West of the Cerro de la Ventana, the hills crowd in around the town of Tornquist and its provincial park, and the country becomes more rugged and more varied. Ernesto Tornquist, a banker and landowner of the late nineteenth century, owned these lands, and the park that bears his name protects a stretch of the Sierras Australes with some of the best walking in the province. Cerro Tres Picos, the highest summit in Buenos Aires province at about 1,239 metres, is nearby, and the surrounding hills carry names like Napostá Grande and Bonete.
These ranges hold something special for a flat country. In the folds, there are small streams, waterfalls and patches of native shrubs, and the grassland contains plants found nowhere else. Guanacos, foxes and the armadillos called pichis are present, along with the occasional puma, rarely seen. Birds are plentiful, with caracaras, falcons and, in the right season, flocks of parakeets. The hills are dry for much of the year, but after rain, the streams run clear and the slopes turn green.
Riding here means long approaches across a plain that seems to go on forever, and then a sudden rise of rock and a twist in the road. Route 76 runs between Tornquist and Sierra de la Ventana, a good road with a few gentle curves, and unpaved tracks lead off into the hills and the park. The unpaved roads, called ripio, are loose and need care, particularly on a heavy bike, and a day of rain makes them slick. The wind is fierce at times, and in spring it carries a fine dust, so goggles are a help.
Tornquist is a quiet farming town of a few thousand people, with fuel stations, shops and a couple of simple restaurants. It has the sort of calm, tree-lined feeling typical of Argentine country towns, with a plaza and a church, and a mate gourd is passed around in the evening. The town grew up around the railway, which brought wheat and cattle to the port at Bahía Blanca, and the old station is still a landmark.
Fill the tank in town, and carry water if you plan on exploring. The distances are bigger than they look, and the next services can be an hour away.