Tecka

Tecka (Hafn Lâs in Welsh) is the seat of the Languiñeo department in western Chubut, 100 km south of Esquel and about 500 km west of Rawson along National Route 25. It has 1,251 residents (2022 census). It is surrounded by sheep and cattle ranches.

Things to do

• The grave of chief Inacayal (1835–1888): captured after the Conquest of the Desert and taken to La Plata, where he died; his remains, once displayed in a glass case, were returned to his land many years later.
• Fishing: on the Arroyo Pescado, the Tecka River basin and nearby lagoons.
• Horse riding and trekking.

Nature and climate

Patchy forests of ñire, lenga, coihue, guindo and canelo, with rosehip and colihue cane, among grasslands. Guanacos, pumas, wild boar and red and grey foxes live here. The climate is semi-arid, with 200 to 500 mm of rain a year and a mean of 8 to 10 °C.

History

It was always a wintering ground for nomadic peoples, above all the Tehuelche, and later a major Mapuche encampment.

Distances: 100 km south of Esquel · National Route 25 · about 500 km from Rawson