Andreas Madsen House Museum

A journey through time! This excursion is a guided tour to the house of the pioneer Andreas Madsen, a Danish who arrived in 1905 to work with the expert Pascasio Moreno and built the first house in El Chaltén. You will learn about Madsen´s family, hear their story, understand the challenges and adventures they had to face and appreciate their daily way of life in the Estancia more than a century ago.

The location of the house, crossing the De las Vueltas river in front of the current town of El Chaltén, allows you to enjoy a privileged view of the Mount Chaltén. Andreas did not choose this spot by chance!

The tour starts at the office of the Travel Agency, and together with the guide, you walk through the town about 400 metres towards the bridge of the De Las Vueltas River. You will cross over the bridge and a pleasant walk begins alongside the eastern margin of the river, skirting the De los Cóndores range. Slowly you will be introduced to the history of Andreas Madsen and his family, the reasons why they leave their country to start a new life in this beautiful place so remote from the rest of the world.

In little more than 20 minutes you will arrive at the house, where you will be able to see the original architecture that is still intact a century on: walls made with chopped Lenga cut by hand with an ax, cladding with old wooden crates, hessian cloth and newspapers they used for insulation. You can also admire different artifacts, tools and original family furniture.

On the walls there are black and white photographs of the period, that give an idea of what it was like to live in deep Patagonia at the beginning of the last century.

You will have access to the whole house and especially to Andreas´ dining room while you share a cup of tea or coffee with sweet pastries..

Meanwhile the guide will tell you more anecdotes and tales of the family that happened in that same place.

At the end of the visit, you will walk back to town, along the same path you arrived to, and discover how much El Chaltén area has changed over the years.