Cholila, Argentina: A Guide to the Town and Its Valleys

Cholila, Argentina is a small town in the Andean foothills of Chubut Province, in Argentine Patagonia. It sits among glacial valleys and lakes at the northern edge of Los Alerces National Park, north of Esquel. Our lodge is in Villa Lago Rivadavia, one of Cholila's four valleys, so this is the guide we would give a friend.

What Cholila is

Cholila belongs to the Cushamen Department of Chubut and sits at around 560 meters (about 1,840 feet) above sea level. It is small: the 2010 census counted about 1,560 people in the town. The province describes it as country shaped by glaciers, crossed by a chain of lakes and rivers, and settled first by Tehuelche people, later by Chilean Mapuche and Creole families, and then by Syrian-Lebanese, German, Spanish, North American and Italian settlers who came to raise livestock.

The town sits a few hundred meters from Lago Pellegrini, which locals also call Lago Mosquito. It is a working town rather than a resort. You will find inns and cabins, a few places to eat, transport and local guides, and basic services. Visit Argentina suggests one to two days for the town itself, and it works well as a base for the lakes, the park and the rivers.

The four valleys of Cholila

Cholila's territory is made up of four valleys of glacial origin: El Cajón, El Rincón, El Blanco and Villa Lago Rivadavia. Between them they hold a string of lakes, including Lago Cholila, Lago Rivadavia, Lago Cisne, Lago Cóndor, Lago Lezama and Lago Pellegrini. Lago Cholila lies about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west-northwest of town in a straight line, under Cerro Dos Picos, which rises to 2,525 meters (8,284 feet).

The Carrileufú flows out of Lago Cholila and runs south through the valley until it empties into Lago Rivadavia, at the north entrance of Los Alerces. That river is our home water. Because it runs between lakes, it holds its flow and clarity when free-flowing rivers elsewhere in Patagonia color up or drop.

Things to see and do in Cholila

The provincial and national tourism offices list the same core activities, and they match what guests actually do here: walks through native forest, horseback riding, sport fishing, boating on the rivers and lakes, photography, mountain biking, hill climbs, agritourism and the historical sites. A few are worth planning a day around.

The outlaw cabin. Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Etta Place ranched in this valley in the early 1900s, and their cabin still stands off Route 71. We have written up the history and how to find it in Butch Cassidy's cabin in Cholila. Museo Bar La Legal, a short way from the turnoff, has photographs and more of the story.

Los Alerces National Park. The park's north entrance at Lago Rivadavia is a short drive south of town on Route 71, which makes Cholila the quiet way into a UNESCO World Heritage site. The lakes, the roads and the ancient alerce trees are covered in our guide to Los Alerces National Park.

Fishing. The Carrileufú alone holds four species: brown, rainbow and brook trout, and landlocked salmon. For how a week works on our home river, read our complete guide to Patagonia fly fishing on the Carrileufú. For how this valley compares with the rest of the country, from Neuquén down to Tierra del Fuego, see our region-by-region guide to fly fishing Argentina's Patagonian rivers.

Riding. Much of this country was worked on horseback long before anyone drove it, and a horse still reaches forest, river crossings and lake shore that no road touches. Our post on what a ride from the Cholila valley is like covers the horses, the trails and the seasons.

For a meal out, Museo Bar La Legal on Route 71, near the cabin turnoff, is a bar and small museum in one, and La Cocina de Lili is in town on Avenida 15 de Diciembre. Guests at the lodge eat with us, since the week is all-inclusive.

Each summer Cholila hosts the Fiesta Nacional del Asado, the National Asado Festival, and the municipality has confirmed February 5 to 7 for the 2027 edition.

Cholila through the seasons

The national tourism office describes Cholila's climate as cold and dry, with snow in winter. Long-term averages put the January daily high at about 21C (70F) and the July high at about 6C (43F), and most of the year's rain and snow falls between May and August. Summer is the dry season.

Spring, November and December. Snow on the peaks, full rivers, flowers in the valleys and cold nights. The fishing season in Chubut opens on November 1.

Summer, January and February. Long days, warm afternoons and the busiest weeks in the park, which by most standards is still quiet. It is dry fly season on the rivers, and the asado festival falls at the turn of January and February.

Autumn, March and April. The forest turns gold and red, the trails empty out, and the big brown trout start moving out of the lakes and into the rivers. Nights get properly cold.

Winter and early spring, May to October. Snow and short days, so check road conditions before driving in. Our lodge runs from October to April, and the main fishing season in Chubut closes in early May.

Staying in the valley

Most visitors pass through Cholila on the way to somewhere else: a stop at the cabin, a look at Lago Rivadavia, then back on Route 40. It rewards slowing down. A few days here gets you the lakes at both ends of the valley, a river you can fish without a long drive, a day on horseback, and a town that has kept its own pace. If that sounds like the trip, tell us your dates and we will tell you what the valley is doing then.