Just to the west of the main El Bolsón to Esquel road is the strung-out settlement of
EPUYÉN , the main part of which is just by the turn-off. The more interesting section is some 6km away on the shores of
Lago Epuyén . Parts of the picturesque mountain area around here were badly hit by forest fires in 1999, but it still makes a good base for trekking, especially if you're seeking to avoid better-known and busier centres such as El Bolsón. Proyecto Lemu (tel 02945/499050;
lemu@red42.com.ar ), a committed ecological organization fighting for the protection of native Patagonian Andean forests and their promulgation through afforestation, is based in the town. One of their specific aims is to bring about the creation of an immense, protected biological corridor connecting the Parque Nacional Los Alerces to Parque Nacional Lanín.
On the shores of Lago Epuyén, at the base of Cerro Pirque, you'll find El Refugio del Lago (tel 02945/499025, fax 499050; $45-60), a rustic guesthouse and campground ($4 per person) run by a multilingual French couple who organize fishing, trekking and horseriding expeditions in the area and prepare wholesome organic meals ($12).
You could be forgiven for thinking that the hamlet of CHOLILA , with its spectacular backdrop of savage peaks, was actually in Wyoming or Utah. It is located on prairie grasslands, 3km east of the junction of the RP71 and the RP15. The area's main tourist attraction lies 12km northwest of the village itself along the RP71. At El Blanco, there's a sign for La Casa de Piedra teahouse, down a farm track to your right. Fifty metres down this track, an even more basic cart track on your right (you may have to jump the fence) leads you towards a cluster of buildings nestled in a group of poplars. This is the site of the cabin of Butch Cassidy , who fled incognito with his partner, the Sundance Kid , to this isolated area of the world at the turn of the century when the detectives from the Pinkerton Agency were closing in on him in the United States. The Sundance Kid and his beautiful gangster moll, Etta Place , also lived here for a short while. The group of buildings, which were already in a lamentable state of repair when Bruce Chatwin visited in the 1970s, have degenerated still further - sheets of corrugated iron now roof them, the wood is rotting badly, and half the barn has collapsed. La Casa de Piedra teahouse, a much sturdier construction, is 400m further down the main track; its owners offer rooms as well as scrumptious Welsh teas (tel 02945/498126).
Cholila's bus terminal is on the main square (tel 02945/455900). Comfortable, roomy lodging is offered at the tranquil Hostería El Trebol , 2.7km from the terminal along the RP15 (tel & fax 02945/498055; no credit cards; $100-150).
