Trek Patagonian Andes 03 Lakes District

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HIGHLIGHTS
This is the south at its greenest. Rain rears grasses and temperate rainforest into
a palette of emerald, olive, lime and sage. This lush, mud-spattered backdrop
sets the stage for the star attractions: the undulating hills, craggy peaks and
snowcapped volcanoes.
Water, taking the form of huge glacial lakes, hot springs and clear streams,
is another defining feature. And where theres water, there is life. In the Lakes
District, hikers will find the greatest diversity of plants and animals found
anywhere in Patagonia. Even if you travel to the end of the continent, it is more
likely that in these dense forests youll spot a miniature pudu (deer), marvel over
an ancient alerce (one of the worlds oldest trees) or trace the shape of a fresh
puma track.
From volcanic plateaus to wild mountain passes theres a diversity of landscapes
that makes this area a real delight to explore. Trekkers may be drawn to the
well-structured refugio treks around Bariloche or the wilder, overgrown trails
on the Chilean side. Given the ready accessibility of this region, its not hard to
understand why the Lakes District has become the premier trekking region of
Chile and Argentina.
Lakes District
Getting high on the craggy Nahuel Huapi Traverse (p103)
Crunching over scoria dunes amidst geysers and bubbling mud pools on the Baos de Caulle
trek (p89)
A remote farmland trek to a thermal soaking in the hardwood tubs at Termas de Callao (p97)
Summiting the snow-covered Volcn Lann (p81) for a gaping Lakes District panorama
Worshipping the natural cathedral of alerces on the trek to Laguna Fra (p118)
HIGHLIGHTS
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GATEWAYS
See Bariloche (p124), Osorno (p126),
Puerto Montt (p127).
PARQUE
NACIONAL LANN
A skyscraper over the Andean wilderness, the
snowcapped cone of Volcn Lann (3776m)
is the centerpiece of Parque Nacional Lann,
a 3790-sq-km park that stretches 150km
from Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi in the
south to Lago orquinco in the north. The
volcano effectively splits the park into north-
ern and southern zones.
The northern zone theoretically in
the Araucana covers about one-third
of the parks area. It centers around the
elongated, fjord-like Lago Quilln. To the
south, a much larger and broader zone
forms a band of rugged mountains dis-
persed with the major glacial lakes of Lago
Huechulafqun, Lago Lolog and Lago
Lcar splayed eastward almost as far as
the Patagonian steppes.
Until the late 19th century this vast area
of the park was inhabited by the Pehuenche
people. The lifestyle of this large Mapuche
tribe was integrally linked with the annual
harvest of nuts from the regions extensive
montane forests of coniferous araucaria
trees. The Mapuche reservations of Cur-
ruhuinca and Rucachoroi are located within
the park, fittingly called reducciones.
ENVIRONMENT
Argentinas richest southern beech forests
grow in the park. The evergreen coige (spelt
coihue in Argentina), is present mainly at
the lowest elevations. Two deciduous species
of southern beech dominate these subalpine
forests: raul and roble (or pelln). Raul has
long leathery, almost oval-shaped leaves,
while its close relative roble has oaklike
leaves with deep serrations.
The alpine zone (roughly above 1000m)
features two other deciduous southern
beech species, irre (spelt ire in Argentina)
and lenga. The two trees are easily distin-
guishable: lenga leaves have rounded double
notches, while those of the irre have irregu-
larly crinkled edges. Lenga grows right up to
the tree line in low, weather-beaten scrub. In
fall the mountainsides are aflame with color
as these forests turn golden red.
Various parasitic plants attack the south-
ern beech. Common parasites are the liga,
native mistletoes, the quintral, whose red
nectar-filled flowers attract hummingbirds,
and the llao-llao, a fungus that deforms the
wood into a large, knotted growth on which
round spongy balls form.
Extensive forests of umbrellalike arau-
caria cloak the northern zone of Parque
Nacional Lann. Particularly in the parks
southern zone, forests of Cordilleran cy-
press, with occasional stands of maitn (a
native willowlike species), spread across the
less watered Andean foothills.
Numerous species of native wildflowers
can be identified. The bright spots of yellow
scattered around the floor of montane forests
could be the delicate violeta amarilla, or per-
haps the yellow topa topa, which resembles a
large pea flower. Two pretty white species are
the centella, a native anemone, and the cuye
eldorado, an oxalis species that has long been
a favorite of gardeners in the British Isles.
Parque Nacional Lann is one of the last
habitats of the tunduco, an extremely rare
species of native rat. A member of an ancient
rodent family (the so-called octodontids),
the tunduco typically inhabits quila and coli-
hue thickets, feeding on the roots and shoots.
Other mammals found in the park include
the monito del monte (or mouse oopossum),
pudu, coipo, viscacha and the rare Andean
deer known as the huemul. These animals
are variously preyed on by the puma, the
Patagonian red fox, the huilln and huia.
There are many small ground-dwelling
birds, including the chucao, the huet-huet
and the churrn, or Andean tapaculo, which
all find shelter in bamboo thickets, forest
underbrush or alpine heathland. Unmistak-
able because of its absurdly long tail about
double the length of the birds body is Des
Murs wiretail, or colilarga.
CLIMATE
Parque Nacional Lann has a continental
climate ranging from subalpine to alpine,
with a relatively low proportion of rainfall
outside the spring-to-fall period. Summers
are warm to hot, particularly in the parks
northern (Araucana) sector, while win-
ters are crisp and white, particularly on the
higher ranges. The areas immediately east
Parque Nati onal Lanin LAKES DISTRI CT 79
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17
259
231
To Temuco
O C E A N
P A C I F I C
Reloncav
Seno
Corcovado
Golfo
Golfo de Ancud
Alerce Costero
Monumento Natural
Llanquihue
Nacional
Reserva
(Parque Pumalin)
Pumaln
Parque
Tantauco
Parque
Andino
Alerce
Nacional
Parque
(Sector Anay)
(Sector Chepu)
Lago Puelo
Parque Nacional
Nahuel Huapi
Parque Nacional
Parque
Los Alerces
Parque Nacional
Parque
El Amarillo
Parque Pumaln
Hornopirn
Nacional
Chilo
Nacional
Parque
Parque
Chilo
Nacional
Vicente Prez Rosales
Parque Nacional
Puyehue
Parque Nacional
Lann
Nacional
(1861m)
Volcanico
Cerro
Cenizas
Volcn
Vulcn
Chaitn
Volcn
(2770m)
Cerro Cnico
(2153m)
Nahuel Pan
Cerro
(2300m)
Corcovado
Volcn
(2404m)
Michinmahuida
Volcn
(2492m)
Cerro Tres Picos
Sur (2268m)
Cerro Aguja
(2276m)
la Torre
Cerro de
(1572m)
Volcn Hornopirn
(2652m)
Volcn Osorno
(2405m)
Cerro Catedral
Monte Tronador
(3554m)
Puntiagudo (2490m)
(1990m)
Casablanca
Volcn
(2236m)
Volcn Puyehue
Lipinza (1740m)
Cerros de
Volcn
(2415m)
Choshuenco
(3776m)
Volcn Lann
Lago
Curruhu
Lago
Gris
Lago
P
u
e
l
o
R
o
Quei
Lago
Yelcho
Lago
Espoln
Lago
Lago Rosario
Lago Kruger
Amutui Quimei
Lago
Futalaufquen
Lago
Menndez
Lago
Reihue
Cholila
Lago
Abascal
Lago
Epuyn
Lago
Puelo
Lago
Azul
Lago
Tagua Tagua
Lago
Chaiguata
Lago
Chaiguaco
Lago
Tepuhueco
Lago
Tarahuin
Lago
Huillinco
Lago
Trinidad
Lago
Chapo
Lago
Martn
Lago
Mascardi
Lago
Los Santos
Lago Todos
Puyehue
Correntoso
Lago
Huapi
Nahuel
Lago
Constancia
Lago
Rupanco
Lago
Lago
Falkner
Lago
Traful
Lago
Meliquina
Lago
Huishue
Lago
Maihue
Lago
Ranco
Lago
Lago Lcar
Lago Lolog
Pirehueico
Lago
Huechulafqun
Lago
Riihue
Lago
Panguipulli
Lago
Llanquihue
Lago
de Chilo
Isla Grande
Samor
Paso
Paso de
(1188m)
Menndez
Cochamo
Paso
(1123m)
Carirrie
Paso
(659m)
Paso Huahum Pirehueico
Puelche
Caleta
Puerto
Fuy
Puerto
Largo
Fiordo
Puelo
Chaitn
Esquel
Bolsn
El
Lenca
Futaleuf
Villa Santa Luca
Gonzalo
Caleta
Leptep
Pichanco
Hornopirn
La Arena
Caleta
Quelln
Cucao
Puchabrn
Castro
Chepu
Ancud Chacao
Pargua
Peulla
Correntoso
Raln
Petrohu
Ensenada
Montt
Puerto
Puerto Varas
Llao Llao
Blest
Puerto
Fras
Puerto
Villa Mascardi
Bariloche
Huapi
Nahuel
El Islote
El Poncho
Antillanca
Calientes
Aguas
Octay
Puerto
Llanquihue
Frutillar
Los Muermos
Purranque
Negro
Ro
Osorno
de los Andes
San Martn
los Andes
Junn de
Choshuenco
Enco
Riihue
Futrono
Riinahue
Bueno
Ro
Trumao
La Unin
Maicolpu
Baha Mansa
Hueicolla
Panguipulli
Los Lagos
Corral
Niebla
Valdivia
C H I L E
A R G E N T I N A
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
RN
RP
RN
RN
RP
RN
RN
RP
RP
RN
RN
RP
RP
RP
40
15
258
258
80
237
231
65
63
234
234
62
60
23
7
7
225
215
5
5
5
5
5
207
205
p105
p119
p113
p98
p86
p82
p91
7 Laguna Fra
1 Ascent of Volcn Lann
2 Termas de Lahuen Co to La Unin
3 Baos de Caulle & Pampa Frutilla
4 Termas de Callao
5 Nahuel Huapi Traverse
6 Paso de las Nubes
LAKES DISTRICT MAPS
Lakes District
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80 LAKES DISTRI CT Climate
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Towering over the northern Lakes Dis-
trict, Volcn Lann rises from a base plain
of around 1100m to a height of 3776m.
Viewed from any other direction than the
east, Volcn Lanns thick cap of heavily
crevassed glacial ice makes it look almost
impossible to climb, but up its eastern side
is a strenuous, though straightforward as-
cent route. In fact, Lann is probably the
highest summit in Patagonia safely attain-
able without ropes.
Lanns Mapuche name means Dead
Rock, as the Mapuche people believed that
anyone who climbed the mountain would
be killed by evil spirits (although, today,
freezing winds and glacier crevasses are
generally a greater danger).
PLANNING
When to Trek
Although winter ascents of Volcn Lann
are not unheard of, the summit is normally
tackled between November and February.
All climbers must carry an ice axe and
crampons. Ascents early in the season are
generally easier because the remaining
snowpack provides a more stable surface
than the often loose volcanic earth under-
neath. An early start is imperative, since
after midday the snow often becomes soft
and slushy, making the going tiring uphill
and hazardous on the descent.
The volcanos exposed, steep slopes are
definitely no place for tents, so all trekkers
must stay at one of the three unstaffed refu-
gios on Lann, which are all roughly halfway
up the mountain.
The refugios provide good, basic shelter
free of charge but it is essential to carry
your own means of cooking and a warm
sleeping bag. The ascent of Volcn Lann is
a popular excursion, and in the peak holi-
day season (January to mid-February) the
number of climbers on the mountain may
exceed the huts comfortable capacity.
