Patagonian Ranch: Nibepo Aike Adventure With Horseback Riding

With all of my travels, this is one of the best activities that me and my friends did. Ana and all staff at Nibepo Aike are all experts in their respective field. Hats-off to Ana who is knowledgeable about the history of the farm; the same thing with Dario and Juan. Horseback riding and sheep shearing are the highlights of our activity at the estancia. Lunch served is one of the best with Malbec red wine. Furthermore, we like to extend our thanks to Hernan who made our ride from the town of El Calafate safe and showed us the animals that we saw along the way. Lastly, we would like to thank Sol Salute who shared her personal experience and blogs about Nibepo Aike Estancia.

This was great day. A comfortable bus ride took us past nice landscapes, and we even saw rheas in the fields on the way. The ranch itself is incredibly beautiful. The food was fantastic, and the horse back ride along the lake was unforgettable.

Only do this trip if you want to spend 45 minutes each way in a van on a bumpy dirt road. They advertise wildlife sightings but that did not happen. There is a brief sheep shearing, not too exciting. The meal is lamb barbecued with no spices, very tough. They give a small glass of wine but charge extra for water with the meal. Overall not worth the time. We felt like this is an excursion to take advantage of tourists.

After about 2 hours (1.5 hour driving, 30 mins going around to pick up), we arrived at tbe Estancia for some coffee. The total guests are roughly 30 people. Our guide Mrs. Anna was fantastic in everyway. Morning include a mini trek around the farm with sighting of gaucho, lake, and sheep shearing. After a hearty lunch, afternoon was a 3 hour of peaceful horse riding. I was the last guest to leave at 6pm and arrive town around 7.30. Thank you Mrs. Anna and all the gauchos that help organize our riding. Wish you a wonderful holiday in Europe.

Nice property. Horse riding fun. Journey to and from El Calafate far too long. Lunch ok. Authentic ranch.

Beautiful scenery, friendly staff, got to ride for the first time and everyone was super friendly and patient with me. Definitely book this tour!

This was a beautiful experience. The views were spectacular and the hosts were kind and informative. We loved horse back riding. We are not experienced at all, but the horses were gentle and well-trained. Highly recommend!

We had a wonderful day at Nibepo Aike Estancia. The place is absolutely beautiful and calming. After the shuttle ride to the property we had some coffee, and chatted with some of the other guests. Our guide Julieta was warm and charming, she took us to different parts of the estancia for a short hike to see the property then demonstrations by the guachos working there, milking a cow, taking the sheep to pasture, sheering a sheep. We then enjoyed a nice lunch plenty of food, then a horseback ride for three hours. The riding was great, the horses are very calm and easy to ride, and the property is just incredible with fantastic views. Highly recommend!

Highly recommended, from the friendly welcome with coffee and cake; through the variety of interesting and well explained activities about the history and running of the estancia; and the delicious lamb asado to finish. Such a pleasure to be made welcome to this estancia and to ride in this spectacular setting. Top marks to all. (Good to know that you may wait 30/40 m after pick up time as people are collected from a variety of different accommodation)

We booked the 3 hour horseback riding version of this excursion. We were picked up in the morning at our hotel Los Ponchos in El Calafate. The third party tour coordinator, Tangol, provided multiple communications via WhatsApp and contacted our hotel to let us know Nibepo Aike transport would pick us up at 8:30 AM in the morning. However, the transport was about 15 minutes late with no communication, which worried us until I contacted Nibepo Aike directly via WhatsApp and asked for an update. From El Calafate it was about a 1.5 hour mini bus ride to Nibepo Aike. The farm tour and sheep shearing activities were a bit gimmicky, and lasted too long since they were trying to time lunch with multiple different group activities (people who went horseback riding in the morning, people who were just there for the tour, and people who were coming in just for lunch). Lunch was filling but average, you’re assigned seats at communal tables. We weren’t given instruction about where to go and when to leave for our afternoon horseback rides, so we had to ask around. The horseback ride itself was wonderful and was closer to 2.5 hours, with the horses walking at a very leisurely pace and the guide picking trails at random. There is very limited direction and conversation during the ride, so if you enjoy watching scenery on horseback in peace and relative silence, you’ll enjoy this. If you’re looking for more interaction with the guide or a more exciting ride, you’ll definitely be bored. We found the experience very serene, particularly because we had excellent weather and the scenery truly is stunning. When we got back from the horseback ride, we also received no communication about how we’d be transported back to El Calafate. After asking around, we were told to wait until 6 pm for a car. We were the last remaining tourists so when 6 pm came and went, no car showed up, and staff started heading home, we got pretty nervous (especially since there is no reception at the estancia). Luckily the car finally showed up and we made it back safely, but the overall experience was a bit soured by lack of communication and predictability. Overall we thought the peaceful horseback ride and scenery made up for these snafus, but I could definitely see this being a frustrating experience for those who only came for lunch / the tour. The experience could be significantly improved with more proactive communication from the staff.

