We have been here since 2014.
Patagonia Eco Domes opened in 2014, fifteen kilometers from El Chaltén, on the road that climbs toward Lago del Desierto. We were among the first to stay the night on this side of the valley, where you can no longer see the village.
The idea was to host people without spoiling the place: light domes in the lenga forest, solar power and wood heating. Ten years on, we still work the same way.
Warmed by firewood. Lit by the sun.
We are far from the power grid, so we use the sun and firewood. And we like it that way.
Wood-fire warmth
Each dome is heated by its own wood-burning stove, and so is the hot tub.
Sunlight
Each dome has its own 12 V solar system. Enough for the lights and to charge a phone or camera.
No signal, on purpose
There are no antennas and no wifi. We decided that on day one and we are keeping it that way.
A light footprint
The domes are light and sit on the ground, among the lengas. We try to touch the forest as little as we can.
For the season, this is our home too.
Every year, when winter ends, the team comes back to the valley. For six or seven months we live here, among the domes and the forest: we cook together and split the firewood together.
The people who welcome you are the same people who live here all season. Nobody runs this from a distance: we are here.
We open. We arrive before the first guests, with the peaks still white, to get the domes ready after the winter.
The longest days of the year. Dinner is in daylight and the sun sets after ten.
High season. The domes are full, the kitchen never stops, and dinners in the dining dome run late.
The mildest afternoons. A good month to stay one more day and do absolutely nothing.
The wind eases and the lengas begin to turn. The valley grows quieter.
The lengas turn red. It is the last month before we close for the winter.
Ten years on, the forest is just as it was.
Come and see it.