  Pablo Etchevers
There is no doubt this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area. It is extraordinary to see how the primitive peoples continue to live in brotherhood with nature, just like their ancestors did. A marvelous lifestyle, indeed. |
The primitive peoples of the region of Caviahue and Copahue have managed to interpret the movements of the sun and the planets, as well as the changes and modifications these produce on nature and even on people.
They have understood and decoded the language of the Earth and Nature around them. Thus, they have learned how to live in different weather conditions, both when blessed by the natural elements and when rules are set by them. They have learned how to move when necessary. |
Very Harsh Winters
Before reaching Caviahue, the road coming from Zapala becomes winding and its bends narrow down inside a valley that is covered by snow in the winter, sometimes by more than 4 meters.
The real dimensions of this event can only be grasped in the summer, as the poles measuring snowfall levels show how much snow accumulates there in the winter. |
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Moving Away and Back
The coming of winter in this region of the Andes is hard; the Mapuche Millaín Currical community (Caviahue-Copahue) has known this for hundreds of years and they possess a kind of knowledge that is passed on from generation to generation.
Before this happens, on the first cold days of March and April, various families that spend part of the year at this spot referred to as “summer cattle transhumance area” start to get their things ready to move to the lower lands, where snowfalls are not so usual. This is referred to as winter cattle transhumance.
Huncal, located quite far away from Caviahue, is where most families concentrate. They live there together with the little goats until the warm days of Spring bring the necessary temperature to move again and settle down in the valleys of Cajón Chico, Cajón Negro and Chinchivi. |
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The Mapuche Summer
The moment in which the families return to the highlands is known as “summer cattle transhumance”. During this period, incredible postcards may be observed, just like the ones illustrating this text.
Hundreds of goats are moved again to the highlands close to Caviahue’s urban shell, where the new pasturelands guarantee excellent grazing. The surrounding roads and paths get crowded with hardened men on horseback accompanied by their dogs and leading real colonies of goats that sometimes include a thousand individuals.
The animals are guided around the grasslands in the local valleys and sometimes pass very near Caviahue and the lake bearing the same name. |
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Times Change
Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But when visitors start to get to know the Mapuche community traditions and understand this lifestyle, things are never the same again.
These lands have been owned by the Mapuches for centuries. Not because they have fenced them or because they have deeds or powers of attorney over these territories, but because they know them like the back of their hands.
The knowledge of hot spring baths and the healing properties of the practice known today as mud therapy have been passed on. It was them who bathed there first and named one of the most emblematic lagoons in Copahue “The Pig’s Lagoon”, because whoever took a bath there ended up looking like this animal.
Brotherhood
Nowadays, the old people say that white men have managed to understand their claims much better than in the past, when they fought or pushed them away from the urban centers. The young speak about discrimination and lack of integration, as well as about the oblivion of the authorities both in the province and the nation, who use them to show the world a kind of integrity which does not exist.
We must change history. It depends on all of us, including tourists, who would be amazed to listen to their stories and their conception of the world. There is no doubt that the most wonderful thing in this region, in addition to its sceneries, is the people themselves. They are the main tourist attraction. |
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Welcome Argentina - Outings in Caviahue
© 2003-2012 Total or partial reproduction forbidden. Derechos de Autor 675246 Ley 11723
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Today, besides “Patagonia”, “Mapuche” is one of the best googled words by travelers who choose to visit these latitudes. A beautiful word meaning “the people of the land” which sometimes is not praised by those of us who have the honor to share our territory with men and women who take what nature gives them without causing any kind of damage. They interpret it wisely and manage to pass on this knowledge. We must learn from them.
Contact:
Caviahue Tours provides visitors the chance to enjoy a goat prepared by the Mapuche communities, an ideal event to incorporate the concept of “integration”. An example to be followed by other operators in the area.
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