Visit Gaiman to discover the lifestyle of one of the largest communities of Welsh natives and descendants outside the United Kingdom. This small Patagonian town on the Chubut River has many reminders of typical Welsh customs. Gaiman was founded in 1865 by a group of about 150 Welsh settlers who had sailed to Argentina in search of a new life in the desolate countryside of Patagonia. They created a thriving slice of Wales thousands of miles away from their home country.
Discover the town’s charm by ambling along its quiet streets. Spot distinctive buildings such as the Bethel Chapel. Peek inside Primera Casa de Gaiman, the town’s first house, erected in 1874. See flags bearing the Welsh dragon, street signs in both Spanish and Welsh and shopfronts with names written in Gaelic letters. Admire ivy-covered houses, pretty rose gardens and violet flowerbeds. The Welsh in Patagonia introduced irrigation techniques that help the flowers flourish.
Learn about the town’s origins, browse photographs of its earliest settlers and see examples of their personal possessions at the Welsh Regional Historical Museum housed in the old railway station. Find information on the Tehuelche people, earlier inhabitants of the region, at the Anthropology Museum. Geological and paleontological excavations are displayed at the Bryn Gwyn Paleontology Park, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the town center.
Participate in the custom of afternoon tea at local teahouses. Feast on cream pastries, scones and teacakes, accompanied by a pot of fragrant black tea. Ty Gwyn is the town’s oldest teahouse, complete with embroidered tablecloths and colorful teapot cozies. Ty Te Caerdydd is famous for welcoming the late Princess Diana of Wales in 1995 and proudly displays the teacup that she drank from.
Gaiman is a 1-hour drive south of Puerto Madryn. Visit comfortably on a daytrip. Trelew is a 20-minute drive east. Arrive in November, when the Eisteddfod festival celebrates Welsh roots with concerts, folk dancing and poetry readings.