With good weather, very experienced
climbers in top shape may make the climb
in one day with day packs.
What to Bring
It is now mandatory for all trekkers to carry
an ice axe and crampons, waterproof jacket,
mountain sunglasses, sleeping bag, stove,
sturdy boots (suitable for snowy condi-
tions), headlamp and a medical kit.
Ascent of Volcn Lann LAKES DISTRI CT 81
and north of Volcn Lann lie in a marked
rain shadow created by the volcanic range
extending east from Volcn Villarrica. From
an annual maximum rainfall of 4500mm on
the snowy upper slopes of Volcn Lann,
precipitation levels drop away sharply to well
under 1000mm near the dry plains border-
ing the eastern fringes of the park. Towards
the south, in the moist temperate forests of
the parks mountainous western sectors, an-
nual precipitation is around 2500mm. The
temperature averages 20C in summer and
4C in winter.
PLANNING
The APN Intendencia in San Martn de los
Andes (p128) can give up-to-date advice
and information (including weather fore-
casts) on trekking and climbing.
An entry fee of AR$9 applies but is
payable only when you enter via an APN
portada (entrance gate). Camping is not
permitted outside organized campsites and
established en route campsites.
Maps & Books
A 1:200,000 trekking map titled Parque
Nacional Lann and published by Sendas
y Bosques (www.sendasybosques.com.ar)
covers the entire park. It shows most official
trails and, although its scale is small for
comfortable navigation, it is the only widely
available quality map. Sendas y Bosques
also publishes Parques Nacionales Lann y
Nahuel Huapi, a Spanish-language trekking
guidebook to the Argentine Araucana that
includes some information in English.
ACCESS TOWNS
See San Martn de los Andes (p128) and
Junn de los Andes (p125).
Duration 3 days
Distance 25km
Difficulty demanding
Start/Finish Guardera Tromen
Nearest Towns Junn de los Andes San
Martn de los Andes
Transport (international) bus
Summary A climb to the top of a majestic
volcanic cone that gives a tremendous pano-
rama of the Lakes District and Araucana.
ASCENT OF VOLCN LANN
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Puerto Canoa
(104km)
de los Andes
San Martn
(63km);
(90km)
To Pucn
To Lago Huechulafqun;
de los Andes
To Junn
Refugio
RIM-26
Tromen
Guardera
Nacional
Gendarmera
CAJA
Refugio
BIM-6
Refugio
L A N N
N A C I O N A L P A R Q U E
(2110m)
(3776m)
Lann
Volcn
Negro
Cerro
2143m
2018m
1546m
1358m
1417m
1142m
1295m
2051m
1338m
1373m
1336m
Malleo
Ensenada de
Lago Tromen
Paso Mamuil
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A R G E N T I N A
C H I L E
2&3
DAYS
START
Route
Alternative
Route
Alternative
START/
FINISH
winter 2001
by avalanche in
Refugio destroyed
Route Only
Mountaineering
Ascent of Volcn Lann
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82 LAKES DISTRI CT Ascent of Volcn Lann
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You can hire an ice axe and crampons
(each around AR$30 per day) in San Martn
or, less reliably, in Junn. Trekking poles can
be useful for balance. Climbing ropes are
of little use and not required, but wearing
gaiters to protect your shins and keep rocks
and snow out of your boots is advisable.
Charting your route with a compass and
altimeter or GPS unit can be a tremendous
advantage if visibility becomes poor upon
the return.
Maps
The best map available is the Chilean IGM
1:50,000 map, Paimn (Section G, No 114).
This map provides good topographical in-
formation on Volcn Lann, but does not
show huts, ascent routes or the correct posi-
tion of glaciers. JLM Mapas 1:250,000 map,
Pucn San Martn de los Andes (No 07),
includes an inset scaled at 1:65,000 that ac-
curately shows the route and refugios.
Permits & Regulations
All parties must receive authorization to
climb the volcano from the guardaparque
(national-park ranger) at the Guardera
Tromen. Trekkers without proper ice-
climbing gear (see What to Bring, above)
will not be permitted to make the ascent.
Be sure to inform the ranger upon your
return.
Camping is not permitted anywhere on
or around the base of Volcn Lann apart
from at the Guardera Tromen and the
campsite at the southern shore of Lago
Tromen. For details on accommodation in
this area, see p126.
Guides
See under Information for San Martn de
los Andes (p128).
GETTING TO/FROM THE TREK
This trek begins and ends at Guardera
Tromen. A number of bus companies, in-
cluding Empresa San Martn, Igi-Llaima and
JAC, run buses almost daily to/from Temuco
and Bariloche, San Martn or Zapala.
In January and February, there may be
public transportation to Tromen, which
was unavailable at the time of research,
check with Junns tourism office. Other-
wise, Julio Villanueva (
%
02972-491375)
in Junn runs shuttles to Tromen (four pas-
sengers one-way AR$140).
After clearing customs, trekkers arriv-
ing directly from Chile can disembark at
Tromen. It might be worth reserving a seat
with the bus company for the trip back out,
even if you have to pay a bit extra, to ensure
an onward seat when you return.
Trekkers intending to cross the border
after the climb should note that they are
not normally permitted to board a Chile-
bound bus in Tromen unless their names
are on the official passenger list. Its impor-
tant that you have a ticket to Chile with
a definite arrangement to join that bus
before you get to Tromen; this can be
organized in San Martn de los Andes or
Junn de los Andes. The road is remote and
carries only light traffic, so hitching is an
unreliable transport option and we dont
recommend it as a rule.
THE TREK
Day 1: Guardera Tromen to
Refugio CAJA
45 hours, 7km, 1518m ascent
As there is unlikely to be any running water
for most of todays sweaty climb, fill up at
the campsite when you sign in at Guardera
Tromen (1142m). Pick up the trail behind
the Gendarmera Nacional building and
WARNING
The trek involves a total ascent of almost 2700m (from around 1100m to 3776m) over loose
earth and/or snow slopes. Trekkers should be physically fit, carry basic ice-climbing gear (see
What to Bring, p81) and have some experience in mountainous terrain. Although the ascent
route itself (apart from the summit) is not exposed to the worst of the westerlies, strong, freez-
ing winds can pick up at any time and with little warning. Attempt the summit only in perfect
weather. As you climb, watch for changing conditions and be prepared to descend if conditions
deteriorate. Lann is high enough to cause altitude sickness (p258), so be alert to symptoms in
yourself and your companions. Although the route does not cross glaciers, there are dangerous,
heavily crevassed glaciers near the summit keep to the route.
Ascent of Volcn Lann LAKES DISTRI CT 83
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follow this roughly southwest through at-
tractive lenga forest, then across a plain of
volcanic sand to cross the Arroyo Turbio
after 30 to 45 minutes. (Early in the day
this stream may carry little or no water, but
Lanns melting nvs and glaciers normally
produce a steady flow by late afternoon.)
You will notice the Espina de Pescado,
a long, lateral moraine ridge that snakes
around to the right above the stream. Climb
this spine, following the narrow ridgetop
as it steepens and curves slightly rightward
past an old secondary crater on the left to
reach the Sendero de las Mulas turn-off
going off to the right (see Alternative Route,
p84), one to 1 hours from the Arroyo
Turbio.
Keep to the craggy ridge line, where
unstable rock calls for careful footwork,
minor detours are necessary to negoti-
ate small outcrops. The route climbs up
alongside a long, broken-up glacier down
to your left to arrive at the red- and or-
ange-painted Refugio RIM-26, two to 2
hours on. Built at 2450m along the Espina
de Pescado route by the Regimiento de In-
fanteria de Montaa, the refugio is on a flat
razed by a receding glacier. It has capacity
for up to 10 people. Afternoon meltwater
can be collected from the glacier, but take
care not to get too close to where the ice
falls away abruptly. Tread cautiously on
dirt-covered ice, and save enough water
for the next day.
Just above the refugio, pick up a vague
trail leading up beside the glacier, following
this up to where the rock rib disappears.
The route continues up for 100m, before
leaving the ridge line and heading right
through an area of broken-up rock rub-
ble to reach the much more rustic Refugio
CAJA after 25 to 35 minutes. The rustic tin-
roofed hut stands at 2660m on a low, flat
ridge. Built and owned by the Club Andino
de Junn de los Andes, this smaller civilian
refugio has space for up to eight people.
Collect water from a small nv just around
to the west.
ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: VIA SENDERO DE
LAS MULAS
The Sendero de las Mulas (litreally mule
track) is a longer but less strenuous route
that follows a trail proper (rather than the
much steeper Espina de Pescado). It is a
better option for slower or less fit trekkers.
From the turn-off, the trail turns away
westward, winding and switchbacking up
repeatedly through the scoria to finally
reach Refugio BIM-6 after two to three
hours. This comfortable refugio (built by
the Batallon de Ingenieros de Montaa)
is situated at 2350m and sleeps up to 15
people. The path continues its serpentine
course, rising around slightly leftward to
arrive at Refugio CAJA after a further one
to 1 hours.
Day 2: Refugio CAJA Return (via
Summit of Volcan Lann)
711 hours, 11km, 1116m ascent/descent
When not snowbound, this final section
climbs over extremely unstable scoria
slopes. The steep and loose earth makes a
frustratingly unstable trekking surface, and
you need to step very carefully to avoid slip-
ping. Allow yourself plenty of time and do
not try for the summit unless the weather is
good. There is no running water higher up,
so carry plenty (at least a litre per person).
Head up the initially gentle slope over
large patches of snow, passing between the
two larger permanent snowfields (about
400m over from the glacier), where the
gradient begins to steepen. As the ground
becomes looser, often giving way as you step,
keep an eye out for marker stakes and paint
splashes on rocks. Layers of volcanic rock
have weathered unevenly to produce very
low ridges that lead up the slope. These are
much more stable and, if winds are not too
strong, they may make for easier climbing.
Although strenuous, the route is now
straightforward. In the last stages before
you reach the summit, a scramble over rock
ledges leads up past the impressive seracs
of a glacier that descends westward. Follow
a few rock cairns left on to the small nv
leading up to the summit of Volcn Lann,
which atypically for a volcano is not
topped with a wide caldera. The relatively
small summit is capped by glacial ice which
falls away sharply on the south side. You
should be extremely careful here. Small cre-
vasses sometimes open up.
Llaima, Villarrica, Tronador and many
major peaks of the Lakes District and Arau-
cana regions are visible from the summit
of Lann. Directly north and south are the
84 LAKES DISTRI CT Ascent of Volcn Lann
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large lakes Tromen and Huechulafqun,
and a number of beautiful smaller lakes lie
on the northwestern slopes of the volcano.
In clear conditions you might even be able
to make out Chiles Pacific coast far to the
west.
Retrace your way back to Refugio
CAJA.
Day 3: Refugio CAJA To
Guardera Tromen
47 hours, 7km, 1518m descent
Retrace your steps as on Day 1. Fit and fast
trekkers often prefer to descend the whole
way from the summit to Guardera Tromen
on their long second day. Despite the
slopes steepness, the loose volcanic earth
breaks your fall. This often makes the going
easier. If the sustained descents are painful
for your knees, opt for the Sendero de las
Mulas route.
ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: PUERTO CANOA
Experienced climbers can opt for an alterna-
tive and more difficult descent route leading
southeast to the ruins of a refugio. At an
elevation of 2400m, it was destroyed by an
avalanche in the winter of 2001. From there,
a path goes on southward down the Arroyo
Ruc Leufu to Puerto Canoa, near La Unin
on Lago Huechulafqun. Once down, be
sure to report back to the Guardera Tromen
or the Guardera Puerto Canoa.
