Ingeniero Jacobacci

Ingeniero Jacobacci is the main town of southern Río Negro — the old “Línea Sur” — with 8,112 residents (2022 census). It lives on livestock, especially sheep, and for a long time it was the terminus of “La Trochita”, the narrow-gauge train linking it to Esquel.

Things to do

• La Trochita: the old narrow-gauge train is part of the town’s identity.
• Rock paintings: ancient art on the Huanuluan and Calcatreo ranches.
• “Jorge H. Gerhold” natural history, anthropology and history museum.
• Town festival: every 14 September, with a ceremony and a parade of local institutions.

Climate

Dry and temperate, with about 200 mm of rain a year, mostly in autumn and winter, and an annual average of 8.2 °C. Frosts are very frequent in winter and the wind blows in gusts of over 50 km/h.

History

The population lived at the Quetrequile hamlet until, from 1916, it gathered around the railway. Its original name is Huahuel Niyeu, “place of the gorge” in Mapudungun. In 1944 it took the name Ingeniero Jacobacci, in honour of Guido Jacobacci, builder of railways such as the line from Viedma to Bariloche.

Distances: Southern Río Negro · Veinticinco de Mayo department