El Bolsón: turn the eclipse into an Andean Patagonia road trip
El Bolsón gets about 4 minutes 26 seconds of annularity. That is shorter than Esquel, but the travel proposition is different: nature, Route 40 and a base between Bariloche and Esquel for travellers already exploring Patagonia.
Annularity
4m 26s
Maximum
11:56 ART
Magnitude
0.933
Historic cloud*
Verifying
Car
Very useful
* Cloud is a historical 6 February signal since 2000, not a forecast for 2027.
Our verdict
We would not choose it purely for maximum duration; we would choose it when the Andean region is already part of a flexible car-based trip.
Eclipse times in local time
ART local time. Annularity lasts approximately 4m 26s.
Where to stay
The centre simplifies services. Rural stays may improve the holiday, but on the night before the eclipse easy access to Route 40 and alternatives matters more.
Mobility
The official tourism site places Bariloche around 120 km away and Esquel around 180 km away. That makes El Bolsón a road-trip base rather than a no-car choice.
Plan B if cloud develops
Its value is regional: a car-based traveller can rethink the corridor between the Andean region and Chubut if cloud patterns change. Do not leave a multi-hour relocation to the last minute.
How to choose a viewing site
Find a clean solar horizon and avoid terrain that blocks the relevant sky. Scout the site in advance and never improvise access across private land.
Important: this eclipse never reaches totality
You must use proper solar viewing protection throughout the partial phases and during the ring of fire itself. Ordinary sunglasses are not safe.
Read the safe-viewing guide →Sources and methodology
Astronomical and climate figures are published with visible sources. When a metric is not yet verified on a comparable basis, we leave it pending rather than filling it with an estimate.