This A-to-B style destination route leads
from the Termas de Lahuen Co along aban-
doned roads (last used in the 1960s), over
abandoned pastures and past an old sawmill
to the last remaining farmlets on the south-
ern shore of Lago Paimn. Trekkers will
see the gradual regeneration of vegetation
cleared by settlers in the early decades of the
last century. Introduced wild boar and red
deer (known to North Americans as elk) are
abundant along this route but, being wary
of humans, they are seldom seen.
PLANNING
When to Trek
This relatively low-level trek is normally
passable from mid-November until mid-
May, although seasonal weather conditions
may compromise road access to the trail-
heads (especially to Termas de Lahuen Co).
Maps
The best available topographical map is the
Chilean IGM 1:50,000 map Paimn (Section
G, No 114), which does not show the route
and is not available locally. The Argentine
IGM 1:100,000 map, also titled Paimn
(Neuqun, No 3972-34), is extremely out
of date but still shows the route fairly ac-
curately. The Sendas y Bosques 1:200,000
Parque Nacional Lann map also covers the
trek and is sold locally.
Permits are not necessary, but all trekkers
should register with the appropriate APN
office (either in San Martn or at Guardera
Carilafquen). Camping is permitted only at
the park-authorised Camping Libre Aila on
Lago Paimn.
ACCESS TOWNS
See San Martn de los Andes (p128) and
Junn de los Andes (p125).
Termas de Lahuen (start)
The trek begins at Termas de Lahuen Co.
These remote hot springs (once known as
the Baos de Epulafquen) lie at 930m, just
off Ruta Provincial 62, 350m past (ie west
of) the APNs Guardera Carilafquen. The
now privately run Lahuen Co Spa Termal
de Montana (www.lahuenco.com) is upscale
but expensive and not particularly friendly.
Camping is not allowed in the area.
Termas de Lahuen Co is an 80km, 2-
hour drive northeast from San Martn de
Duration 2 days
Distance 26km
Difficulty easy
Start Termas de Lahuen Co
Finish La Unin
Nearest Towns San Martn de los Andes
Junn de los Andes
Transport guided tour and/or taxi
Summary An uncomplicated trek from
remote hot springs to the scenic shores of
Lago Paimn under the spectacular cone of
Volcn Lann.
TERMAS DE LAHUEN CO TO
LA UNIN
Termas de Lahuen Co to La Unin LAKES DISTRI CT 85
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los Andes (p128) via Ruta Provincial 62
(which continues 7km over Paso Carirrie
into Chile). The last 20km of road is nar-
row and sometimes rough, but passable for
non-4WD vehicles except in wet or snowy
conditions.
Termas de Lahuen Co is not accessible
by public transport, but throughout the
summer season (from mid-December until
mid-March) travel agencies in San Martn
de los Andes run organized tours to both
the Termas and to the eastern end of Lago
Paimn (which make a stop at the chapel in
La Unin, where the trek ends). Most agen-
cies are quite happy to drop off trekkers by
arrangement, but their normal practice is
usually to charge trekkers the full price for
each tour.
La Unin (finish)
The trek ends at the chapel in La Unin. La
Unin is the name given to the picturesque
narrows where Lago Paimn drains into
Lago Huechulafqun, at the western end of
Ruta Provincial 61.
Transporte Castelli (
%
02972-491557)
runs buses between La Unin and Junin
de los Andes (AR$16), leaving the APN
guarderia at 10.15am, 3pm and 7.45pm.
La Unin-bound buses leave Junin de los
Andes at 8am, 12.45pm and 5.30pm.
THE TREK
Day 1: Termas de Lahuen Co to
Camping Aila
From the Termas, follow the road across
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P
a
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S
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a
Andes (94km)
los Andes (85km)
San Martn de
To Junn (80km);
Provincial 61
To Ruta
San Martn de los
To Junn (54km);
Liquie
To
de Lipinza
To Portezuelo
L
a

U
n
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P
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Pescador
Refugio
Hostera
Mala
El Rincn
Camping
Canoa
Guardera
Farmhouse
Ecufu
Camping
Aila
Camping
Canoa
Puerto
Barriga
Capilla Lago Paimn
Nacional
Gendarmera
Paimn
Guardera
Carilafquen
Guardera
Old
Engine
Steam
Casa
Piedra
Camping
Aila
Casa Familia
L A N N
N A C I O N A L
P A R Q U E
1857m
1765m
1552m
1415m
1552m
1696m
(1916m)
Cerro Cantala
1529m
1596m
1620m
(1755m)
Cerro Huecuifa
(1522m)
Cerro Litran
(1835m)
Huemules
Cerro
Grande
Malln
Huechulafquen
Lago
Oconi
Ro
de Toro
Laguna
Curruhu
Lago
Verde
Laguna
Liffilafquen
Laguna
Nuevo
Lago
Carilafquen
Lago
n e u
q
f
a
l
u
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E
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L
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L
(1135m)
Rimeco
Portezuelo
Grande
Pampa
iyeu
Volcn
Escorial de
Paso
(1123m)
Carirrie
Epulafquen
Crter del
(Rowboat Ferry)
Balsa La Unin
Spa Termal
Lahuen Co
Saltillo
Cascada El
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CHILE
A R G E N T I N A
Mawizache
Restaurante
DAY 2
START
Side Trip
RP
RP
RP
FINISH
START
61
62
62
here
Ford river
Termas de Lahuen Co to La Unin
1:140,000
0 2 km
0 1 mile
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the Ro Oconi uphill through lush, tall rain
forest to where the Senda Paimn (GPS 39
47.821 S, 71 39.222 W) departs on your
right after one to 1 hours. Quite over-
grown, the path drops directly northeast
to ford the very small Arroyo Burriquete,
then continues smoothly downvalley (often
on an old road) to recross the stream (via a
huge fallen tree trunk) after 45 minutes to
one hour. Views are few apart from glimpses
of the bald ridgetops around Cerro Huecuifa
up to your right, but trekking is pleasant
through mixed stands of irre, araucaria,
lenga or raul with a largely dead quila
understorey (see boxed text).
Continue on through the forest to reach
Pampa Grande cleared farmland that is
gradually regenerating. Guided by occa-
sional blue or yellow markings where stock
trails confuse the route, head along the right
(eastern) side of these scrubby meadows to
encounter a rusted old locomotive (once
used to power a local sawmill) near the
southeastern corner of Lago Paimn, one to
1 hours from the second stream crossing.
The track climbs rightward, passing
below a square of living poplars (the former
site of a farmhouse) before it begins an
undulating traverse along Lago Paimns
southeastern side, where pink mutisias and
orange amancays grow.
Do not descend at a small sloping shelf
dotted with calafate and rose bushes (from
where there are the first clear views across
the lake to Cerro Caquituco and ahead
to the stunning glacier-capped southwest
face of Volcn Lann), but contour directly
along the slope, eventually reaching an-
other pampa (about an hour from the old
locomotive) that features a lone araucaria.
Continue straight another 10 minutes until
you see a sign marked camping pointing
left toward the lake.
You can then either short-cut down left
across cattle pastures (in places infested by
pega-pega, whose annoying prickly seeds
attach to clothing) to reach Camping Aila
on the lake shore, 1 to 1 hours from the
old locomotive, or continue a short way on
to Arroyo Rimeco and follow the streams
left (west) bank down, which takes five to
10 minutes longer.
The idyllic campsite (AR$5) sits under
araucarias beside a tiny beach, from
where you can admire Volcn Lanns red
alpenglow.
Day 2: Camping Aila to La Unin
Follow a trail up the stream past a short
turn-off that crosses to the house of Don
Aila, whose family established this small
farm in the 1940s, before beginning a
steeper southeastward ascent. The gradient
eases as you head through a series of pretty
tussock-grass meadows among low irres to
cross the now tiny Arroyo Rimeco. Climb
gently across probably without notic-
ing it the broad, flat, forested saddle of
Portezuelo Rimeco (around 1135m), one
to 1 hours from the lake shore. Virtually
the only views around here are of black
THE QUILA CYCLE
Numerous species of native bamboo of the Chusquea genus grow in the moist, temperate Valdiv-
ian rainforests of Patagonia. Even for botanists, these species are difficult to differentiate, although
most are commonly known by the Mapuche name of quila. An extremely vigorous and aggressive
plant, quila often smothers smaller trees as it spreads out to monopolize sunnier sites in the forest.
Like bamboo world-over, quila flowers only at the end of its reproductive cycle. In a given
area, up to 90% of the quila may be on the same cycle approximately 25 years for most
species which results in big simultaneous blooms. These events are a party for mice and rats,
which thrive from gorging on this nutritious fruit, causing rodent population booms. Once their
food source is exhausted, the rodents leave the forest for surrounding farms and villages. Later,
dry canes present a fire hazard that lasts for many years.
Quila can barely survive in a mature, closed rainforest because too little sunlight reaches the
ground, yet its regrowth is particularly vigorous after fires, which destroy the shade of the forest
canopy and release nutrients. This has led some botanists to theorise that quila may actually
have evolved its die-back cycle as a way of `provoking fires, in order to create new openings in
the forest.
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Magellanic woodpeckers tapping about the
highland lenga forest (where the quila un-
derstorey has also largely died back).
The path dips gradually through mature
stands of araucarias, where wild pigs plough
up the ground as they forage for piones,
then traverses the valleys right (southern)
slope well above the rushing Arroyo Ecufu,
opposite Cerro Huemules. Descend more
steeply through coige forest into little
meadows (frequented by mountain cara-
caras spying small prey) under the rugged
ridges of Cerro Cantala. Views emerge of
the southern face of Volcn Lann. Finally,
the route switchbacks down to arrive at a
farmhouse on the west side of La Unin,
1 to 1 hours from Portezuelo Rimeco.
From here, a worthwhile 18km, four- to
five-hour side trip leads south around the
shore of Lago Huechulafqun to Crter del
Epulafquen, a tiny extinct volcano.
Near the farmhouse on Lago Paimns
western shore is the rustic but popular
Camping Ecufu (camping per person
AR$10), without facilities. The owners run
the Balsa La Union ferry, and will row you
across the 50m-wide narrow for AR$8 per
person, including pack.
On the eastern shore of La Unin, you
can summon the ferry by ringing the
makeshift gong beside the picnic area,
about 200m south of a rather incongruous
Austrian-style chapel and Gendarmera
Nacional post. Near here, a road turn-off
goes 3km north past Restaurante Mawiz-
ache, serving quality meals, and Camping
El Rincn (camping per person AR$16),
which has no facilities, to Camping Piedra
Mala (camping per person AR$16) on a
black-sand beach.
At nearby Puerto Canoa is an APN
guardera and the Hostera Refugio Pes-
cador (
%
02972-491132; r with full board
AR$315 per person).
PARQUE
NACIONAL
PUYEHUE
Volcn Puyehue (2236m) blew its top the
day after southern Chiles major earth-
quake in 1960, turning a large chunk
of dense, humid evergreen forest into a
stark landscape of sand dunes and lava
rivers. Situated to the east of the Chil-
ean provincial city of Osorno, Parque
Nacional Puyehue (pooh-yay-way) con-
sists of 1070 sq km of forested wilderness
stretching from the eastern shores of Lago
Puyehue and Lago Rupanco as far as the
ChileArgentina frontier. Its Mapuche
name translates as place of the puye,
after a small native fish abundant in the
freshwater lakes and rivers of the Lakes
District.
