From Tapi Aike, RN 40 leads southwest past the Hotel Fuentes del Coyle, a bare-bones country inn that’s a local landmark; about 22 kilometers southwest via a detour from the new route, the Sturtzenbaum family’s Estancia Rupai Pacha (Piedra Buena 129, Río Gallegos, tel. 02966/49-4057, www.rupai-pacha.com, US$100 s, US$120 d, with breakfast) provides organic produce for El Calafate and raises sheep on 26,000 hectares of rolling steppe.

With views of Torres del Paine to the southwest, it also offers congenial farm-stay accommodations, plus hiking, riding, and especially bird-watching on its marshy lowlands. Founded in 1973, it’s not a historic estancia, but the gardens are a treasure, with delectable raspberries and other fresh fruits in season, and there’s also a handicrafts shop.

About 180 kilometers south of El Calafate and 70 kilometers north of Río Turbio, Rupai Pacha is about 10 kilometers west of the new RN 40 from a signed junction. Rates include breakfast, while additional meals cost US$32 pp; there is also a sheltered campground (US$15 d). English and German are spoken.