect directly with Almirante Marcos A Zar Airport (REW) in Trelew, for the Peninsula Valdes.

The reserve is also often accessed by road from Torres del Paine National Park, which lies immediately to the south, across the border in Chile, which is in turn accessed by air from Santiago (SCL) into Punta Arenas (PUQ).

an excellent range of outdoor activities