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Estancia Los Potreros, Córdoba

Experience life as a gaucho in Córdoba, Argentina, and stay on a working cattle ranch – activities include polo, riding, picnics, birding and more.

It’s true, Los Potreros did begin as a 16th century stud, breeding mules for work in the Peruvian silver mines. But today it offers you one of the most amiable ways possible of experiencing the real cowboy lifestyle. Los Potreros is a working cattle ranch as well as a glorious holiday destination.

So you can expect to ride some of the finest horses in the entire region. You can experience the working life of the ranch, and watch round ups with the gauchos. Or you can settle back and explore the beautiful countryside at your own pace. Bird watching, taking scenic photographs, discovering the area’s fascinating flora and fauna or immersing yourself in the local culture. And, of course, revelling in the open hospitality of an estancia that has been worked by four generations of the same family.

Note: The estancia is closed from May to July each year.

Los Potreros, at a glance

  • An exclusive 6,500 acre organic working cattle ranch, perched high on the Sierra Chicas
  • Rooms for just 12 guests
  • Individually decorated in the authentic estancia tradition
  • Private en suite bathrooms
  • Wood-burning stoves and fireplaces
  • Homemade food including European, barbecues and local dishes using estancia produce
  • Wine tastings a speciality

For leisure and pleasure

  • Great swimming pool
  • Polo playing a speciality here
  • Trail riding to a wide variety of natural habitats
  • Excellent bird watching and fascinating flora and fauna
  • Cattle station visits
  • Picnics and swimming in rock pools
  • Cultural expeditions to homesteads, local churches and schools
  • Walks to the ‘top of the world’

Sample four night itinerary for guests staying at the farm

Day 1: Arrive at Estancia Los Potreros and settle into your room. Join the Beggs for lunch on the veranda and learn a little about the history of the estancia and Argentina. After lunch find a spot in the garden to relax and soak up the peace and quiet or enjoy a guided walk across the hills to ‘The Bellstone’, which will have the geologists amongst you scratching your heads. A candle-lit dinner provides the perfect end to your first day.

Day 2: Set out on a walk or drive to our cattle station and watch the gauchos go about their day-to-day life and witness them working with our award-winning herd of Aberdeen Angus. Join the gauchos for an ‘asado’ under the shade of some trees and sample several different cuts of the estancia´s home-reared beef, before taking to the corrals to try your hand at lassoing! – discover your inner gaucho and learn how to lasso from one of the boys on the estancia. The return journey is perfect for spotting some of our fabulous bird life especially the wonderful burrowing owls which will gaze at you curiously from the edge of their burrows. You may even spot our evergrowing number of Condors. This evening, with a glass of wine in hand, join the chefs in the beautiful farmhouse kitchen and discover how to make some traditional Argentine dishes. Prepare the famous empanada, homemade breads and pastas before sitting down to a feast of Argentine regional dishes.

Day 3: After a full breakfast on the veranda of eggs and bacon cooked to order, enjoy a relaxed morning around the swimming pool, or play a spot of boules on the lawn. Enjoy watching our chefs cook lunch outside in the garden on the parrilla Argentine style. If you´re feeling adventurous, take a guided walk through the rolling hills to ´Las Tasas´ - a gorgeous natural swimming-hole where you can dive, swim or just take a snooze in the sun. For those birding enthusiasts, guided and non-guided trail maps are always available. This evening explore Argentine wines with an informal and fun wine-tasting. Discover some gems from a very wide variety of regional wines: Mendoza, Cafayate to the End of The World Patagonian wines to name just but a few.

Day 4: Drive to ‘Potrero de Niz’, the house the Beggs originally built when they came to this area – and soak up some of the family and local history, with some of the original buildings dating back to the early part of the 17th century and the time of the Jesuits. Lunch will be served on the veranda, before an exciting riding demonstration by our gauchos as they show off the dramatic action of our Peruvian Paso horses. Round off the day with sundowners on a high point on the sierras, before a tasty home-cooked dinner hosted by a member of the Begg family.

Day 5: After breakfast depart for your onward travel. Although check out is at 10:00am guests are very welcome to stay for the morning activities, lunch and depart in the afternoon.

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  • We have travelled with TUTC six times, the most recent was to New Zealand last year. The trip was very well organised as usual, with excellent accommodation and a wide variety of experiences. We had booked to go to Australia with them this year but due to Covid this was cancelled, Ultimate handled the situation very professionally and promptly refunded the whole of our deposit without any quibble.

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    DN, August 2020