For a chance to experience real untainted gaucho family life and its intertwinement with the horse, a stay with the enormously welcoming Chamorro family at the ancient village of Cuyín Manzano is a unique opportunity to experience something a little different. As well as being a cultural opportunity, an enormous area of the beautiful Nahual Huapi National Park can be explored on horseback whilst combining nights in the family's house, mountain refugios and tents.

The Chamorro family were the original settlers of the Cuyín Manzano valley and due to their heritage, along with their neighbours, are the only people allowed to inhabit this pristine area of 150,000 hectares of national parkland. Their home is next to the glistening Cuyín river - a tributary of the Limay and home to beautiful kingfishers (the Martín Pescador), sandy beaches, turquoise pools and the delicious sweet aroma of flowers beneath soaring mountains and colourful rock.

Smiling, full of laughter, down to earth and downright delightful, Marisa and Pablo Chamorro and their son Francisco have opened the doors of their homely riverside cabin (where scrumptious freshly homemade cakes and breads await) for tailor made visits. They boast two private mountain refugios as well as their tents and packhorses to get out into wild nature.... The family's intricate knowledge of this land, which has been their home for generations, provides the chance to explore some truly unique and normally inaccesible locations.

Sitting astride one of their beautiful Chilean mountain criollo ponies, as charming and relaxed as it is strong, you will wade through sparkling rivers, enjoy the evening light over the mountains, explore hidden valleys, and learn about gaucho life and Patagonian wildlife. You will lunch upon delicious local smoked meats and cheeses and later dine on the asado (the Argentinean bar-b-q) with the jovial and smiling family, enchanted by this unique opportunity to reach a magical and secluded area of national park only made possible by this family’s heritage and enormous and unmistakable goodwill. Witness time stand still as you gaze out over immense views and high panoramas... volcanic pinnacles and towers, eagles and condors, and valleys of ancient lenga trees and riverside weeping willow.

Hiking and rock climbing are also possible, and the onus on flexibility whilst making the most out of the time of year will pass unnoticed but is perfectly incorporated into personalised plans for each party; November and late april see the rounding up of animals for their biannual marking, and it is also possible to hunt red deer in season (the sport is controlled here and highly monitored). Guests are also invited to try their hand making some of the beautiful home made fabrics and tack that the family have made for generations for their horses and themselves.

Please feel at ease to contact us for any further details, quotations or ideas.




Our Rides

Book Cuyín Manzano