Culture & Taste inmersion at Bodega Colomé

Culture & Taste inmersion at Bodega Colomé.

Enjoy a unique and unforgettable experience in the immensity of the Calchaquí Valleys. Bodega Colomé offers an incredible combination of taste, art, culture and gastronomy in a one day visit: Colomé Experience.

The experience begins with a welcome drink followed by the  James Turrel Museum Visit the Wine Tasting.

Among vineyards, you will find the only museum dedicated exclusively to the work of the prestigious American artist James Turrell. The light experience is enhanced by focusing on the interplay of space, light and time. Placed at 2300 meters above sea level, the museum is a modern oasis, housing nine of Turrell’s most important light works.

 

Immerse in an authentic culinary experience. A 3 course menu that builds on ancient flavors of the land, surrounded by a gentle environment. The restaurant’s farm-to-table menu is sourced from their own organic farm and orchard.

In the afternoon, get ready for the second activity and enjoy a taste of 3 Premium  wines: Colomé Estate Torrontés, Colomé Estate Malbec, Colomé Auténtico Malbec.

A journey through the heights of the Calchaquíes Valleys which has light, space, time and taste as the protagonist.

Colome Experience is a full circuit including Wine tasting, lunch and a visit to the James Turrell Museum. Please note that the Museum tour is only available for children over 12 years old.

  • Experience hours: 11:30 am / 3 pm. Starting with the Museum or the Winery Visit.
  • Lunch: 12 am to 3 pm
  • Open from Wednesday to Sunday (Monday and Tuesday closed)
  • Groups Max capacity 10 pax.

There is no place like home! Visit Rancho Aparte

If you visit El Calafate, this is an experience you don’t want to miss. Enjoy  Rancho Aparte, one of the best closed-doors restaurants in El Calafate.

This great place is run by Gabo, a charming chef and host. His motto: enjoy life, feel at home, cook with love and make new friends is always in action giving Rancho Aparte a friendly and cosy atmosphere.

Twelve guests is the maximum allowed each dinner and soon everybody engages in lively conversation while Gabo shares some secrets of his cuisine and tells stories about  local traditions. All his preparations are exquisite and abundant and  the place is soon filled with the aroma of his fine cooking creating great expectation about the delicacies that will come.

Just relax and enjoy this memorable experience! Feel at home!

Not included: Transfers. Tips.

Includes: 3-step dinner with a welcome drink, entrance, main course, and dessert. Mineral water, soft drinks and wine.

Current Traditional menu: Entrance: Zucchini cream soup. / Main course: Braised lamb with mustard with wedge potatoes. / Dessert: Cheesecake with Calafate ice cream or white chocolate brownie with semi-bitter chocolate ice cream. / Drinks: Mineral water + soft drinks + ½ bottle of Saurus Malbec wine.

Current Vegetarian Menu: Entrance: Corn cream soup. / Main course: Vegetable au gratin stew. / Dessert: Cheesecake with Calafate ice cream or white chocolate brownie with semi-bitter chocolate ice cream. / Drinks: Mineral water + soft drinks + ½ bottle of Saurus Malbec wine.

Menus could change depending on the season and passengers specific food requirements.

HOMEMADE FOOD & WARMTH IN EL CALAFATE

An unforgettable dinner in a warm homey atmosphere. Enjoy a regional homemade meal made with love, between talks and laughs, feeling at home.

The evening’s host is Gabo, who says that what he likes most is to receive visitors; enjoy their company, long chats, mates, walks, and of course, food. His passion is to cook for his guests with love, time and dedication, honoring the popular saying “the kitchen is the heart of the home”.

Gabo welcomes you at his cozy cabin to cook and make you feel at home with the aroma of homemade food, chatting and sharing a drink. He proposes to know El Calafate in a different way, knowing its people and places from the point of view of a local person while sharing a dinner listening to good music and making new friends. 

This experience will take you to savor homemade food in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with dishes made with regional products, accompanied by wines selected from Argentine and Patagonian wineries that respect the aromas and flavors in a harmonious and pleasant way to the palate.

The dinner proposal includes a welcome drink, entrance, main course, dessert and drinks. It has two fixed menus; a “traditional” one, based on regional cuisine and adapting the raw material of the area in an unforgettable journey of flavors; and the other “vegetarian” menu, designed so that those who opt for this type of food in which most of the ingredients used are selected from local organic farms can also enjoy this experience.

