Forty Minutes a Gaucho
At Estancia Nibepo Aike, a fourth-generation working ranch in Los Glaciares National Park—gaucho tradition meets traditional luxury in the Argentine wilderness.
For forty minutes, I ride with the gauchos—and for forty minutes, I’m certain that this is the life for me.
The sun had drops behind the Sierra Baguales, the wind whips up and Evelyn, riding close in red espadrilles, lets out a high-toned yeeeiihh—half rodeo call, half pure exhilaration. A spirited group of French guests joins in with a gallic yawp, and together we thunder across the fields to help the gauchos round up the sheep and move them between pastures.
I had no idea whether the sheep actually needed moving. What mattered was the bite of the wind, the easy camaraderie, the sense that for a brief moment I had stepped into a tradition older and truer than the life I'd left behind in England.
Later, cradling a glass of Merlot beside a roaring fire, Luciano, the general manager, sips his maté and tells me that winds were up to 70 miles an hour this morning, and I come to my senses.
Estancia Nibepo Aike has that effect. It is the only working ranch within Los Glaciares National Park permitted to maintain livestock while offering traditional lodging and activities. The estancia was founded in 1910 by Croatian immigrant Santiago Peso; today, his grandson runs the 29,600-acre ranch with the same traditional values his grandfather brought to these plains over a century ago.
The main house—over 110 years old—has been converted into a country lodge with ten rooms. It's a typical Patagonian wooden construction with original wooden floors and fireplaces. Wood burners glow in the bedrooms. The fire in the lodge's inglenook never goes out.
This is not a museum. Gauchos still ride out at dawn, herding Hereford cattle and sheep until they disappear over the horizon, sometimes staying overnight in remote huts scattered across the property. The risks are real: rivers in spate, pumas watching from the ridgelines at night—patient, calculating. A few years ago, before guard dogs were stationed with the lambs, a puma killed forty in a single evening. "Pumas love lambs," ranch guide Analía tells me, matter-of-fact. "They're always watching. But they're afraid of people."
Dario, wearing traditional gaucho attire, poses for me before taking guests out on a ride.
The fire in the lodge never goes out during the day.
Gaucho tradition and change
Gauchos, once nomadic horsemen, are fundamental to Argentina's agricultural economy, and remain a powerful folk icon of independence and resilience.
The gauchos at Nibepo Aike live in traditional tin-roofed houses clustered around the main lodge. The work is hard, romantic only from a distance, and like gauchos at many estancias, their role has evolved to include tourism—leading trail rides, and demonstrating sheep shearing.
Yet there is something at Estancia Nibepo Aike that resists easy categorization. Gustavo, our horseback guide, holds a degree in soil science. Every member of the staff is invested not only in keeping the guest experience authentic but in preserving the pristine environment surrounding the ranch. "During winter, Patagonia is like Narnia," Gustavo says as we ride. "In spring, it smells like lemonade."
Gauchos ride out across the 29,600-acre ranch
Traditional bedrooms, each with its own fireplace or wood burning stove.
Farm to table, Patagonian-style
At Nibepo Aike, the land is desert steppe—not much is planted. Farm-to-table is both austere and indulgent. Lamb raised on the grasslands and trout lifted from nearby glacial water form the heart of each meal; while vegetables appear sparingly, treated with reverence. Confronted with constraint, chefs respond with precision—producing imaginative, fine-dining plates that are stripped of excess and feel deeply local. I go for trout, my friend Aky: the chargrilled lamb. The meal is accompanied by Choilaranch, a Malbec, named after the Patagonian ranch where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid settled. Our glasses are topped up and conversation flows.
Horizon Lines and Bloodlines
In the afternoon, we ride Creole horses—descendants of Arabian and Spanish bloodlines bred for their strength, temperament, and stamina. They are steady, sure-footed, and tolerant of the inexperience of some of the guests who ride them.
The three-hour ride takes us past Cerro Cervantes - a mountain with hanging glaciers that seem permanently shrouded in cloud. We pass herds of Hereford cattle with vast stretches of open land to graze. Horses that belong to the estancia roam wild here. As we ride, one approaches our group—my horse greets her foal, part of the free-ranging herd.
We ride slowly, with no theatrics, stopping at arranged viewpoints. This collaboration allows something essential to survive.
The Last Fire
On our final morning, we sit in the main lodge waiting to be picked up. The fire crackles in the inglenook fireplace. I ask Luciano to put on some music he loves—he responds with exquisite Argentine guitar (Atahualpa Yupanqui as I remember). On the wall, a painting shows a lone gaucho riding past a cluster of houses, the kind of scene that has repeated itself here since 1910.
I think about my fanciful forty minutes as a Gaucho. I wanted to touch this life, to ride alongside it for a moment, to feel what it might be like to live at this scale, with this camaraderie, in the ever present wind.
That, it turns out, is enough.
Disclosure: The writer was a guest of Estancia Nibepo Aike and Gaucho Getaways. This review is an independent and objective account of the experience.
PRACTICALITIES
Getting There: Estancia Nibepo Aike is located approximately 45 miles from El Calafate within Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina.
The Experience: Stays range from authentic ranch days to multi-day immersive equestrian treks.
Glacial Access: The estancia operates its own private boat to access the more remote corners of the park. Guests can embark on the Aventura or Pioneros excursions (operated by Glaciar Sur) to navigate the glacial waters and reach ice walls far from the crowds.
Booking: This trip was arranged by Gaucho Getaways, specialists in estancia stays that celebrate gaucho traditions.