Volcn Puyehue and a fascinating broad
volcanic plateau stretching out to its north-
west are the parks central features. The
volcano has remained dormant since the
1960 eruption, and vulcanologists suspect
that the center of geothermal activity may
be shifting north to nearby Volcn Car-
rn, a much younger and lower volcano
that has erupted a number of times in re-
cent decades. The combination of intense
volcanic activity and high precipitation
levels gives rise to numerous hot springs,
including Chiles premier spa resort, Aguas
Calientes/Termas de Puyehue at the parks
western extremity. There are also numerous
other small, undeveloped thermal springs
in the area.
ENVIRONMENT
Luxuriant temperate rainforest the most
species-rich ecosystem found anywhere
in the Lakes District blankets the slopes
surrounding Volcn Puyehue and Volcn
Casablanca. The chief botanical features of
these so-called Valdivian forests are several
southern beech species, the three maos as
well as ulmo and fragrant tepa. Tineo, which
has attractive fernlike branchlets with ser-
rated opposing leaves, is also common, and
there are even examples of the coniferous
alerce and Guaitecas cypress. The often
very thick forest understorey nurtures spe-
cies such as the chilco the progenitor of
countless fuchsia cultivars grown in gar-
dens throughout the world whose nectar
attracts the green-backed firecrown, a tiny
hummingbird.
Half a dozen or so species of the genus
Baccharis grow as small upright bushes that
produce fluffy, pale-yellowish flowers, in-
cluding the pail. Bushes of murta, whose
five-petalled, bell-shaped, pinkish-white
88 LAKES DISTRI CT Parque Naci onal Puyehe
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flowers develop into yummy edible red ber-
ries in March, are found at the edge of forest
clearings.
The flowering trees and shrubs support
an abundance of insects. Two native beetles
are the beautiful, multicolored coleptero
and the carnivorous peorro, a large carabid
whose black, shell-like abdomen has a lu-
minescent, reddish-green sheen. The peorro
crawls about tree trunks sniffing out ants
and other tiny prey. Also remarkable is the
neuroptera, a well-camouflaged predatory
insect with pale-green wings that resem-
ble the leaves of quila. One extraordinary
butterfly is Eroessa chilensis, a living fossil
whose evolutionary development has re-
mained almost static for millions of years; it
is found in close association with the thorny
tayu, or palo blanco, an ancient tree species
that has also changed little over time.
Often seen in the park is the house wren,
known locally as the chercn, which has
a yellow underbody and coffee-colored,
black-striped wings and tail. Also quite
common is the austral thrush, which mi-
grates up from the Pacific coast to spend
the summer foraging for insects, seeds and
berries in the rainforests of Puyehue. It has
a brownish head and wings, a white breast
and its beak and legs are yellow. The black-
winged ground dove, or trtol cordillerana,
lives in the forests of the montane zone
above 600m.
The less conspicuous mammalian wild-
life includes the vizcacha, monito del monte
(mouse oopossum), pudu, puma and the
small, grey Azaras fox.
CLIMATE
The parks proximity to the high moun-
tains along the continental divide produces
a very wet climate, even by the standards of
the southern Lakes District. Precipitation
levels start at around 4000mm annually in
Anticura and Aguas Calientes on Puyehues
western edge, rising progressively towards
the east. At elevations above 1000m, win-
ter snows begin to accumulate after May,
when skiing is possible at the alpine re-
sort of Antillanca on Volcn Casablanca.
By early summer (December) snow cover
is mostly confined to areas above 2000m,
although large wind-blown drifts remain
in many places. The temperature averages
14C in summer and 5C in winter.
ACCESS TOWN
See Osorno (p126).
This trek takes you into a stark, but spec-
tacular landscape of dunelike ridges of
pumice and enormous black lava flows to
the northwest of Volcn Puyehue, where
steaming fumaroles (volcanic steam vents)
break through the ground in places, de-
positing sulfurous crystals over the bare
earth. Geysers gush out among pools of
perpetually boiling water and bubbling
mud pits, and thermal springs provide
naturally heated bathing high above the
tree line.
PLANNING
Although described below as an out-and-
back route, this trek can be done as a
circuit via the Ruta de los Americanos or
as a one-way traverse by continuing north
to Riinahue (see Alternative Finish: Rii-
nahue, p93).
When to Trek
The trek can be done from December to
mid-April, although this can vary some-
what depending on seasonal (snow)
conditions and the impact of this on access
into the area.
Maps
Two Chilean IGM 1:50,000 maps cover
this trek: Volcn Puyehue (Section H, No
27) and Riinahue (Section H, No 17), but
do not show the route of the trek. Fundo
El Caulle has produced a quality 1:40,000
not 1:50,000 as it claims map based on
the IGM maps (although it does not show
grid coordinates), which is available at the
El Caulle entrance.
Duration 4 days
Distance 50km
Difficulty moderate
Start/Finish Anticura
Nearest Town Osorno
Transport bus
Summary A marvellous trek to a thermal
field with fumaroles, geysers and undevel-
oped hot springs on a high, barren volcanic
plateau.
BAOS DE CAULLE
Baos de Caulle LAKES DISTRI CT 89
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Permits are not required, but all trekking
parties should register at Conafs Guardera
Anticura before setting out.
See also Fundo El Caulle (below).
Anticura (start/finish)
The trek starts and finishes in Anticura.
In summer, Expreso Lago Puyehue, at the
companys terminal at the eastern end of
Mercado Municipal in Osorno, runs two
daily buses to/from Anticura (CH$4500, 1
hours). These leave Osorno at 10.30am and
3pm, and return at 12.10pm and 4.30pm.
International buses running from Osor-
nos main bus terminal, via Paso Puyehue
to Bariloche, will normally carry passengers
travelling only as far as Anticura (or back)
if there are spare seats.
THE TREK
Day 1: Anticura to Refugio El
Caulle
34 hours, 10.5km, 1070m ascent
After signing in at the guardera, walk for 25
to 30 minutes northwest along the highway
and across the Ro Golgol bridge to reach
the entrance gate to Fundo El Caulle (See
boxed text, below), where trekkers must
sign in and pay an entry fee. Here, you can
also buy maps and basic supplies (including
homemade bread and cheese).
Head along the dirt road directly past
a (left) trail turn-off (signposted Mira-
dores) near the new hostera, before
turning around to the right through the
pastures past the El Caulle administra-
tion building. The road passes a (right)
trail turn-off (signposted Saltos del Ro
Golgol) to reach a trail junction imme-
diately before Campamento Los Ciervos,
15 to 20 minutes from the entrance gate.
There are idyllic campsites with tables and
fireplaces here on grassy meadows by a
small stream.
Turn left and climb gently along a
rougher bulldozed track through the forest
to reach a large flat clearing scattered with
blackberry bushes and fringed by ulmos,
20 to 25 minutes on. Follow white-tipped
wooden posts past Campamento de Per-
dida to briefly glimpse a gushing waterfall
in the rainforest up to the left before you
cut right into the trees.
A foot track leads up steadily northeast to
cross a trickling streamlet under high cliffs,
continuing up across a second streamlet
(the last water until the end of Day 1) after
one to 1 hours. Contour briefly around
eroded gullies before beginning a steep,
strenuous and sustained ascent over slopes
of unstable volcanic earth. Make a final
climb through pleasant, open lenga forest
to emerge onto grassy alpine meadows, and
sidle 300m ahead to arrive at Refugio El
Caulle (also called Refugio Volcn Puye-
hue), 1 to 1 hours after crossing the
second streamlet.
The refugio (GPS 40 36.904 S, 72 08.525
W) stands at the tree line, just under 1400m,
in a very scenic spot at the base of Volcn
Puyehue. This new but very basic hut sleeps
WARNING
The trek crosses an exposed and unveg-
etated plateau well above the tree line
where it is surprisingly easy to become
disoriented during bad weather or misty
conditions. The loose pumice is shifted
constantly by wind, rain and snow, mak-
ing the trodden path harder to follow.
Wooden stakes marking the route are
often pushed over by the elements
please firmly re-erect any fallen marker
stakes you encounter.
FUNDO EL CAULLE
The start and finish of the Baos de Caulle
trek leads through Fundo El Caulle (www
.elcaulle.com). A peculiarity of land owner-
ship in Chile, the area of this 270-sq-km
private property overlaps extensively with
national park territory. El Caulle now oper-
ates mainly as an ecotourism business and
runs regular guided (especially horse-rid-
ing) trips in the Puyehue area.
At the El Caulle entrance gate on Ruta
215, 2km west of Anticura, trekkers pay a
fee of CH$10.000 with CH$3.000 refunded
once they have packed out their trash. As
El Caulle built and/or maintains most of
the infrastructure (including tracks, picnic
tables, signposts and a free refugio), this
payment is not unreasonable. The complex
includes a high-end restaurant.
90 LAKES DISTRI CT Baos de Caulle
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To Volcn
Osorno (92km)
To Termas de Puyehue (8km);
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Antillanca (30km);
Samor (18km)
To Paso
To Riinahue (31km)
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Customs Post)
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Pajaritos
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Administracin
Hostera
La Ruma
Campamento
Los Ciervos
Campamento
Golgol
Campamento
Pottoff
Campamento
Cueva del Pirata
Campamento
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Campamento
Anticura
Guardera
Anticura
& Camping
Cabaas
C A U L L E
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El Caulle
Campamento
Signpost
Signpost
El Caulle
Refugio
El Caulle
Campamento
Signpost
Campamento
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Baos 1
Campamento
Baos
Campamento
Campamento
Piuquenes
Las Lengas
Campamento
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P A R Q U E N A C I O N A L
P A R Q U E N A C I O N A L P U Y E H U E
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DAY 2
START
START
DAY 3
2&4
DAYS
START
TO FINISH (Alt)
Treks 1 & 2
START/FINISH:
Side Trip
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Alternative
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215
road
Old disused
p89
p94 2 Pampa Frutilla
1 Baos de Caulle
TREKS
Baos de Caulle & Pampa Frutilla
1:190,000
0 4 km
0 2 miles
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up to 16 people and has a wood stove (the
nearby wood shed is regularly stocked by
Fundo El Caulle).
The campsites (with picnic tables and
benches) receive heavy usage throughout
the summer, so please use the pit toilet
provided and light campfires only in ex-
isting fireplaces. The tiny stream in the
nearby gully tends to flow underground,
but higher up it often stays running. Due
to the possibility of fecal contamination,
avoid collecting water from anywhere
below the hut and campsites unless you
can properly treat it.
Day 2: Refugio El Caulle to
Baos de Caulle
34 hours, 14.5km, 350m ascent
Head to the right of a stream gully over
grassy meadows dotted with daisy bushes,
following staked cairns moderately north-
east to reach the track turn-off up to
the Mirador Volcn Puyehue (see side
trip, this page) at roughly 1600m on the
volcanos bare upper slopes, 35 to 45
minutes from the refugio. From here, you
can enjoy an excellent panorama of the
major volcanic peaks to the south: Osorno
(the magnificent cone to the southwest),
Puntiagudo, Casablanca and Tronador
(the high, irregular, ice-covered mountain
to the southeast). Lago Puyehue is below
to the west.
Continue left (northwest) along the
Sendero Los Baos, which makes a long,
undulating ascent around the steep, rocky
mountainsides, across ravines (many filled
with snow until late summer) and small
ridges. Well-marked by cairned bamboo
stakes, the track turns gradually northeast,
giving views of the amazing Ro de Lava,
an enormous black lava flow that looks like
a petrified glacier. Head on below puffing
fumaroles on Volcn Puyehues northwest
side, through the broad, snow-smothered
saddle of Portezuelo Puyehue (around
1730m), 1 to two hours from the mirador
(lookout) turn-off.
