The western arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi reaches so far into the Andes that the forest at the end of it is a rainforest, the Valdivian jungle, with trees older than any cathedral. This day takes you there by catamaran: an hour across the lake, the waterfall and the walk up to the lake it falls from, an alerce fifteen centuries old, and Puerto Blest in its bay, with the option of going on to Lake Frias, whose water is green with the dust of a glacier.
Puerto Panuelo is the jetty beside the Llao Llao peninsula, 25 kilometres from the centre of Bariloche, and the catamaran leaves from there in the morning along the Blest arm of the lake, past the islet of Centinela where the remains of Francisco Moreno, the explorer who gave Argentina its first national park, rest in a mausoleum. An hour later it docks at the foot of the Cantaros waterfall.
From there a path of steps and boardwalks climbs through the Valdivian forest, the wettest and densest in Argentina, to Lake Los Cantaros, where the waterfall is born, and to the alerce, a tree of the same family as the sequoia that has stood there for some 1,500 years. Five minutes more by boat and you are at Puerto Blest, in its bay at the end of the lake. The day runs every day, with a guide in English and Portuguese, as a regular or a private service; tell us where you are staying and we arrange the way to the jetty.
Boarding at Puerto Panuelo in the morning and an hour of navigation west along the Blest arm, the mountains closing in on both sides and the forest getting thicker, past the islet of Centinela and the mausoleum of Francisco Moreno.
Landing below the waterfall and the walk up: some six hundred steps and boardwalks through ferns, bamboo and giant trees to the viewpoints over the falls, to Lake Los Cantaros at the top, and to the alerce, fifteen hundred years old.
Five minutes more by boat to Puerto Blest, the bay at the end of the lake where the first visitors came a century ago. Free time for lunch and the shore, and the view of the mountains towards Chile.
For those who choose it, a short bus ride to Puerto Alegre and a boat across Lake Frias, whose water is green with the rock dust of a Tronador glacier, to Puerto Frias at the Chilean border, with the white summit of Tronador above the forest, and back. Then the catamaran home to Puerto Panuelo in the afternoon.
The walk to Lake Los Cantaros is the one real effort of the day: about six hundred steps up and down through the forest, taken slowly with stops at the viewpoints. Anyone who walks normally manages it; those who prefer can wait by the waterfall. Wear closed shoes and bring a rain jacket at any time of year: this is the wettest corner of the park.
The national park entrance fee and the boarding tax are paid at the jetty in Argentine pesos; we tell you the current amounts when we quote. There is a restaurant at Puerto Blest, or bring your own lunch. The Lake Frias extension is booked with the day; tell us when you write.
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.
The catamaran is a scheduled service shared with other passengers; that is how the boat works. The transfer to Puerto Panuelo and the guide can be regular or private. Tell us when you write and we quote it both ways.
Yes. The guide speaks English and Portuguese as well as Spanish.
An optional add-on from Puerto Blest: a short bus ride to Puerto Alegre and a boat across Lake Frias to Puerto Frias at the Chilean border and back. The lake is green with glacier dust and Cerro Tronador rises above it; it is the view the day is famous for, and we recommend it if you have the time. Tell us when you write and we add it.
The package already includes a day by catamaran to Victoria Island and the Arrayanes forest, which goes north on the lake; Puerto Blest goes west, into a different landscape, the rainforest. Travellers who like the water do both on different days.
All year. Spring and summer have the longest days and the fullest waterfall; autumn colours the forest; in winter the boat still runs and the mountains are white. Rain is possible in any month and is part of the forest.
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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South along the lakes to Pampa Linda and the Ventisquero Negro, every day.
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The Limay, the Valle Encantado and Villa Traful in a 250 km loop, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
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