Esquel is a town in the northwest of the province of Chubut, in the Argentine Patagonia. The town's name comes from a Mapuche term meaning "thorn". So as might be expected there are several spiny bushes, most famously the Calafate. The area was settled by Welsh immigrants in Chubut in 1865. The town of Esquel was created on 25 February 1906, as an extension of Trevelin. The Esquel district today had about 28,000 inhabitants in the 2001 census, with one of the highest rates of growth in the province, as the result of the immigration from Buenos Aires. The town itself does not really have a lot to comment itself to for the tourist, but makes a convenient stoping plce to see the National Park (The Los Alerces National Park is worth a visit and is 50 km northwest of the city) and the surroiunding countryside. Should you be interest Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid appear to have lived for several blameless years in the area in the early 1900s.
One tourist attraction worth seing is the narrow-gauge train known as La Trochita or The Old Patagonian Express, after the book by Paul Theroux. It is believed to be the only narrow-gauge long-distance train in operation and the southernmost railway in the world. The first locomotives were brought from Germany (Henschel & Sohn) in 1922. The train remains in operation and now runs as a tourist jaunt between Esquel and the small settlement of Nahuel Pan, and with further services all the way to El Maitén. Until 1993, the train ran all the way to the city of Ingeniero Jacobacci, and from thence trains ran to Viedma and from there to Buenos Aires, forming the General Roca railway. Like so many railways, no part of history.
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| Wild fire started in the mountains above the town of Esquel | Wild fire started in the mountains above the town of Esquel |
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| The Old Patagonian Express at Esquel station | The Old Patagonian Express at Esquel station |
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| Los Alerces National Park near Esquel | Los Alerces National Park near Esquel |
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| Los Alerces National Park near Esquel | Los Alerces National Park near Esquel |
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| Los Alerces National Park near Esquel | Los Alerces National Park near Esquel |
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| Los Alerces National Park near Esquel | Los Alerces National Park near Esquel |
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| Los Alerces National Park near Esquel | The Welsh relatives tea shop, north of Esquel |