BEHIND THE NAME
Sierra Baguales
From The Singular Patagonia in Puerto Bories, more than 25 guided excursions take guests through the landscapes of Chilean Patagonia, both within and beyond Torres del Paine National Park. One day may begin with a cruise to the Serrano and Balmaceda glaciers; another, with a hike through Sierra Baguales, a horseback ride across the steppe, or wildlife watching alongside guides who know how to read the land and its changing conditions.
From The Singular Patagonia in Puerto Bories, more than 25 guided excursions take guests through the landscapes of Chilean Patagonia, both within and beyond Torres del Paine National Park. One day may begin with a cruise to the Serrano and Balmaceda glaciers; another, with a hike through Sierra Baguales, a horseback ride across the steppe, or wildlife watching alongside guides who know how to read the land and its changing conditions.
A name with a long history
Why Is It Called Sierra Baguales?
In Patagonia, bagual is a word closely associated with the wild, the untamed and animals living beyond domestication.
But its history began long before the term became associated with the horses and cattle that roamed freely across the pampas.
This opening should create curiosity rather than provide the full explanation immediately.
From a proper name to a word
According to the historical interpretation developed by linguist and ethnologist Salvador Canals Frau, Bagual was the name of a Querandí or Pampa chief recorded in the Buenos Aires region in the late 16th century.
His people were repeatedly placed in colonial settlements, yet returned time and again to life on the open plains. Over time, the name of their leader also came to identify his people and was later believed to have been transferred to free-roaming livestock living across the pampas.
Source: Salvador Canals Frau, “Sobre el origen de la voz bagual,” Anales del Instituto de Lingüística, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 1942. The source argues that the term moved from the chief’s name to his people and later to free-roaming livestock.
What does bagual mean in Patagonia?
Over time, the word became part of the vocabulary of southern Chile and Argentina.
In Patagonia, bagual has commonly referred to horses and cattle that became feral — domestic animals living without regular human contact, or descendants born in the wild.
The term became deeply embedded in Patagonia’s rural culture and eventually gave rise to words associated with particular trades and ways of life in the region.
And why Sierra Baguales?
The name Sierra Baguales is linked to the historical presence of bagual horses in this part of southern Patagonia.
An informational guide associated with Torres del Paine National Park notes that, in the early 19th century, herds of bagual horses settled in the valleys of rivers descending from the sierra, and that their presence ultimately gave the place its name. (Fomento y Gestión Patrimonial)
The name was also already documented by late-19th-century expeditions. Chile’s National Digital Library preserves references by Juan Tomás Rogers, who used the name “Cordillera de los Baguales” in 1879, and by Carlos M. Moyano, who used the same designation again in 1884. (Biblioteca Nacional Digital)
