The big circuit is the day that shows you how the Lake District changes: from the dry steppe along the Limay river, with its rock towers and castles, to the deep blue of Lake Traful between forested mountains, and back through the lakes of the Seven Lakes Route to Villa La Angostura. Two hundred and fifty kilometres in a loop, every one of them different.
The loop leaves Bariloche to the east, crossing the bridge where Lake Nahuel Huapi becomes the Limay river, past the spot where Francisco Moreno first saw the lake in 1876. The road follows the river through the Anfiteatro, a natural amphitheatre carved by ice, and into the Valle Encantado, the enchanted valley, where the rock has eroded into towers, fingers and castles above the water.
At Confluencia, where the Traful river meets the Limay, the road turns west into the mountains to Villa Traful, a small village on the shore of Lake Traful, with its viewpoint high over the water. Lunch there, then on through the forest to the Seven Lakes Route and Villa La Angostura, and home along the Nahuel Huapi. The day runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with a guide in English and Portuguese, as a regular or a private service.
East out of Bariloche to the birth of the Limay river, then along it through the Anfiteatro to the Valle Encantado, where the guide points out the shapes in the rock: the Dedo de Dios, the castles, the sleeping figures. Steppe, river and cliffs, in a landscape nothing like the lakes.
West from Confluencia into the mountains to Villa Traful, the village on the lake, and the viewpoint on the rock above it with the whole of Lake Traful below. Time for lunch in the village and the shore.
Along the lake to Puerto Arrayan and up to the Portezuelo pass, where the road leaves the Traful valley and climbs through the forest to join the Seven Lakes Route.
The southern end of the Seven Lakes Route, Lakes Correntoso and Espejo, a stop in Villa La Angostura, and the road along the Nahuel Huapi back to Bariloche in the late afternoon.
A long day on the road, with short walks at the viewpoints and in Villa Traful; the vehicle does the work. Bring a jacket for the viewpoint over Lake Traful, which is high and windy, and sunglasses for the steppe.
Lunch is free in Villa Traful, a small village with a few restaurants; the guide recommends. Where a national park entrance fee applies on the route it is paid at the gate in Argentine pesos.
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 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, or as a private one for your party alone on the day you prefer. Tell us when you write and we quote it both ways.
Yes. The guide speaks English and Portuguese as well as Spanish.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as a regular service. If your days in Bariloche fall on other days, we quote it private.
The Circuito Chico is the short loop of 60 kilometres around the Llao Llao peninsula, already included in the Bariloche package. The Circuito Grande is the long one, 250 kilometres to the north by the Limay, Villa Traful and Villa La Angostura, a full day in landscapes the short circuit never reaches.
All year. The Valle Encantado is at its best in the clear light of autumn and winter; Lake Traful in summer, when the water is at its bluest. The road is open all year.
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.
The Circuito Chico, Victoria Island and the Arrayanes forest, with flights, hotel and transfers.
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Villa La Angostura, the seven lakes and two hours in San Martín de los Andes, every day.
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The craft fair, the valley of hops and jams, and the lake, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
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