El Palmar National Park is not on many traveler’s lists when traveling Argentina. I had never heard of it until Miguel told me about it. I have to see that looking into it briefly, I wasn’t too impressed at first. But I thought, why not let’s go and I absolutely loved it! This National Park is very underrated and in this guide I’m going to tell you all about it and why it needs to go on your travel itinerary for Argentina.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission when you click on them, at no additional cost to you. It just helps to keep this site running. I only promote products and services I really recommend and always give my honest opinion about them.
Table of Contents - The Ultimate Travel Guide to El Palmar National Park
What is El Palmar National Park
El Palmar is a National Park created to protect the flora and fauna of this region. Especially the iconic Yatay Palm tree, which is native to Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Northern Argentina. So it’s not weird that the park got its name from these trees.
These palm trees might be the official star of the park, I especially loved all the animals that live here. From capybara to viscacha (a much smaller rodent, a little similar to a rabbit) to deer and birds from the beautiful Plush-crested Jay to hawks.
Where is El Palmar National Park
El Palmar is located in Entre Rios, a province located just north of Buenos Aires, and west of Uruguay. Entre Rios is Spanish for “between rivers” and this province is indeed between rivers: It’s completely bordered by rivers.
The National Park is located right on the river Uruguay, which separates this part of Argentina from Uruguay. It’s about 350 km from the city of Buenos Aires. About 4 hours of driving (or 5-6 by bus). It’s a popular summer and weekend destination, but visit during the week outside of the holidays and there will be hardly anyone here!
How to get to El Palmar National Park
The best way to travel to El Palmar is with your own transport. Not only is it easier to get to the park with your own transport, getting around is also quicker and easier as distances between trails and viewpoints are rather big.
If you don’t want to drive, it’s also possible to get here by bus. The closest town to the park entrance is Ubajay, so you’ll need to buy a ticket to this town with Fletcha Bus. You can ask if they can leave you at the park entrance, but do note that the campsite is still 12k from here. This might be fine if you’re arriving early in the day and you’re lightly packed. Then you can take it easy and enjoy the hike and wildlife on the way. You might also be lucky and be able to hitch a ride with other visitors or a park ranger who happens to drive to the campsite.
If not, or you want to be certain you don’t have to walk, it’s better to continue to Ubajay and order a remis (a fixed-price taxi). There is no proper bus terminal in town, but the bus will drop you off at the boleteria (boleto means ticket, and this place functions as a terminal). Here they have phone numbers of drivers who you can call.
What is the best time of year to visit El Palmar
I recommend visiting El Palmar in spring or autumn. During the South American summer holidays (January and February) it gets very crowded and feeling connected with nature will be more difficult. Winter is less pleasant for camping, but the park and campsite are open year-round, so you can also visit the park in winter. Also avoid (long) weekends if you can, as the park will be busier as well.
Where to stay in El Palmar
The only accommodation inside the park is a campsite, so you’ll need your own camping gear to stay in the park. The campsite offers hot showers, wifi, and barbecues (of course ;). There is also a small shop and a restaurant on site. The restaurant closes at 6 pm, which is when the park officially closes, but you can order pizza until 10 pm from the campsite reception.
If you don’t have camping gear, or simply don’t want to camp, the best place to stay is Ubajay. It’s a very small town, but there are some accommodations for tourists available.
How long do you need in El Palmar
If you have your own transport, 2 days and 1 night is enough to see the park. If you don’t, I recommend at least 2 nights since it will take you longer to get from place to place.
But you can easily spend longer here without getting bored if you have the time. There are some beaches along the river where you can relax, and if you love wildlife photography you’ll be easily entertained for a few more days here as well.
What to do in El Palmar National Park
The main things to do in El Palmar National Park are hiking and wildlife watching. But you can also just chill at one of the river beaches, rent a bike, or navigate the river with a canoe. Enquire at the campsite or park entrance for canoeing or biking.
Trails
There are several trails in the national park. Most of them are rather short, so if you have your own transport you can easily do all of them in two days. We didn’t have our own transport, so we focussed on the trails closer to the campsite. Since we visited off-season and during the flooding in Southern Brazil, which also affected the Uruguay River, some trails were closed, and the beaches were below the water. So we picked the historic trail and Arroyo El Palmar. I definitely recommend walking or driving to Arroyo el Palmar from the campsite, this is where we saw most wildlife. We couldn’t do the Yatay trail, since it was closed, but we did see many of these iconic palm trees on the intersection between the historic trail and Arroyo de Palmar and on the main road on the way to the campsite from the entrance.
Wildlife watching
El Palmar is a great place for wildlife watching. It’s full of different kinds of animals, some more widespread and less shy than others. This place is basically ruled by capybara. There are a lot of them and they are very far from shy. Some will run off when you get very close, others will stay right where they are, knowing you will just walk around them anyway. Besides capybara, you will also see many birds and viscacha. Viscacha are more active at the end of the afternoon and during the night, so you’ll likely see them at the campsite. And if you don’t see them, you’ll definitely hear them in the evening! The males are very territorial and vocal.
This was: The Ultimate Travel Guide to El Palmar National Park
For me the wildlife was the main reason to visit El Palmar and why I loved it so much. This plus the fact there were so few people. We spent two days walking around with the camera handy at all times. Different animals, or the same animals acting differently. I just felt completely immersed in nature. An amazing place that should definitely be added to your list if you love hiking, nature and wildlife. ❤️
Love the sound of El Palmar and want more of this? Add Los Esteros de Ibera to your travel list. These wetlands also offer an amazing wildlife experience.
