Route 40 between Villa La Angostura and San Martin de los Andes is 110 kilometres of lake after lake between forest and mountain, and the reason people say the Argentine Lake District looks like the Alps. The day drives it both ways, with a stop in Villa La Angostura, the viewpoints over every lake, and two hours in San Martin de los Andes, the town of wood and stone on the shore of Lake Lacar.
The road leaves Bariloche along the eastern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and crosses into Neuquen to Villa La Angostura, the village at the foot of the Quetrihue peninsula, for a short stop. From there the Seven Lakes Route proper begins: Correntoso, Espejo, Escondido, Villarino, Falkner and Machonico, each with its viewpoint, and the mountains and forest between them.
San Martin de los Andes is at the end, on the eastern tip of Lake Lacar: a town of timber and stone houses, a lakefront, and good restaurants, with two free hours for lunch and a walk before the road back. The day runs every day, with a guide in English and Portuguese, as a regular service or as a private one for your party alone.
Out of Bariloche along the lake and over the Limay river into the province of Neuquen, to Villa La Angostura, the village of alpine houses at the northern end of the Nahuel Huapi, for a stop of about twenty minutes.
Then the road the day is named for: Correntoso and Espejo first, then Escondido, hidden in the forest, Villarino and Falkner side by side, and Machonico, with a photo stop at each viewpoint and the story of each lake from the guide.
Arrival around midday in San Martin de los Andes, on the shore of Lake Lacar. Two hours free for lunch, the lakefront, the centre of timber and stone buildings and the shops.
The same road back south, the lakes in the afternoon light, arriving in Bariloche in the late afternoon.
It is a long day on the road, about 400 kilometres in all, with the lakes as the reward: the stops are short and frequent and the walks are a few minutes each. Sit on the left going north for the lake views. Bring a jacket at any time of year; the viewpoints are windy.
Lunch is free in San Martin de los Andes, which has the best restaurants in the Lake District. Sections of the route cross Nahuel Huapi and Lanin national parks; where an entrance fee applies 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 or as a private one, with the vehicle and the guide for your party alone, stopping where you like. Tell us when you write and we quote it both ways.
Yes. The guide speaks English and Portuguese as well as Spanish.
Correntoso, Espejo, Escondido, Villarino, Falkner and Machonico between Villa La Angostura and San Martin de los Andes, with Lake Lacar at the end; the Nahuel Huapi, where the day starts, is the biggest of all.
Both go north. The Seven Lakes is the full road to San Martin de los Andes and back the same way, with the town as the midday stop; the Circuito Grande is a loop by the Limay river, the Valle Encantado and Villa Traful, returning by the southern end of the same route. Different landscapes, and travellers with two extra days do both.
All year. Spring and summer for the colour of the water and the long days, autumn for the red and gold of the forest, winter for the snow on the peaks. The road is paved and 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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The Limay, the Valle Encantado and Villa Traful in a 250 km loop, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
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The catamaran to the Cántaros waterfall and the Valdivian forest, with the option of Lake Frías.
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