The Chubut Valley in Argentina is home to a community descended from settlers from which country in the UK?

The Río Chubut is one of the most important rivers in Patagonia, flowing a massive 820 km from the eastern foothills of the Andes into the Atlantic at Bahía Engaño. It's thanks to the Río Chubut that the Welsh pioneers came to this part of the world in 1865, and their irrigation of the arid land around it enabled them to survive and prosper. You can trace their history west along the valley from the pleasant airy town of Trelew to the quiet little village of Gaiman, with a wonderful museum, and casas de té (cafés serving traditional Welsh afternoon tea). Further west, past little brick chapels sitting amidst lush green fields is the quieter settlement of Dolavon, with an old brick chapel. And if you're keen to investigate further into the past, there's a marvellous museum full of dinosaurs in Trelew,and some ancient fossils in the Parque Palaeontológico Bryn-Gwyn near Gaiman. From Trelew you could visit South America's largest single colony of Magellanic penguins on the coast at Punta Tombo.

Trelew is the largest town in the Chubut Valley. Founded in 1884, it was named in honour of Lewis Jones, an early settler, and the Welsh colonization is still evident in a few remaining chapels in the town's modern centre. It's a cheerful place with a quietly busy street life, certainly more appealing than the industrial town of Rawson, 20 km east on the coast. Trelew boasts a splendid paleontological museum, a great tourist office and a couple of fabulous cafés.