The route dips northeast into the barren,
rolling plateau on the volcanos northern
side to reach a sturdy steel signpost (GPS
40 33.545 S, 72 07.439 W) at 1635m mark-
ing the fork where Ruta de los Americanos
departs right (see Alternative Route, p93),
15 to 20 minutes on.
Continue left along the Sendero Los
Baos, which leads gently down slightly
northwest (towards Volcnes Mocho and
Choshuenco in the distance), over dunelike
slopes of grey pumice, skirting the right
(east) side of a deep, green stream gully to
reach another signpost (GPS 40 32.526 S,
72 07.556 W) at around 1525m after 25 to
30 minutes. From here, a multiday route
departs right (north) to Riinahue (see Al-
ternative Finish, p93).
The Sendero Los Baos now turns west-
ward, winding around past some extinct
fumaroles. It then cuts down left to cross
the stream gully at its confluence with
another similar stream a short way below
Campamento Baos Antiguos (1430m;
GPS 40 32.374 S, 72 08.117 W) after 15
to 20 minutes. There are secluded, semi-
sheltered campsites just upstream around
these former hot springs (which dried up
many years ago).
Head northwest over the desolate ter-
rain, crossing a (cold) side stream of the
upper Ro Nilahue to reach Campamento
Baos 1 (GPS 40 32.113 S, 72 08.964 W),
beside the river at the start of the small
Baos de Caulle thermal field after 20 to
25 minutes. This tiny, flat area has a few
poorly sheltered campsites by the track. A
dug-out bath hidden among the ferns and
nalcas here is often uncomfortably tepid
but bathers regulate the hotter springs
emerging directly from the rocky river bed
by building shallow pools. (Avoid a larger
and very warm hot spring slightly down-
stream, however, as it mixes erratically with
the river water.)
The path continues a few minutes up-
stream along the rivers true right (west)
bank to the Campamento Baos 2, by a
warm stream coming from the left. There
is better camping here, although these sites
are often occupied by guided horse-riding
tours from El Caulle. This side stream can
be followed for five or 10 minutes up to
where various other bathable hot springs
arise.
The track continues northward to Los
Geisers (see side trip, p93).
SIDE TRIP: MIRADOR VOLCN PUYEHUE
23 hours return, 3.5km, 630m ascent/descent
This side trip continues from the junction
above the refugio signposted simply Crater
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and cuts up northeast to the left of a spur.
The most popular route climbs (virtually
straight up) across snowdrifts in a minor
basin, then curves around to the left to gain
a ridge leading to the highest point (2236m)
on the volcanos rim overlooking the ice-
filled crater. Snow-corniced cliffs drop away
into the crater, so be careful where you
tread. From the rim there is a superb view
of the surrounding countryside, with the
double summit of Volcn Choshuenco now
also visible towards the northeast, as well as
Lago Rupanco to the southwest.
SIDE TRIP: LOS GEISERS
34 hours return, 11km, 120m ascent/descent
This easy trek to a small field of bubbling
mud tubs, effervescent pools and geysers
is a must.
From the Baos de Caulle, trek a short
way upstream along the true right (west)
bank of the Ro Nilahue, briefly follow-
ing then crossing a side stream. The route
heads northwest through a pumice gully,
before cutting across a sparse plain to make
a (sometimes knee-high) wade through a
larger spring-fed side stream, 25 to 30 min-
utes from Campamento Baos 2.
The main path evidently routed more
for the convenience of horse-riders crosses
and recrosses the now very small Ro Nila-
hue several times as it leads on upstream past
fumaroles on the slopes over to the right.
A less-prominent track saves trekkers either
time or wet feet by continuing along the true
right (ie west) bank until crossing at the shal-
low, uppermost ford (GPS 40 30.741 S, 72
09.943 W), after 20 to 25 minutes.
Ascend away right (northwest), where
the river emerges in several clustered cold
springs to the top of a minor ridge over-
looking an undrained depression normally
filled by a shallow, murky lake. Follow the
ridge rightward (north) then cut down to
the far end of the boggy basin. There, make
a quick, steep climb to the right high above
the lake, continuing northeast to a point
(GPS 40 29.770 S, 72 09.556 W) directly
above the steaming, sulfurous thermal field
of Los Geisers, 45 minutes to one hour
from the final upper Ro Nilahue crossing.
For your own safety, and to preserve the
delicate formations, be careful where you
tread while exploring the area. Return via
the same route.
Days 3 & 4: Baos de Caulle to
Anticura
58 hours, 25km
Retrace your steps as on Day 2 and Day 1.
Fitter and faster parties can opt to do both
sections in one long day.
A worthwhile short trek from Anticura
goes to Salto del Indio, a churning, 6m-high
waterfall on the Ro Golgol (where legend
has it that a Mapuche fleeing slavery in a
gold mine eluded the colonial Spaniards
by hiding behind the cascading curtain of
water).
ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: VIA RUTA DE LOS
AMERICANOS
3 days, 49km
Although it is 24km longer, the Ruta de
los Americanos is an excellent alternative
to backtracking via Refugio El Caulle. (It is
also more interesting and challenging than
the other alternative route to Riinahue.)
The route receives only light use and is not
always well marked, so careful navigation
and route-finding are needed. Fundo El
Caulle is establishing well-spaced campsites
along the way.
Retrace your steps (as per the de-
scription Day 2) to the signposted trail
junction just northeast of Portezuelo
Puyehue, then head northeast via a nar-
row, snowy gap and a broad ridge to Paso
Piuquenes (around 1425m). The route
then drops southward along the western
side of the Ro Piuquenes, climbing high
above the Saltos del Piuquenes (several
waterfalls spilling over escarpments), be-
fore turning southwest to cross a series
of stream gullies on the tundra-covered
eastern slopes of Volcn Puyehue.
Watch for where a foot track enters the
largely dead upper scrub (GPS 40 35.537
S, 72 03.711 W) and descend through
the forest to meet a disused road on the
northern side of the Ro Golgol. The old
road continues west through superb tall
rainforest that gradually gives way to cow
pastures before you reach Campamento
Los Ciervos (see Day 1).
ALTERNATIVE FINISH: RIINAHUE
3 days, 36km
This easier alternative is more straightfor-
ward, although generally less scenic, than
the Ruta de los Americanos. From Baos
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de Caulle retrace your steps (as on Day
2) to the signposted trail junction east of
Campamento Baos Antiguos, then head
northward between two branches of the Ro
Nilahue. The route drops steeply right to
cross the eastern branch before climbing to
join a disused road. Continue along a broad
ridge separating the Ro Nilahue from the
Ro Contrafuerte, before fording and reford-
ing the latter river several times due to recent
landslides. The often muddy trail continues
through the wet rainforest to meet a rough
road shortly before reaching a farmhouse
(the owner here charges a transit fee of
CH$2000 watch out for aggressive dogs).
The road steadily improves as it crosses
the Ro Nilahue (not far above its conflu-
ence with the Ro Contrafuerte) and the
Ro Los Venados, passing dairy farms and
patches of forest. Campsites can be found
in attractive meadows scattered with wild
blackberry bushes. Proceed past the pic-
turesque Laguna Pocura, from where there
are daily buses to Riinahue. Otherwise,
continue through the scattered settlement
of Quirrasco to intersect with the Futrono
Lago Ranco road, then turn left and head
a short way on to Riinahue. This village
has two hosteras and several daily buses
to the town of Lago Ranco. At Riinahue,
free camping is possible on the southeast-
ern shore of Lago Ranco ask permission
before camping on private property.
Pampa Frutilla, whose lowest point lies at
just over 1200m, is an attractive subalpine
plateau at the northeastern foot of Volcn
Casablanca. Its Spanish name (meaning
strawberry field) refers to the native Chil-
ean strawberry, or quelln, found among
the tussocky grasses of Pampa Frutilla.
These scrumptuous little red berries begin
to ripen in late January.
The trek follows an old road originally
built by the Chilean military in the late 1970s
during the period of confrontation with Ar-
gentina. Now quite impassable to motorized
vehicles, the road forms a section of the
Sendero de Chile, or the Chilean Trail (see
boxed text, p35) a planned trail extension
will eventually take it from Pampa Frutilla
up to Volcn Casablanca.
PLANNING
When to Trek
The trek can normally be done between late
November and late April. In January, tba-
nos (native horseflies) are likely to be out in
force at lower elevations, but you will leave
most of them behind as you climb through
the damp, dim forest.
Maps
Two Chilean IGM 1:50,000 maps, Volcn
Puyehue (Section H, No 27) and Volcn
Casablanca (Section H, No 36) cover the
trek.
Trekkers are required only to sign in be-
fore they depart and sign out after they
return. Although Pampa Frutilla receives a
moderate number of visitors, practice leave-
no-trace principles to keep it pristine.
See Anticura (p124).
THE TREK
Day 1: Anticura to Lagunas de
los Monos
7-8 hours, 22km, 875m ascent
After signing in at the Guardera Anticura,
enter the complex on foot, passing the sign
for Salto Pudu on your right and bearing
slight left to join the trail signposted Sen-
dero de Chile. The 2.5km section goes east,
parallel to Ruta 215 for 40 to 50 minutes to
a hanging footbridge. Cross the bridge and
head left 50m to join the main trail. The
left branch goes to a parking area on Ruta
215 (GPS 40 39.679 S, 72 08.634 W) near
waterfall Salto de los Novios; go right for
Pampa Frutilla.
Continue along the old road (not passa-
ble for vehicles) fringed by stinging nettles,
Duration 2 days
Distance 44km
Difficulty easymoderate
Start/Finish Anticura
Nearest Town Osorno
Transport bus
Summary A straightforward out-and-back
trek up to one of the Chilean Lakes Districts
most extensive coirones, or natural highland
pastures.
PAMPA FRUTILLA
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elephant-ear nalcas and red-flowered es-
callonia bushes. The track leads southeast,
rising only very gently up through moist
forest of tiaca and fragrant tepa. After one
to 1 hours you reach an open grassy field
offering views of the snowy tops of Vol-
cn Casablanca to the south as well as to
Volcn Puyehue back north a welcome
respite from the temperate jungle. Ideal
campsites can be found here.
Cross the Estero Ultimo as you re-enter
the forest this stream is the last water
source for some time and begin a steady
but moderate climb through well-spaced
stands of common coige with a dense un-
derstorey of fuchsias and quila. In places,
the scarlet flowers of creeping estrellitas
light up the dark, mossy trunks, but there
are no views until the track leads up under
a jagged ridge over to your left. The track
rises into stands of coige de Magallanes
that gradually give way to highland lenga,
passing an unmarked turn-off (shortly after
the route makes a rightward curve) that
goes off southwest down to refugio ruins
by the aptly named Laguna Seca, two to
2 hours from Estero Ultimo.
The old road cuts up around to the left,
skirting the side of the ridge as it ascends
through irre scrub into grassy rolling
tundra dotted with chaura. There are great
vistas southeast along the wild, densely
forested basin of the Ro Negro as far as
the mighty Monte Tronador massif. Make
your way around eastward across a broad
pass (1350m), before short-cutting down
left to rejoin the old road. There are new
views across the alpine meadows of Pampa
Frutilla immediately below to Cerro Fru-
tilla and further southeast to the remarkable
horn of Cerro Pantojo.