At a large table with a maximum of 12 people, you can taste the delicacies that Gabo cooks in his own kitchen while talking with him and with all the guests, appealing to the principles of the house: enjoy life, feel at home, cook with love and make new friends.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • The 3-step menus are fixed (may vary) and must be chosen at the time of booking. Please, ask for an alternative dessert dish should the diner request it.
  • Current Traditional menu: Entrance: Zucchini cream soup. / Main course: Braised lamb with mustard with wedge potatoes. / Dessert: Cheesecake with calafate ice cream or white chocolate brownie with semi bitter chocolate ice cream. / Drinks: Mineral water + soft drink or menu upgrade with ½ bottle of Saurus Malbec wine.
  • Current Vegetarian Menu: Entrance: Corn cream soup. / Main course: Vegetable au gratin stew. /  Dessert: Cheesecake with calafate ice cream or white chocolate brownie with semi bitter chocolate ice cream. / Drinks: Mineral water + soft drink or menu upgrade with ½ bottle of Saurus Malbec wine.
  • Transfers and wine are not included.

 

Kayak & Trekking Experience Río La Leona

A 14 km full day adventure to discover the delightful La Leona River and take a hike through Los Hornos Mount. Explore a glacial river surrounded by the Patagonian steppe and learn about geology!

In the Santa Cruz province it is said that Río La Leona is one of the most beautiful rivers in the Patagonian steppe. With a 70 km flow of turquoise waters, this glacial river is born at the Viedma Lake and discharges at the Argentino Lake.

An interesting fact: its name was given due to a female puma attack (colloquially called “leona”, which means lioness) that suffered Francisco Pascasio Moreno, the famous Perito Moreno, on an expedition towards the Santa Cruz River in the summer of 1877.

Surrounded by the most arid steppe, with no trees and framed by a wide tiered valley, La Leona provides the scenery for today’s adventure.

After an early pick up from the hotel in El Calafate, we are driven towards Luz Divina, a rural inn. On the way the guide tells us about this faraway place and the river we are about to navigate. Glaciers, flora and fauna complete a very interesting informative talk.

Once at Luz Divina, we get familiar with the kayak equipment and pay attention to the technical brief to know the paddling basics. Even if you don’t have any previous experience kayaking, this activity can be easily done by anyone!

All equipped and instructed, we finally go down to La Leona River. The first paddling stretch takes about an hour and a half. Until we get used to this activity, which for some is the first time ever to get into a kayak, it’s impossible not to be captivated by this outstanding landscape of natural beauty and geological history; to take in this vast environment where the sound of silence is so overwhelming. An untouched scenery that many years ago astonished explorers such as Darwin or Moreno with the contrast of the ocher steppe and the turquoise glacial waters.

The next stop is at Los Hornos Mount, one of the oldest formations in the world. At this mount we take a 2 hs hike discovering the beginnings of Patagonian geography. Petrified trees and dinosaur fossils are witnesses of ancient times where the Earth’s conditions and weather were very different than nowadays.

At this place we will also have a brief lunch (not included) and a hot tea to regain energies for the next paddling stretch.

Back again on our kayaks, after 45 minutes more navigating through La Leona, we reach the final stop of the adventure at Arroyo Turbio. We are welcomed at Estancia La Irene and after settling in and putting away the kayak gear, the team bids farewell with a delicious cold beer before returning to El Calafate.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Daily departures. Full day excursion.
  • Operates from October to April.
  • Requires Min. 1 pax – Max. 8 pax.
  • Min. age required is 12 years old.
  • Very active excursion. Implies moderate physical effort. No previous trekking or kayaking experience needed.
  • Pax should wear trekking shoes, comfortable clothes for paddling (thermal t-shirt, polar jacket or sweater, etc.), thermal or lycra leggins, additional underwear (in case it gets wet while kayaking), sunglasses and sunscreen, backpack or bag to keep personal items in the vehicle.

SERVICES INCLUDED

  • Calafate Hotels pick up (starts at 7:30 am) & drop off (4:30 pm). Can be arranged to and from airport depending on flight schedule.
  • Double Kayak and paddles.
  • Safety briefing & Technical equipment: neoprene suit and boots, semi-dry jacket, cockpit cover, helmet, mittens, life jacket, waterproof bag.
  • Bilingual guides (Spanish-English)
  • Snack (hot drinks, cookies or brownies, nuts).
  • Insurance pack for tourism activities.

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED

  • Box lunch.
  • Transfers from/to El Chaltén.