Tronador is the mountain that thunders: the sound is ice breaking off its glaciers and falling into the valley, and you hear it from the viewpoint. The day goes south from Bariloche along two of the most beautiful lakes in the region, follows the Manso river to the meadow of Pampa Linda at the foot of the mountain, and ends at the Ventisquero Negro, a glacier turned black by the rock it has ground down on the way.
Cerro Tronador stands on the border with Chile at the southern end of Nahuel Huapi National Park, 3,478 metres high and covered in glaciers for millions of years. It is an extinct volcano with three summits, one Argentine, one Chilean and one shared, and its name comes from the noise of its ice: blocks of the glaciers break off and crash into the valley below, and on a quiet day the sound carries for kilometres.
The excursion leaves Bariloche in the morning on the road south, with a guide in English and Portuguese, follows the shores of Lakes Gutierrez and Mascardi, crosses the bridge over the Manso river and turns onto the gravel road into the mountain to Pampa Linda and the glacier, returning to the city in the late afternoon. It runs every day, as a regular service or as a private one for your party alone.
Out of Bariloche on National Route 40 to the south, past Lake Gutierrez under the Cerro Catedral and along the long shore of Lake Mascardi, with stops at the viewpoints over the water and the mountains.
Across the bridge over the Manso, the river that drains the Tronador glaciers towards the Pacific, and onto the gravel road that follows it into the mountain. The road ends at Pampa Linda, the meadow at the foot of Tronador with the mountain and its glaciers filling the sky, where there is free time for lunch and a walk.
A few kilometres further up, the Ventisquero Negro: a glacier that flows down from Tronador carrying so much rock and sediment that its ice is grey and black, ending in a lagoon of the same colour with blocks of ice floating in it. From the viewpoint you watch the glacier, listen for the thunder and, with luck, see a piece of it fall.
The same road back down the valley, with the afternoon light on Lake Mascardi, arriving in Bariloche in the late afternoon.
The road into the mountain from the Manso river is unpaved and has sections of one-way traffic with set hours in high season, which is why the day runs on its own timetable; the guide handles it. Wear comfortable shoes and layers: it is warm in the valley and cold at the glacier even in summer, and in winter gloves and a hat are essential.
The national park charges an entrance fee per person, paid at the gate in Argentine pesos; we tell you the current amount when we quote. Lunch is at Pampa Linda, where there is a restaurant, or bring your own.
No. It is a day we add to your Bariloche package if you decide to stay a little longer. 01Argentina arranges the whole trip — flights, hotel, transfers and the days you choose — and this is one of the days you can choose. When you write, we send you the detail of the day for your dates.
It can be either. The day runs as a regular service or as a private one, with the vehicle and the guide for your party alone. Tell us when you write and we quote it both ways.
Yes. The guide speaks English and Portuguese as well as Spanish.
About eight hours from the hotel, most of it in the vehicle with stops at the viewpoints. The walks at Pampa Linda and the glacier viewpoint are short and easy; it is not a trek.
Because of the mountain. The glacier flows down the steep side of Tronador and carries rock, gravel and volcanic sediment with it; the ice is full of it, so it looks grey and black instead of white, and so does the lagoon it ends in.
All year. In summer and autumn the road is open all day and the walks are at their best; in winter the mountain is white to the base and the day is shorter. After heavy snow the road to the glacier can close for a day; we tell you before you go.
Tell us when you are travelling and how many days you have in Bariloche, and we will come back within 24 hours with the whole trip laid out — this day included if it fits.
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