Continue left across a normally dry,
eroding stream bed to reach scenic, semi-
sheltered campsites at the forest fringe
by the upper lake of the Lagunas de los
Monos, two to 2 hours from the Laguna
Seca turnoff. The larger, lower (northeast)
lake can be reached in five minutes by cut-
ting over in a northeasterly direction; its
southeastern shore is suitable for camping.
Pairs of Andean gulls frequent these lakes.
SIDE TRIP: LAGUNAS DEL PAJARITOS
23 hours return, 10km, 120m ascent
From the upper of the Lagunas de los
Monos, cut 1km southeast across the open
meadows, then turn around left and follow
a narrow extended clearing within the lenga
forest (GPS 40 44.774 S, 72 02.027 W)
until it ends. Here, pick up the sometimes
slightly overgrown track leading northeast
over a crest to reach a small stream (which
drains into the lower of the Lagunas de los
Monos), crossing and recrossing the stream
as it heads up into an eroding, gravelly can-
yon. At a small, isolated stand of lengas, cut
up steeply rightward then traverse well above
the stream, past where it divides into several
branches to a ridgetop. From the ridgetop
the nearby Cerro Frutilla (1585m) can be
climbed in around two hours return.
The route skirts around to the left into a
minor pass (around 1335m) covered with
brecillo, 45 minutes to one hour from Lagu-
nas de los Monos. Head around left onto a
scoria embankment, then cut down south-
east through the forest to reach the Lagunas
del Pajaritos after 25 to 30 minutes. These
beautiful aqua-blue lakes offer excellent
camping on grassy meadows (which extend
well to the southeast of the lakes). Return via
the same route.
Day 2: Lagunas de los Monos to
Anticura
Retrace your steps as on Day 1.
ALTERNATIVE FINISH: ANTILLANCA VIA
VOLCN CASABLANCA
This difficult traverse across Volcn
Casablanca is suited only to trekkers with
excellent navigational and route-finding
abilities. Before January, an ice axe (and
perhaps also crampons) is advisable.
Return to the small pass above Pampa
Frutilla (see Day 1), then cut down south-
west through the light forest and across
the uppermost streamlets of the Ro Negro
basin. The route climbs westward via open
volcanic ridges to the summit of Volcn
Casablanca, whose views do not disap-
point. The descent normally leads via
Crater Rayhun (a small side crater) then
along a dirt road to reach the tiny ski vil-
lage of Antillanca (www.skiantillanca.cl, in
Spanish) on the volcanos western slopes,
18km by road from the hot-springs resort
of Aguas Calientes. In summer, you can
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stay at Antillancas Refugio Buschmann
(contact in Osorno;
%
65-235114; s/d from
CH$17,000/24,000).
Alternatively, trekkers can follow an
11km trail from Crater Rayhun northwest
via Conafs rustic Refugio Bertin to Aguas
Calientes.
PARQUE NACIO-
NAL VICENTE
PREZ ROSALES
Featuring a great emerald lake ringed
by steep Valdivian rainforest and volca-
noes, Chiles oldest national park protects
251,000 hectares. The vegetation is lush
and the scenery stunning. The largest park
in the Chilean Lakes District, it reaches
the Argentine border, connecting with
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. These two
parks, together with the adjoining Parque
Nacional Puyehue, form the largest tract
of trans-Andean wilderness in the Lakes
District. The parks name pays homage to
the Chilean businessman and mining mag-
nate Vicente Prez Rosales, who was also
an accomplished writer and the founder of
Puerto Montt.
Lago Todos Los Santos, at only 184m
above sea level, is the parks lowest point.
This 221-sq-km lake is ringed by some of
the highest and most prominent volcanic
peaks of the southern Lakes District: the
snowtipped volcanoes Osorno (2652m),
Puntiagudo (2190m) and Monte Tronador
(3554m). Apart from Lago Pirehueico, some
distance to the north, Lago Todos Los Santos
is the only major low-level lake on the Chil-
ean side that stretches deep into the Andes.
The lake lies deep within a glacial trough,
not at the termination of a former glaciers
path (like nearby Lago Llanquihue). Im-
mediately following the last ice age, Lago
Todos Los Santos was joined with Lago
Llanquihue in an enormous body of water,
but subsequent eruptions of Volcn Osorno
and Volcn Calbuco divided them into sep-
arate lakes. Apart from the access road to
Petrohu at its outlet and the isolated road
between Peulla and Puerto Fras at its east-
ern tip, no roads penetrate its wild, densely
forested shoreline.
Todos los Santos, which means All
Saints Lake, was christened by early-17th-
century Jesuit missionaries, who took this
route from Chil to Argentina, seeking an
Andean passage to form missions with hos-
tile Mapuche tribes around Lago Nahuel
Huapi.
ENVIRONMENT
The heavy rainfall and mild weather of
Vicente Prez Rosales support dense, lush
Valdivian rainforest whose predominant
trees are coige, tepa, mao, ulmo, canelo,
olivillo (or teque), lingue and avellano. Less
common tree species include the lleuque, a
podocarp that grows on moist slopes above
600m. The lleuques small yellow fruit have
the appearance of tiny lemons. The maqui
is a very small tree typically found in stands
(so-called machales) at the edge of the for-
est. It has oval leaves on a reddish stem
and produces seedy edible purple berries,
from which the Mapuche made an alcoholic
drink called tecu.
The rainforest understorey harbors great
botanical diversity. The park is an important
refuge for the ciprs enano, an extremely
rare dwarf member of the podocarp family
that is almost identical to the pygmy pine
of New Zealand. This tiny, prostrate conifer
grows in montane swamps, often largely
hidden by other nearby plants. More com-
mon is the quilquil, a species of tree fern
typically found growing in stream gullies.
Its palm-like appearance earned it the com-
mon name of palmilla. In small clearings
youll find several species of ipa, recognis-
able by their red or pinkish tubular flowers
that end in five out-turned petals. Found
along streams or wetlands, the distinctive
chaquihue (also called polizonte) produces
bright-red, rounded, podlike flowers on its
large, leafy twigs.
The parks lush vegetation makes it a ver-
itable paradise for birds, of which parrots
and nectar-eating hummingbirds are espe-
cially plentiful. The choroy, a large green
parakeet most easily identified by its long
curved beak, dwells in these forests. The
run run is a species of tyrant flycatcher that
typically frequents wetlands, lake shores
and riverbanks; apart from its yellow beak
the male is black, while the female has a
coffee-colored upper body and a pale-yel-
low breast with dark longitudinal stripes.
96 LAKES DISTRI CT Parque Nacional Vicente Prez Rosales
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The yeco, also called bigua, a large black
cormorant common throughout the moist
coastal areas of southern South America,
often visits Lago Todos Los Santos, to feed
on its abundant fish and small amphibians.
This large waterbird is an excellent diver
and can often be seen perched on a log or
rock with its wings outstretched.
The tiny brown monito del monte, or
mouse oopossum, inhabits these temperate
rainforests along with its marsupial cousin,
the rincholesta. The rincholesta is a rare
nocturnal insectivore that was only discov-
ered by science although the indigenous
Mapuche people certainly knew about it
in the 1950s. Other mammals common to
the forests of Vicente Prez Rosales include
the pudu, coipo, huia, Patagonian red fox
and puma.
Numerous native fish live in the parks
lakes and rivers. The main species are pejer-
rey, puyen, Patagonian perch and peladilla.
More plentiful are introduced salmon and
trout. The peculiar Darwins frog (sapo
partero as its known in Spanish or mid-
wife frog), first zoologically classified by
Charles Darwin, also inhabits the parks
ponds, lakes and rivers. After fertilization,
the male frog incubates and hatches the
eggs inside his own mouth, from which the
fully developed froglets not tadpoles
emerge after three weeks.
CLIMATE
In this extremely wet coastal climate, annual
rainfall averages 2500mm at Ensenada on
the parks western extreme, and rises steadily
towards the east. Precipitation levels around
Paso de Prez Rosales on the ChileAr-
gentina frontier reach over 5000mm the
highest levels in the Lakes District. Mod-
erated by the lakes low elevation and
proximity to the Pacific coast, average an-
nual temperatures around the shore of Lago
Todos Los Santos are a relatively high 12C.
The hottest summer days rarely exceed 30C.
Conditions are less mild at higher altitudes
in the surrounding ranges, where winters
regularly bring heavy snowfalls.
PLANNING
When to Trek
Unless youre planning to go above the tree
line, treks in Parque Nacional Vicente Prez
Rosales can generally be done between early
November and early May. The hot weather
between mid-December and late January
usually brings out the tbanos, which can
be a particular nuisance in locations below
the tree line.
There are few restrictions on trekking in
Parque Nacional Vicente Prez Rosales. No
permit is required but, where possible, in-
form the park authorities of your intended
route and the names of all members in the
party. There are a number of small enclaves
of freehold land within the park, and al-
though the trekking routes are public rights
of way, trekkers should respect private prop-
erty. Some recognized campsites are also
on private land and an increasing number
of property owners levy a small charge for
camping. Wild camping is permitted, but
use discretion when choosing your site.
ACCESS TOWN
See Petrohu (p127).
Relatively remote, Termas de Callao lies
hidden behind Volcn Puntiagudo in the
Valle Sin Nombre. These luxuriant natu-
ral hot springs sit just beside the small Ro
Sin Nombre, which flows into Lago Todos
Los Santos. The forest banking the river is
dotted with small farms. The trek reaches
its highest point at a forested pass around
800m, then descends to finish along the
shore of tranquil Lago Rupanco.
The trek generally follows horse trails kept
in condition by the local inhabitants, and all
larger streams are bridged. Along the central
section of the route between the Termas de
Callao and Laguna Los Quetros, however,
Duration 3 days
Distance 40km
Difficulty easy
Start El Rincn
Finish El Poncho
Nearest Towns Petrohu, Osorno
Transport boat, bus
Summary Trek through dense temperate
rainforest and farmland with volcano views
and soak in a wooden hot tub on this
traverse between two major lakes.
TERMAS DE CALLAO
Termas de Callao LAKES DISTRI CT 97
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Osorno & Petrohu (90km)
To El Poncho (6km);
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Hospedaje
Buildings
Cottage
Vieja Cabaa
Camping
Bridge
Farmhouse
de Callao
Refugio Termas
Cottage
el Callao
P U Y E H U E
V I C E N T E P R E Z R O S A L E S
1658m
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L a g o R u p a n c o
Los Santos
Los Quetros
Laguna
Lago Todos
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DAY 3
DAY 2
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Bridge
Bridge
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Termas de Callao
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0 2 km
0 1 mile
98 LAKES DISTRI CT Termas de Callao
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fallen trees obscure the way in places, so care-
ful route-finding is occasionally required.
Throughout this trek, where the earth is
composed of friable pumice, the path rapidly
erodes to form deep trenches, revealing the
history of previous local volcanic eruptions
in the layers of the soil. In places where the
trenches have become too deep the path has
been rerouted or reinforced with logs.
Trekkers are strongly advised to walk in a
south-to-north direction, as there is no reli-
able way of getting out from El Rincn (on
the remote northern shore of Lago Todos
Los Santos).
PLANNING
When to Trek
Because of their low elevation and relatively
sheltered aspect, the Termas de Callao can
be visited from late spring until late fall (late
October to early May) when other walks may
be out of condition. However, summer (De-
cember to February) is the best time to do the
trek. An additional day could be spent enjoy-
ing the lovely valley around the springs.
What to Bring
There is only one area with lodging along
the route. Although it is possible for fit and
fast parties to do the trek without carrying
a tent, this is not recommended.
