Lago Puelo is a mountain-ringed lake with a Scottish feel that lies in its own national park and is about a dozen miles south of the former hippie colony of El Bolson. Tour boats go off every few hours along the western branch of Lago Puelo to the Chilean border, which runs through the lake, and then turn round. North of Lago Puelo, and surrounded by a ring of distinctively shaped mountains that are said to produce positive ions and good vibes (which is why the hippie colony was located there), El Bolson is now a charming, relaxed and thriving market town which produces lots of arts and crafts and fresh produce, as well as lovely ice cream and alfajores. Alfajores are delicious Argentine cookies which usually have a filling; often this is dulce de leche, the sweet caramel sauce made from condensed milk and sugar that is a national passion in Argentina.
The cloudy, misty conditions over the mountains at Lago Puelo, about 10 miles south of El Bolson, put the author very much in mind of his native land Scotland. This kind of day and scene, with mist and clouds covering snow-capped mountains towering over a loch, is typical in the Highlands, particularly in winter and spring. However, the mountains in western Patagonia are a wee bit higher than those in Scotland!
From Lago Puelo north to Lago Nahuel Huapi and then on to Volcan Lanin and beyond to Villa Pehuenia, altogether a distance of about 300 miles, there are at least 20 large lakes and dozens, if not hundreds, of smaller mountain lakes and pools. There are also a very few good paved roads along with many many gravel roads, some of them alarmingly rough and likely to produce a flat tire if not a puncture. So be warned: Take a spare tire if you’re driving in the area. The few paved roads there are in the area are good, but if you intend to see much of the region’s glorious scenery ― which is really as beautiful as anything this author has seen anywhere in the world ― you will need to drive on rough gravel roads.
Mountainous as it is, Argentina’s Lake District also boasts countless stunning mountain vistas, unearthly indigenous forests and an astonishing river valley that features a huge natural amphitheatre and stunning rock formations. So astonishing is the valley of the Rio Limay that part of it is named El Valle Encantado, or The Enchanted Valley. Lying just 20 miles from the gorgeous, isolated Lago Traful, possibly the most beautiful and certainly the deepest lake in the region, the river valley provides a complete contrast in scenery and environment.
Both can be seen easily in a day when driving the ‘Circuito Grande’, one of several must-drive itineraries any tourist with a car should complete when visiting the Bariloche area. The trip is perhaps 150 miles in length and begins by traveling east and north from Bariloche along the main Route 237 metaled highway.
About 30 miles into the journey ― after you’ve seen a stunning distant big-sky vista of Bariloche and the mountains beyond from the far shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi ― the road climbs into low, arid hills and emerges into a stunning natural amphitheatre that the locals merely call ‘Anfiteatro’. Here the valley of the Rio Limay comes in from the east to form a vast, tree-covered bowl as spectacular as anything you’ll see in the canyon-lands of the United States apart from the Grand Canyon itself.
As you go north on route 237 from San Carlos de Bariloche towards Neuquen, nearly 300 miles away, about 25-30 miles into the journey ― not far after you've crossed from Rio Negro Province into Neuquén province ― you suddenly come to a massive, completely awesome amphitheatre as the road crests some low hills and comes into the valley of the Rio Limay. Locally called just "Anfiteatro", the vista is incredible. It's about 300 feet down to the floor of the valley from the panoramic viewpoint, down a steep scree-covered hillside, but it's worth the effort to scramble down to have a good look from the water's edge
Related to this story:
- Inkaterra Opens Hacienda Concepcion Lodge Near Peru’s Lake Sandoval
- Delta and Aerolineas Argentinas Announce Codesharing Deal
- China’s Huating Lake National Park Gets Ready for Big Outdoors Event
- Argentina’s Lake District ― Traveling the ‘Circuito Chico’
- Argentina’s Lake District ― Beautiful Policy
