Outings and excursions · Los Antiguos
National Cherry Festival: Los Antiguos celebrates its harvest
Photos: Gobierno de Santa Cruz · Viajá por Argentina
Shows, a horse-riding contest and a producers’ fair every January, in Argentina’s southernmost cherry valley, on the shores of Lake Buenos Aires.
Every January, when the harvest ends, Los Antiguos celebrates the fruit that made it famous. The National Cherry Festival has been held since the late 1980s in this Santa Cruz town on the shores of Lake Buenos Aires: nights of shows, a horse-riding contest, a crafts and producers’ fair, and free admission.
The cherry valley
Lake Buenos Aires gives the valley its own microclimate: Los Antiguos lies 205 meters above sea level, with plenty of sun, low humidity and big differences between day and night temperatures, which makes the fruit sweeter. Everything is grown under irrigation, between rows of poplars. It is Argentina’s southernmost cherry-growing area and the only one in Santa Cruz with commercial orchards, and since 2025 it has a Designation of Origin: «Cereza del Valle de Los Antiguos – Patagonia». The cherry trees bloom in October and the harvest runs from November to February.
What to see and do
- Nights of shows on the main stage, with local, regional and national artists, opened by the town’s dance schools. In 2026 La Furia Cuartetera and Jairo y la Changada played, among others; in 2023, Damas Gratis, Roxana Carabajal and Horacio Banegas.
- The Desafío de Tropillas, with rodeo riding, payadores (improvising folk singers) and country dancing, at the Clodomiro Inayado rodeo grounds.
- The crafts and producers’ fair, the heart of the festival, and a beer garden.
- Sports activities on the lakeside promenade.
When it takes place
It is held in January at the Los Antiguos fairgrounds. In 2026 it ran from Friday, January 9 to Sunday, January 11, with free admission; the Desafío de Tropillas had a separate entrance fee. The date of each edition is announced by the Municipality of Los Antiguos.
Besides the festival, local orchards can be visited to taste cherries, berries and homemade jams. See accommodation in Los Antiguos.
Getting there
Los Antiguos is 58 km from Perito Moreno on provincial route 43. The nearest airport is Comodoro Rivadavia. Across the lake lies Chile Chico, in Chile, reached through the Río Jeinimeni border crossing.
