GUIA PARA VISITAR BARILOCHE

Welcome to my guide to visiting Bariloche. I hope you find it useful!

The legendary Route 40 crosses South America from north to south, taking you thousands of kilometers from Bolivia to Rios Gallegos (something like the famous Route 66 in the United States).

As you chase a horizon that never seems to arrive, you come across a small town nestled on an immense lake, with imposing snow-capped mountains in the background.

Welcome to Bariloche.

The inhabitants struck me as a charming mix of Chileans, Indians, and Argentinians of European descent. Time seems to stand still here, and no one is in a hurry: neighbors greet each other as they walk their (huge) dogs, while bus drivers entertain tourists with anecdotes about the region.

GUIDE TO VISITING BARILOCHE: PRE-TRIP TIPS

As you will almost certainly arrive in Bariloche by bus, the first thing you need to do is buy a SUBE card from the kiosk at the station.

This is the classic rechargeable card for the bus to the city center (buses 20 or 21, 12 pesos), since CASH IS NOT ACCEPTED on buses... and you're going to be taking quite a few during your stay here.
In any case, there is no need to panic because they have a wonderful custom here: if you have run out of credit on your card, you can ask someone else on the bus to swipe it for you and then pay them in cash... although they will most likely not even charge you for it.

In line with the above, as of the date of this post (December 2016), Argentina has a huge problem with credit cards: many establishments do not accept them, and it is necessary to have a large amount of cash on hand.

To complicate matters further, many ATMs do not accept certain cards or simply run out of cash on the first try... and if you get lucky and the ATM works, they charge you a huge commission of 96 pesos (6 euros) 😬

Car rentals have some rather unusual clauses: when you sign the contract, you have to “declare” how many people will be traveling with you (not just who will be driving, but how many passengers there will be), and there is a mileage limit (400 km in my case), with a charge of 2 pesos for every km you exceed the limit.

Bariloche is extremely expensive. I call it the city of 100 pesos because, except for gum and coffee, everything costs 100 pesos.

Una vez dicho esto…¿qué ver? Hice una ruta un tanto low cost pero hay actividades más largas y caras; de todos modos en su web hay más detalles: https://barilocheturismo.gob.ar/es/home

THE 7 LAKES ROUTE

I found this one indispensable, something you can't miss: a one-day route visiting seven lakes in Patagonia and passing through the main towns in the area: from the elegant Villa de la Angostura or San Martín de los Andes to the humble Junin.

Doing the math

What kind of guide to visiting Bariloche would this be if we didn't talk about money, right?

If we book a tour, the price ranges from €110 to €125 for a 9-hour trip.

Renting a car on your own will cost you around €80-90, plus gas (another €25) and maybe a little extra for the mileage mentioned above (€10 more).

Conclusion: even if you go alone in the car, it will cost you the same and you will enjoy it twice as much...

The Route

It's long. Not so much in terms of distance (~400 km) as in terms of time spent. We left at 7:30 a.m. and returned at 8:00 p.m.

The most standard itinerary goes from Bariloche northeast on Route 40 to Villa La Angostura first and then on to San Martín de los Andes, which is roughly halfway along the route.

This stretch of road runs along the immense Nahuel Huapi Lake. Lago Nahuel Huapi.

This Mapuche name is one of the few things that has survived the successive “invasions” of Welsh, Swiss, etc. in the area.

Halfway between La Angostura and San Martin, there is a secondary road to Villa Traful that was recommended to us, but you need to have plenty of time to take it, and on the way back you pass relatively close by.

You will pass countless viewpoints—each lake has a few.

One of my favorites is the one at Falkner Lake. Lago Falkner

A rudimentary beach as the backdrop for a wide variety of scenes of local life: from local fishermen wielding their fishing rods like whips...

...even Argentine tourists who take small folding chairs and some mate out of their cars and sit there watching life go by.

The stop at Lago Hermoso also has its charm. Lago Hermoso también tiene su encanto

Se llega a través de una pista de tierra de unos 4 km – casi no hay indicaciones, hay un hotel perdido desde el que sale el camino – y termina de un modo apropiado: una especie de embarcadero que lleva a ninguna parte, que sólo existe para que te sientes en él a disfrutar del lago ☺️

San Martín de los Andes San Martín de los Andes reminded me a little of the city that appeared in the movie “The Truman Show”: a place so perfect and happy that it must be a set.

Colonial houses, a spectacular port on Lake Lacar, and a neighborhood atmosphere where everyone knows everyone else...