Puerto Montt or Puerto Varas are the
logical places to buy supplies before the
trek. Farms along the trek often sell home-
baked bread, honey and other produce.
Maps
The JLM Mapas Ruta de los Jesuitas map
(No 15) includes a 1:50,000 (approxi-
mately) map of the Termas de Callao sector
of Parque Nacional Vicente Prez Rosales.
It and the two Chilean IGM maps on which
it appears to be based Volcn Casablanca
(Section H, No 36) and Peulla (Section H,
No 44) show the walking track but suffer
from omissions and errors regarding the
exact route.
El Rincn (start)
Trekkers must bus to Petrohu, then charter
a boat to the trailhead. The trek begins at El
Rincn (also known as Puerto Callao) in an
inlet on the northern shore of Lago Todos
Los Santos, about halfway across the lake.
BUS
You can get to Petrohu from Puerto Montt
by catching a minibus to Puerto Varas on
Lago Llanquihue these leave throughout
the day from the eastern end of Puerto
Montts main bus terminal (CH$1000, 30
minutes) changing in Puerto Varas for
Petrohu (CH$2000, one hour). In sum-
mer, buses run between Puerto Varas
and Petrohu about every half hour from
8.30am to 6pm.
BOAT
In summer, boats wait for passengers at
the dock in Petrohu. The starting price
for a boat to El Rincn is CH$70,000, so
try to find other trekkers to share the cost.
The trip takes between one and two hours,
depending on the type of boat as well as
the direction and speed of the winds. It
should also be possible to charter a boat
to El Rincn from Peulla, a village on the
lakes remote eastern shore. Remember,
once you reach El Rincn the only way out
is the trek described below.
El Poncho (finish)
The walk finishes at El Poncho, a small
scattering of holiday houses on the south-
ern shore of Lago Rupanco. Buses leave El
Poncho for Osorno (CH$2300, 2hours)
at 6am Monday through Saturday and at
1pm on Sundays.
THE TREK
Day 1: El Rincn to Termas de
Callao
34 hours, 12km
The boat lands on the sandy beach of El
Rincn. Make your way uphill past the
beach, through a clearing (a pleasant camp-
site), and over a minor crest with views
of Lago Todos Los Santos. (You can also
find good camping on the scenic flats where
the Ro Sin Nombre enters Lago Todos Los
Santos, 15 to 20 minutes west around the
lakeside via a good trail.) Continue through
semicleared fields. A good horse track si-
dles down northward through ulmo forest
above the Ro Sin Nombre, which rushes
through a deep gully on your left, to cross
the Ro La Junta side stream after 40 to
50 minutes. If you dont trust the rickety
suspension bridge, wade the shallow water
slightly downstream.
Termas de Callao LAKES DISTRI CT 99
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Follow the sometimes muddy path for
20 to 25 minutes to cross the Ro Sin Nom-
bre itself on another precarious suspension
bridge and continue upstream. The path
dips and rises along the rivers steep-sided
western bank before it climbs away to the
left past a farm (with produce for sale) and
crosses another suspension bridge over a
large side stream, the Ro Hassmann, after
a further one to 1 hours. Here, the trail
goes briefly left, upstream, then climbs
back to the right and proceeds on through
the rainforest. Termas signs direct you
through a bamboo-scattered clearing and
back across the Ro Sin Nombre to reach a
farmhouse 35 to 45 minutes on.
The farmhouse Hospedaje el Callao (in
Puerto Varas
%
065-252998; r per person
with dinner and breakfast CH$16,000,
lunch CH$7000) boasts full views of the
majestic summit of Volcn Puntiagudo to
the west. You can pick up the keys to the
refugio and hot springs, and pay your dues,
at the farmhouse. It may be wise to arrange
to leave the keys at the refugio to save back-
tracking to the farm.
The route now leads along the eastern
bank of the Ro Sin Nombre, crossing once
more before it passes an abandoned, shin-
gled, wooden cottage and arrives after a
final 30 to 40 minutes at Termas de Callao
(camping per tent CH$3500, refugio per
person CH$6000). This excellent hut, built
from native timbers, stands on private land
and has a wood stove, a sink, bamboo fur-
niture and space for six people.
There is very attractive camping just
below the refugio. The thermal baths
(CH$2500) are just down by the river in a
little shed with two tubs inside. The water is
piping hot, moderated with a hose coming
from the cold stream. The valley sits en-
closed by high, densely rainforested granite
peaks on either side, well-worth a day of
exploring.
Day 2: Termas de Callao to Las
Gaviotas
45 hours, 16km
From the refugio make your way up val-
ley through scrubby pastures along the
rivers western bank before rising into the
rainforest. Bear left at the second (prob-
ably dry) major side stream you come to,
carefully following the route through an
area of fallen trunks, then on through tiny
grassy patches.
After 40 to 50 minutes the well-main-
tained path turns away from the Ro
Sin Nombre and begins climbing gently
northwestward beside a cascading stream,
through a forest of gnarled mao and fra-
grant-leafed tepa.
Cross the stream and ascend along a steep
spur through dense thickets of bamboo until
the gradient eases, 50 minutes to 1 hours
on. The path briefly follows the ridgetop
northward through montane coige and
ulmo forest, dropping down steeply to cross a
stream, then climbing again, before it makes
a proper descent northeast into fire-cleared
pastures where the southwestern corner of
Laguna Los Quetros comes into view.
Continue for 40 to 50 minutes around
the lakes reedy western shore to reach
Camping Vieja Cabaa (camping per tent
CH$3500), which has a pit toilet, beside a
small stand of alerce trees. There is a pic-
turesque farm cottage on the opposite side
of Laguna Los Quetros, which lies in a basin
that drains underground through the po-
rous volcanic soil. The lake and campsite
are on private land attached to the cottage,
and the owner rows across the lake to col-
lect fees.
Follow the prominent horse track, in
places massively reinforced with logs, up
around the northwest side of the tranquil
lake into the forest and over a low water-
shed. Make your way down beside a stream
(a small tributary of the Ro Gaviotas) to-
wards the snowy cap of Volcn Casablanca.
The path descends steadily through clear-
ings, giving way to open hillsides, to pass
the first farmhouse at the edge of a broad
green bowl after 1 to 1 hours. Horses,
cattle and flocks of noisy black-necked ibis
graze on these choice Lakes District pas-
tures.
Skirt northwestward through a series of
gates in the middle of the fields into a minor
saddle high above Lago Rupanco. With the
volcano and shimmering lake ahead of you,
drop down past wooden cottages, neat veg-
etable gardens and a rural school to reach
a trail fork on grassy slopes scattered with
blackberry bushes after 30 to 40 minutes.
Five minutes further down, the left-hand
branch meets a wide track along the black-
sand shore of Lago Rupanco, while the
100 LAKES DISTRI CT Termas de Callao
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right-hand path goes down almost to the
village of Las Gaviotas at the lakes south-
eastern corner.
Las Gaviotas has no accommodation or
store, and there is no particular reason to go
right into the village unless you need a pub-
lic telephone, which it does have. There is a
nice campsite (camping per tent CH$3000),
with picnic tables and firewood provided, a
10- to 15-minute walk west, near where a
stream enters the lake; a landowner collects
the fee. Other camping possibilities exist
along the black-sand beach a short way
from where you meet Lago Rupanco.
Day 3: Las Gaviotas to El Poncho
22 hours, 12km
Follow the dark, sandy shore west through
the front yards of lake-side holiday houses.
The wide, graded track rises and dips around
the often very steep banks of Lago Rupanco,
past rustic shacks and through patches of
forest fringed by blackberry bushes. Cross a
large, dry gully and head up to the left, past
the remains of a suspension footbridge, just
before you come out above a lovely lake-
side pasture after one to 1 hours.
The trail climbs away left over scrubby
slopes high above the lake, bringing into
view the bare volcanic ridges surrounding
Volcn Puntiagudo to the south. Drop down
behind more holiday houses around a broad
tranquil bay, its western side now scarred
by an unsightly road extension, to cross a
major stream on a sturdy log bridge, 30 to 40
minutes on. On the far side of this bridge the
dirt road begins. Follow this around the bay,
past a kiosco (store) and across the Puente
Ro Blanco, then past the exclusive Baha
Escocia Fly Fishing Lodge, to reach the tiny
settlement of El Poncho after a final 40 to 50
minutes. El Poncho itself has a small store
and a bus stop but little else.
PARQUE
NACIONAL
NAHUEL HUAPI
With craggy ranges, deep forested valleys
and big lakes, the great Parque Nacional
Nahuel Huapi (nah-well-wah-pee) is the
largest national park on either side of the
northern Patagonian Andes. One of South
Americas finest climbing destinations,
it lies to the west of the popular tourist
hub of Bariloche in the Argentine Lakes
District. Nahuel Huapis rugged interior
is accessible via an extensive network of
well-maintained trails as well as numer-
ous rougher, unmarked routes supported
by many excellent alpine refugios.
HISTORY
Formally established in 1934, Nahuel
Huapi is the oldest of Argentinas national
parks. The original park (whose title was
Parque Nacional del Sur) was first granted
to the pioneering explorer Francisco Perito
Moreno for his services to the Argentine
Boundary Commission. Perito Moreno do-
nated it back on the condition that it be
turned into a national park.
Todays park once formed a large part of
the Mapuche heartland, with tribes inhab-
iting the eastern shores of the great lake.
Several low Andean passes in the park, such
as Paso Vuriloche (near Pampa Linda) and
Paso de Prez Rosales, linked the many
Mapuche tribes on either side of the Cor-
dillera. Christian missionaries later used
these passes as a safe route to Chil.
The name Nahuel Huapi is usually trans-
lated from the Mapuche as island of the
tiger. This refers to the spotted South Amer-
ican jaguar, or yaguarete, whose vast range
once included northeastern Patagonia.
ENVIRONMENT
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapis northern
boundary fronts Parque Nacional Lann.
The park includes 7580 sq km of prime
wilderness, whose heart is the 557-sq-km
Lago Nahuel Huapi itself. With its numer-
ous fjordlike branches, Lago Nahuel Huapi
is unquestionably the finest example of a
major glacial lake anywhere in northern
Patagonia. This enormous lake lies at 765m
above sea level the lowest point within the
northern four-fifths of the park, which is
drained by the Ro Limay and is therefore
part of the Atlantic basin.
Approximately 20% of the parks area is
covered by water. Numerous sizable lakes
lie in the parks deep valleys. The largest of
these are Lago Traful and Lago Espejo to
the north, and Lago Mascardi in the parks
most southerly zone; this drains westward
Parque Naci onal Nahuel Huapi LAKES DISTRI CT 101
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via the Ro Manso and Ro Puelo into the
Chilean Pacific.
The other dominant feature of Parque
Nacional Nahuel Huapi is the icy crown of
Monte Tronador. At 3478m above sea level,
Monte Tronador is the highest point within
the entire Lakes District, and stands almost
1500m above its nearest rivals. The loftiest
of Monte Tronadors four summits, Pico
Internacional, marks the ArgentinaChile
frontier. This massif is smothered by some
60 sq km of nvs, glaciers and icefalls, and
is the only significant glacially active area
found in the park.
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is one of
the few areas in Patagonia where the Andes
are more extensive and rugged on the
Argentine side than on the Chilean side. (Al-
though individual volcanoes do form higher
summits in Chile, the ranges surrounding
them are relatively low.) This is particularly
evident in the mountains to the south of
Lago Nahuel Huapi, where the 2405m Cerro
Catedral the highest nonvolcanic peak in
the Lakes District rises up in craggy, stee-
ple-like columns of granodiorite, favored by
climbers. Many other peaks in the area sur-
pass 2000m. There are no real glaciers left
on this eastern side of the park, but in many
places intense frost shattering has formed
large scree slides on the higher slopes.
