Patagonia is a geographic region of the southern most of South America. Some named Patagonia as “Home of Gods” and “Foot of Gods”, it comprises the southernmost part of Andes mountains that is located in Argentina and Chile. I was in Patagonia earlier this year for 3 weeks which inclusive of 2 weeks of road trip. I would like to share my personal favourite Top 7 Places To Visit in Patagonia.

1. City of Mendoza

The Mendoza province of Argentina has been very popular for its vineyards and winery. Most of the locals will always recommend wines originated from Mendoza.

Malbec is one of the most popular types of wine in Argentina and it is said that the best wines comes from Mendoza, Argentina. One notable change in scenery in Mendoza region is the hazy condition of the landscape. I was told it was the natural moist from the ground. The city of Mendoza also has lovely restaurants and also a casino at Sheraton Hotel. You can travel to Mendoza by air or by land.

*Check out my story on the Route from Cordoba to Mendoza HERE*

2. UNESCO World Heritage City of Cordoba

As the second largest city of Argentina, Cordoba is one of the first Spanish colonial capital of the region. Declared in 2000, as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, some buildings here are dated in range of hundreds of years old.

The Cathedral which is perhaps the most emblematic structure in the city of Cordoba. Cordoba is located at the north of Mendoza and east of Buenos Aires.

*Check out my full story on Cordoba HERE*

3. Lake Alumine, Nuequen

If you love camping, this could be a perfect place for you. I bet not much people would know about this place. Lake Alumine is located at Nuequen, with many lodges and resorts surrounding the area. I was there camping with the 4×4 Expedition group for one night. It was my first time in my life camping. The experience was surreal. With the breathtaking view of Lake Alumine, this could be one of the preferred weekend getaway in Patagonia. Lake Alumine is located in between Malargue and Bariloche.

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The nearest town to the famous Perito Moreno Glacier is Rio Gallegos. Many opted to stay one night at Rio Gallegos for the Perito Moreno Glacier tour, as the tour usually commenced in the morning. In Rio Gallegos town, the street is ever busy with restaurants, shops and also a casino. Shopping in this part of the region promised fine goods from Patagonia region, most notable the Patagonia wines and chocolates.

Despite the fact of the famous Patagonia grill lambs available almost at every restaurants, there is a Chinese “influenced” restaurant among them offering a slightly different menu. The place is called Restaurante Chino, walking distance from the Rio Gallegos town’s main road.

Did I see Chinese Fried Rice? It was everybody’s favorite that evening

Praises must be given to our local tour guide, Bobby for bringing us to that place. As we had been travelling for days in Patagonia region, having fried noodles was more than a blessing. The reason I mentioned Chinese influenced because the wife of the owner is a Chinese and most food were cooked by her.

Stir fried food and others available too

Can you spot the stir fried noodles?

Like most Chinese restaurants, Restaurante Chino charged a fixed price for its buffet style food. Drinks will be charged differently. The restaurant also served the famous grill Patagonia lambs. The food was good and the price was very reasonable.

The grill section which includes grill lamb, sausages and others. It’s a buffet, eat all you can!

So if you are in Rio Gallegos and craved for something different, Restaurante Chino is something you can consider.
Thank you for reading.

Restaurante Chino, Tenedor Libre-Parilla Libre Address:

9, de Julio 27,

Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz,

Argentina

Tel: (02966) 428578

Malay Mail is one of the oldest newspaper companies in Malaysia. Established in 1896, it is the first daily newspaper in Federal Malay States, now Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The newspaper is available FREE in Klang Valley only with a circulation of 100,000 copies daily.

I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to them for publishing my articles on their newspaper. It was published on 4^th of May, 2010 and it was a 3 full pages coverage. My humble articles are as below.

Stepping Into The Home Of Gods: My 2 weeks adventure in Patagonia, Argentina

Livin’ La Vida Loca at La Boca: An unforgetable experience in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Check out the online version of Stepping Into The Home Of Gods, HERE.

Check out the online version of Livin’ La Vida Loca at La Boca, HERE.

Thanks for reading!

This was the Patagonia Argentina cruise (pic below). Patagonia Argentina cruise is one of the few cruises that offered the glacier tour in Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz, ARGENTINA.

The 6 hours cruise tour cost us around 295 pesos (US 90) excluding meal. It was a double decker cruise, air conditioned.

The highlights of this cruise were the Los Glaciares National Park which has the largest glacier in the world, the Perito Moreno (see picture below).

The cruise tour did not inclusive of any meal. However, they had light meals, snacks and drinks for sale on board. One of the most popular drinks was the whisky with glacier ice. It cost around USD 6 – 7 per glass. This was it looks like (pic above).

The taste was actually quite similar with a regular whisky with ice, just that the glacier ice didn’t melt that fast. Ever wonder how does the glacier ice looks like?

Check this out! This was an actual glacier ice. The ice was very compact and solid, hard to break. Holding the ice was tough as it was freaking cold. Though it was summer in February, but it was really cold on the cruise. Temp was around 10 degree celsius.

You may also wonder how large Perito Moreno is since it’s the largest glacier in the world.

Well, check this out. This was how huge the Perito Moreno compared to the double decker cruise. In fact this was taken at the edge of the glacier, as it covered the whole valley!

The colour of the glacier was so blue, it was simply beautiful. We spent some time around Perito Moreno glacier site.

The 6 hours tour was definitely worth it. There are also options to hike the glacier on a full day glacier tour. Most hotels and resorts in El Calafate offered Los Glaciares National Park tours. Price varies depending on cruise and tour vendors.