We stopped in the town's main square and enjoyed an unusual sight: a Christmas tree silhouetted against a clear blue summer sky, accompanied by a sun that was baking us at around 30 degrees... a different kind of Christmas 😎

From San Martín, the best option in my opinion is to pass Junín de los Andes until the intersection of National Route 40 and Provincial Route 23, and continue on the former until Provincial Route 234 and then all the way down... You will cross the Collon Curá River via a legendary bridge to continue along the Alicurá reservoir on National Route 237.

The desert landscape of Arizona, cut by the river and the immensity of the reservoir, will leave you speechless.

GUIA PARA VISITAR BARILOCHE: EL CIRCUITO CHICO

The main attraction in Bariloche is to travel along the road from the city center to Llao Llao National Park and return via the other side: 60 km that can be covered by bike (at km 18, where the bus stops, there is a bike rental shop) or by bus (the 20 bus leaving from Bariloche Civic Center drops you off at the entrance to the National Park).

In the park, the typical tree of this area grows: the myrtle.

There is a small forest of them along one of the trails, creating a rather peculiar effect between the cinnamon color of the myrtle and the ordinary green of the forest.

For me, these two visits are essential; from here, there are activities to keep you busy for another four or five days, with something for everyone.

CERRO CAMPANARIO

An unforgettable view of the region around Bariloche and a fun ride on the chairlift: this is what this small mountain has to offer.

Once you pay the 200 pesos and reach the top, this view awaits you.

There is also a café where, although they make terrible hot chocolate, the panoramic windows make you feel like you are floating above the mountains...

But the best is yet to come, which is the descent on the chairlift: you have the entire San Pedro peninsula in front of you.

Bus 20 stops right at the entrance and runs every 30 minutes; anyway, everyone here will pick you up if you hitchhike, so don't waste your time waiting.

COLONIA SUIZA

En una guia para visitar Bariloche esta me parece una visita prescindible.

Under the pretext that this town was founded by Swiss settlers, a craft market and food fair are held on Wednesdays and Sundays. You can also visit the local beer distillery (Berlina). I didn't really think it was a real town, but rather a tourist trap. Not worth visiting.

Eso sí, tiene una playa en el lago espectacular; el agua está tan limpia y tan clara que parece de photoshop y tiene un par de embarcaderos para que los niños hagan el cafre todo lo que quieran

Se llega cogiendo el autobús numero 10 ; como éste pasa cada hora o lo coges en el momento justo o es mejor llegar haciendo dedo…a la vuelta sale a las menos cuarto cada hora, te deja en el km 18 y allí coges el número 20 para volver a Bariloche

GUIA PARA VISITAR BARILOCHE: VILLA LA ANGOSTURA Y PARQUE NACIONAL LOS ARRAYANES

Algo parecido a Colonia Suiza. Esta villa tiene una calle principal de fantasía (El Cruce) con casitas estilo tiroles y rosales por doquier, pero quizá es demasiado perfecto, demasiado turístico….no sé, le falta algo de autenticidad….

It is 75 minutes from Bariloche and there are multiple buses daily for 90 pesos (from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. round trip).

A unos 3 km al sur de El Cruce se encuentra el Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes (150 pesos) Lo encaré con mucha ilusión, ya que después de un largo sendero de 12 km se supone que un barco te lleva de vuelta a Puerto Pañuelo, cerca de Bariloche. Sonaba muy bien…

It has some impressive viewpoints.

pero el sendero se me hizo algo monótono (yo esperaba como un bosque gigantesco de arrayanes y parece ser que sólo están al final) y para colmo el barco te lleva sólo de vuelta hasta la entrada del parque y por un precio abusivo: 380 pesos, así que a la mitad me aburrí y me volví…

Quien quiera visitarlo que se asegure de llegar antes de las 15:00 si vas a volver en barco; si piensas dar la vuelta andando la hora límite de salida son las 14:00…luego ya no te dejan entrar.

Bariloche seems to have a lot to offer those who really love the mountains (Cerro Catedral or a volcano called El Tronador), but since that's not my case, I can't say anything about it...

Y así fue mi guía para visitar Bariloche; toca seguir internándome en la Patagonia , más y más al sur , hacia El Bolsón…

Si quieres leer algo más sobre Argentina: https://999millas.net/es/category/paises/un-recorrido-por-argentina/#google_vignette

And if you liked this post, please leave a comment 🙂

Texto y fotos : Mike !