The farm was really so far from el calafate and the road was very bad but the people who welcomed us were nice. Horseback riding was really tough. We did another one nearby Areco, and it was easier for the beginners. This one was with hills fulled with rocks/ climbing and all ..but still quite nice.The half day @ranch & lunch do not worth €300. You have to be even pay the bottle of water at lunch. You have just the one glass of wine…

You had a wonderful day at the estancia Nebepo Aike! The head gaucho Goncalvo was a excellent host and gave us a detailed briefing on the estancia and what it does. The area is beautiful and very remote. Out horses were gentle but responsive and had an interesting ride. Lunch was excellent and the demonstrations of sheep shearing and horse barrel racing very interesting.

5 friend took this long awaited (rustic) 5 day Horseback Glacier excursion (cancelled twice because of covid). If you like adventure, solitude, beautiful scenery, mountains, horses, nature, you will love this magical journey. The horses are excellently trained to cover steep terrain, streams, rocks. The saddles are extremely comfortable, which you will appreciate after riding 5-7 hours a day. Forget your cell phone, the world. It's rustic, majestic, amazing. Our guide cooked all our food over a fire until we reached the last Estancia, but still with a wood stove. Nibepo Aike gets a 20 out of 10. Our Guide Gonzolo also get a 20 out of 10 rating.

A bit of a disappointing day, considering what is available in the area. Very uncomfortable 90 minute drive to and from the ranch, and more of a day suited for small children than adult couples. The staff work very hard and welcoming - and the meal was well prepared.

This tour was just SOOO great!! We were only 6 and had the whole place to ourselves. The ranch is such a gem! Everybody was just so kind! I was happy to have a vegetarian meal for lunch as well and it was super good, with the wine and the view. We had a really good weather that day and I did the 3 hour horseback riding in the valley which was just breathtaking.

Sheep shearing, cow milking, walking to the lake- this was one of the most unique things I did in Patagonia! Everything was fantastic and super well organized. Our guide was extremely personable, knowledgeable and welcoming. Horseback riding was absolutely stunning- mountains, glistening water, green pastures all around

The horseback ride was an incredible experience. I didn’t understand the instructions but apparently my horse did because it knew exactly what to do. Riding a horse next to the Andes and Lago Roca was quite an experience. Lunch was delicious and I met some very cool people there. I also saw a condor and an armadillo on the drive up along the gravel road to the ranch.

We reserved the whole day at N.A.R. The pickup from our hotel went fine. We arrived to the ranch to the welcome coffee and pastries/breads that was very good. We then took a short hike with some narrative about the fauna, before a cow milking and sheep shearing demo. Lunch was served sitting inside. It was absolutely delicious. Some salad and about 3 or 4 types of bbq's lamb and sausages. Afterwards we had about an hour or so siesta (which I think most of us would have preferred to continue with the day and return sooner). About 3pm we started our 3 hour horseback ride. The scenery was absolutely amazingly beautiful. Along side the water and views of Perito Moreno on the other side of the mountain. The really only negative in my opinion was that there was absolutely no direction about the horses. You got on the horse and given the reigns...and that's it. Also our guide spoke only Spanish. We had Germans, French, and Americans on the tour. So again no narrative whatsoever on where we were going and what we were seeing. I had read earlier reviews that the guests were allowed to gallop. Our horses were slower than molasses...so basically it was a beautiful trail ride. Afterwards they put us in a taxi for the 1 hour drive back to El Calafate.

Had an amazing experience. Everything was perfect. Started off with a coffee and pastries and a warm welcome. Next we saw a sheep roundup and cow being milked. Then went on a scenic horseback ride. The horses were very calm. The view was breathtaking. Then we saw a sheep sheeting and learned all about the sheep and ranch. Then we had a great big lunch with lots of wine, delicious lamb and sausage, salad and flan. The dining room was scenic and warm and cozy. They were so accommodating. We were 3 families - a big group of 11 and our hosts did such a nice job seating us together and arranging for us all to tour together as much as possible even with some of us on the 1 hour horseback ride and some on the 3 hour ride. It meant a lot to us as we are a family that came together for this trip from 6 different cities all across the US. We highly recommend this tour. They were fantastic!

The sheep shearing with traditional tools and the method of holding the sheep during the shearing was interesting and the highlight of the tour. Be forewarned that the guide as well as the horses do not work/walk in the rain. Even though we were prepared and had on full rain gear for our 3 hours of horseback riding, it was shortened to an hour and for the remainder of the time we were abandoned at the ranch house with nothing do while waiting for our return transport. We were offered no other options and no refund. Not worth the money or long transport time.

Loved everything that was part of our trip - breathtaking views, farm life all around us, horse ride, sheep shearing shown to us, and a wonderful dinner offered! we told our friends and highly recommended them this activity in El Calafate. We might even return ourselves, on the next trip.

I enjoyed my 2weeks in Argentina but day on Nibepo Aike is the only place there where I could spend months :) Animals, nature, people, food .. so zenish it makes you feel like you can stuck in that moment

Very good organization, extraordinary 3h horseback ride! Very hearty meals, welcome and very good quality framing. Not to mention the horses in very good health. Very nice experience

The experience was wonderful, our guide Ana was very attentive and also explained many things about the Argentine culture, the food very well. Highly recommended

Tourist traps to avoid Our agency had reserved lunch From El Calafate it takes more than 2 hours to drive on a dirt road there and back for an uninteresting lunch.

I had to cancel four days in advance because of a very sick mother and had to cancel my trip because I flew back to the Netherlands. I have not received a refund and therefore my rating is very poor.