Patagonian Christmas

While you’re setting the oven to 350, Patagonians are building outdoor fires that will burn for over six hours.

It’s Christmas Eve, the sun won’t set until 10pm, and families across southern Argentina and Chile are gathering for the tradition that defines their holidays: asado. Not a backyard BBQ, but an all-day ritual where someone tends the wood fire from noon until dinner, coaxing whole lamb and short ribs to perfection over glowing coals.

This is Christmas in the open air. No one checks their phone or slips away—the hiking can wait, even with Patagonia’s glaciated peaks calling in the distance. You’re present because the pace demands it. Conversation stretches into evening, then past midnight. Wine flows. Stories get told and retold.

The meat itself is simple—salt, smoke, and time. No marinades, no sauce. Just high-quality cuts from Argentina’s legendary cattle country, cooked the way gauchos (cowboys) did. It’s a celebration of the land, the heritage, and what happens when you slow down enough to actually be together.

By the time dinner is served around 9 or 10pm, the whole day has built toward this moment. Adults have rotated fire duty, adjusted coals, debated when things are ready. Kids have run themselves ragged and are somehow still going.

Then comes sobremesa—the local art of staying at the table long after eating. 
Plates are pushed aside but no one leaves. Conversations deepen and hours pass without anyone noticing. This is the point: not just the meal, but everything around it.

On our Southern Patagonia Hiking tour, you’ll visit a working estancia (ranch) where gauchos still tend sheep and cook lamb over open fire the way their families have for generations. You’ll gather around the flames, taste slow-roasted meat, and understand why Patagonians turn a meal into an all-day ritual worth honoring.

The best travel isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about engaging with people who do things differently than you do, and realizing their way makes perfect sense.