Argentinian Switzerland – Surprisingly!
All around, the desert expanses of the pampa, miles and miles of a plain that seems endless, whose monotony is broken only by a few animals that seem lost and fragile barriers that delimit the gigantic estancias (land estates )…
Our favorite activity: 6-day visit to Bariloche and the Lake District
And all of a sudden, lakes, forests, verdant and sometimes wild nature.
A change of scenery is guaranteed to those who have been wandering around the region for a while.
Here, we are still in Patagonia, but the landscape looks nothing like the South or Tierra del Fuego. Bariloche is a popular tourist destination in winter and summer, known for its lakes as well as for its ski slopes, its chocolate or even… its nightclubs!
The only problem is that life is much more expensive here than in the rest of the country, especially in high season, and it is best to book accommodation in advance.
skiing in winter
By winter, we must of course mean the austral winter, from June to September. It is the largest ski area in the country, and also the most popular.
Visitors in search of snow, the supreme exoticism of these warm countries, flock from all over Latin America, particularly Brazil, to the point that the city is sometimes nicknamed “Braziloche”.
If the landscape can make you think of the Alps, the urbanization is much less and above all more harmonious, many buildings are built of wood, with the traditional architecture arriving from Switzerland and Austria with the many immigrants from these countries in beginning of the XNUMXth century.
Hikes in summer
But for the European visitor jaded by the Alps, Bariloche is undoubtedly more interesting in summer, from November to March.
The climate becomes very pleasant, and there are many walks, hikes and excursions to do in the surrounding area.
To give just one example, the Route des Sept Lacs allows you to see magnificent viewpoints over… eight lakes in just a few hours!
On the way, do not miss Villa La Angostura, a small wooden village, haunt of the Argentinian jet-set but which also has a charming little port on a lake with transparent waters.
One of the curiosities of the region are the arrayanes, a species of tree that only exists in this part of Patagonia and which has the particularity of being very cold whatever the outside temperature...
Don't leave Bariloche without hugging an arrayan!
The whole region is full of enchanting corners, which you discover almost by chance during your walks.
And to relax after these long walks in the mountains, you just have to discover the chocolate, the best of Argentina, and the nightlife.
The tradition in Argentina is that the graduates, just after their exams, leave for a week in Bariloche to celebrate their success...
Suffice to say that the city contains a quantity of nightclubs and bars totally disproportionate for its small size! Which you should know how to take advantage of outside school holiday periods (around Christmas).
Most of the places to go out are on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi.
Useful information
To come from Buenos Aires, the bus leaves from Retiro. The journey is quite long, around 20 hours, but the buses are generally very comfortable. A one-way ticket costs between 150 and 300 pesos depending on the quality of service.
Via Bariloche, one of the main companies, has a website: www.viabariloche.com.ar. There are frequent connections with the North, it can however be more difficult to reach the South (Calafate, Ushuaia). It may be better to go through Chile.
There are also several daily air connections with Aerolineas Argentinas: www.aerolineas.com.ar
For complete information on possible hikes, from a few hours to several days, consult the tourist office, which also sells maps; it is in the Centro Civico, in the central square.
The Don Otto company serves Villa la Angostura and other regional destinations.