Flora
Three main types of forest are found in
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi: wet temper-
ate (Valdivian) rainforest in the parks most
westerly valleys, deciduous alpine forest at
higher elevations, and coniferous forest in
the drier eastern sectors of the park.
Of these, the rainforest is easily the most
species diverse, with several dozen dif-
ferent types of trees forming the canopy,
including alerce (or lahun), arrayn, avel-
lano, canelo, ciprs de las Guaitecas, coige,
laurel, mao, olivillo (or teque), tineo and
ulmo. The deciduous forest of the high-
land valleys is dominated by lenga mixed
with irre and occasional luma blanca, a
bush of the myrtle family. The lenga forest
is interspersed with areas of malln (wet
meadow) country where the local drainage
is poor, but the mountainsides are barren
and sparsely vegetated above 1700m.
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi has some
of the best-preserved coniferous forests in
the southern Andes. These are composed
of ciprs de la cordillera, a graceful cypress
species that forms pure stands on the dry
and exposed ranges around the eastern side
of Lago Nahuel Huapi.
Alpine and subalpine wildflowers are
abundant. One of the most lovely and
widespread species is the amancay, or
liuto, found in forest clearings, where its
orange blooms carpet the ground. Various
members of the Mutisia genus, collectively
known by the popular name of clavel del
campo (carnations of the countryside), are
climbing opportunists that produce orange,
pinkish-white or purple daisy-like flowers.
They often grow along sunny roadsides or
where the forest has been disturbed.
Hidden among the rocks on drier slopes,
you may spot the estrellita de la cordillera,
a small composite perennial whose flowers
have numerous white clustered petals. Ca-
pachitos, various herblike plants with yel-
low flowers, are also found here. The cuye
colorado is a small alpine shrub with clam-
like leaves; its white flowers have pink-
tipped petals around a yellow center. Other
common wildflowers include the coxinea,
an annual that grows as a single reddish
stalk crowned by a clustered head of tubu-
lar yellow flowers with five crimson petals,
and a ground orchid whose flowers have
a bluish tinge. The chupa sangre (litreally
bloodsucker) is a spiky cushion-like plant,
found still further to the east where the park
fringes the semiarid Patagonian steppes.
Fauna
Ground-dwelling birds, such as the chucao,
churrn and huet-huet, inhabit the forest
floor, where hummingbirds flutter madly
around nectar-yielding flowers. The forests
also provide the habitat for the carpintero
negro, or black woodpecker, often seen
hammering tree trunks; the torcaza (or
conu), a large grey pigeon; and the austral
parakeet cachaa. Countless waterbirds,
including native ducks such as the quetru,
pato cuchara and pato real, live in the park.
Mammals sometimes spied in the rainforest
are the shy pudu and the monito del monte.
The puma and the far smaller huia are the
main terrestrial predators, while the amphib-
ious coipo and the carnivorous huilln inhabit
the waterways of the park. North American
red deer have multiplied greatly since their
102 LAKES DISTRI CT Environment
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de Bariloche, by Toncek Arko & Ral Iza-
guirre, in Bariloche book stores.
Nahuel Huapi visitors entering through
an official park entrance gate pay a fee of
AR$15. This fee does not apply if the road
is a public right of way, as in the case of the
Villa Catedral and Llao Llao roads, but visi-
tors to the parks Pampa Linda, Ro Manso
or Lago Steffen sectors will have to pay it.
Camping within the park is allowed
only at designated campsites. In most cases
these are clearly indicated on trekking maps
and by official signs at the park-approved
campsites themselves. Away from the more
travelled trails, however, wild camping is
generally tolerated as long as trekkers take
care of their surroundings (see boxed text,
p36). Lighting fires is prohibited through-
out the park.
ACCESS TOWN
See Bariloche (p124).
This spectacular route offers ever-changing
scenery of craggy mountain summits, lovely
alpine lakes, waterfalls and forests. Not sur-
prisingly, its one of the most popular treks
in Argentina.
PLANNING
Most parties opt for a shorter version of
the full traverse presented here, which can
be done in four to five days. An additional
day or two allows for rest or short side trips.
Popular shorter variations include:
the three-day Circuito Chico, which com-
bines Day 1 (or the Alternative Route via
Duration 5 days
Distance 36.5km
Difficulty moderatedemanding
Start Villa Catedral
Finish Puente Lpez
Nearest Town Bariloche
Transport bus
Summary A classic trek with a challeng-
ing middle day that hops over passes and
mountain ridges amid some of the finest
scenery in the Argentine Lakes District.
NAHUEL HUAPI TRAVERSE
Nahuel Huapi Traverse LAKES DISTRI CT 103
introduction early in the 20th century, and
this is a major factor in the increasing rarity
of the huemul, or Andean deer.
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is the
only place where the rare tucotuco colonial,
which was only discovered in 1983, is known
to exist. A small ratlike creature, it lives in
big colonies, unlike other members of this
genus. On the rare occasions when it leaves
the warren, the tucotuco colonial gives out a
peculiar cheeping call that sounds more like
that of a bird than a mammal. Two other
species of tucotuco also inhabit the park.
CLIMATE
The parks relatively high elevation and iso-
lation from the Pacific means that a cool and
dry continental climate prevails. At low
elevations, mean temperatures in winter are
around 2C and in summer theyre around
18C. Summers tend to be relatively dry and
most of the annual precipitation occurs in
winter and spring, when areas above 1000m
are covered by a thick mantle of snow.
The high ranges on the international fron-
tier most of all, Monte Tronador cause
a typical rain-shadow effect, with steadily
diminishing precipitation levels towards the
east. It is very wet close to the main con-
tinental divide, and the eastern sectors of
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi are semiarid.
For example, Puerto Fras, on the border
with Chile, has an annual average rainfall of
around 4000mm, while the Cerro Catedral
area receives less than 2000mm and the east-
ern outskirts of Bariloche less than 800mm.
PLANNING
When to Trek
As most scenic routes in Parque Nacional
Nahuel Huapi take you well up into the
mountains, theres not much scope for
trekking before mid-November or any later
than early May. The period from December
to April offers the best chance of encoun-
tering favourable conditions. Early- and
late-season trekkers are cautioned that if
there is any breakdown in the weather it is
likely to bring snowfalls on the ranges. In
January the trails and refugios are crowded
with trekkers.
Books
Spanish-reading trekkers can find the lo-
cally-produced guidebook Las Montaas
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Arroyo Van Titter), Day 2 and the Alter-
native Route: Refugio San Martn (Jakob)
to Ruta Nacional 79
a shorter circuit that combines Day 1 and
(in reverse) the Alternative Route via Ar-
royo Van Titter, either as a long day walk
or in two short days
a combination of Days 1 to 3, exiting via
Arroyo Goye (Alternative Route: Refugio
Segre (Italia) to Colonia Suiza), for a 34
day trek
Most sections of the route are well marked
and well trodden, and route-finding is rela-
tively straightforward. The exceptions to
this are Day 3, between Refugio San Mar-
tn and Refugio Segre, where trekkers must
navigate extremely carefully, and on Days 2
and 4, where the terrain is too rocky and/or
steep to hold a proper path.
Many other tracks intersect with the
traverse route, allowing you to shorten or
vary the walk as you like. On all stages of
the trek it is possible to walk out in one day.
Less experienced parties are advised to opt
for the Circuito Chico mentioned above.
Apart from Day 3, which is rated
demanding, and Day 4 (moderatedemand-
ing) all sections are of a moderate level of
difficulty.
When to Trek
Many sections of this trek are well above the
tree line. The routes relatively high altitude
generally makes it unsuitable for inexperi-
enced parties until around the beginning
of December, although in places snow may
remain right through the summer. The area
is somewhat sheltered by the mountains to
the west (chiefly Monte Tronador), and bad
weather tends to be slightly less extreme than
on the other side of the Andes. Nevertheless,
many parts of the route are very exposed to
the elements, so if conditions are poor you
should wait for the weather to improve.
What to Bring
The four refugios along the route make it
possible to do the trek without carrying a
tent. Nevertheless, trekkers are advised to
carry a tent and stove for greater safety.
Huts also become overcrowded in January
and February, particularly in spells of bad
weather. Refugios are generally open from
early December until mid-April.
Bring a sleeping bag. The refugios offer
basic bunks, with little or no bedding apart
from, perhaps, a mattress. With the excep-
tion of Refugio Lpez, the refugios belong
to CAB, although they are generally run
by a private concessionaire who acts as a
refugiero (hut keeper). Guests pay a fee to
overnight and an additional charge to use
the cooking facilities. Simple meals, refresh-
ments and supplies are available from all of
the refugios.
The deep and steep-sided valleys often
require heavy climbs and descents through
loose rock or scree; its most comfortable
to wear gaiters or long pants that cover the
tops of your boots.
Maps
Recommended is the contoured 1:50,000
Trekking 1 map in the Refugios, Sendas y
Picadas series, which is an extract (with
additional topographical information)
from the larger-format 1:100,000 Refugios,
Sendas y Picadas Parque Nacional Nahuel
Huapi color map. This latter map covers
a much wider area and is perhaps a better
alternative if you plan further treks else-
where in the park. All are available from
the CAB in Bariloche. Unfortunately, these
maps are inaccurate in a few short (but very
important) sections of the route.
Trekkers attempting Day 3 from Refugio
San Martn (Jakob) to Refugio Segre (Ita-
lia) are asked to fill out a form at Refugio
San Martn before they leave and hand it
in on arrival at Refugio Segre. The refugi-
ero at San Martn will advise staff at Segre
by radio to expect you. At the same time,
trekkers are strongly advised to view the
photos of the days route held at Refugio
San Martn.
Villa Catedral (start)
The trek begins at Villa Catedral, a ski vil-
lage about 20km by road from Bariloche.
BUS
Throughout the trekking season, mni-
bus 3 de Mayo (
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02944-425648; Perito
Moreno 480) goes from Bariloche to
Villa Catedral (AR$1.10, 30 to 40 min-
utes, hourly). Buses depart from the bus
104 LAKES DISTRI CT Nahuel Huapi Traverse
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Tronador
Monte
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To Lago
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To Laguna To El Bolsn
To Llao Llao
To Bariloche
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Lynch
Refugio
Refugio
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Refugio
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Refugio Segre
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San Martn
Refugio Frey
Piedritas
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Cerro Bella
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(1855m)
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Lpez
Cerro
Willis
Cerro Bailey
(2001m)
Negro
Cerro
(2060m)
Navidad
Cerro
(2050m)
Pico Refugio
(2050m)
Inocentes
Cerro
(2010m)
Brecha Negra
(2040m)
Cerro Tres Reyes
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Cerro Catedral
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DAY 2
START
START
DAY 3
START
DAY 4
START
DAY 5
Side Trip
RN
RP
RN
FINISH
FINISH (Alt)
FINISH (Alt)
START (Alt)
START
258
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237
Felix Goye
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Alternative
Nahuel Huapi Traverse
1:150,000
0 2 km
0 1 mile
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terminal at the eastern edge of Bariloche
and call in at the center, including two
stops on Moreno and one opposite the na-
tional park administration center on San
Martn, then proceed along either Av de
los Pioneros or Av Bustillo. Buses operate
during daylight hours, all returning almost
immediately from Villa Catedral.
Puente Lpez (finish)
The trek ends at Puente Lpez (Lpez
Bridge), a picnic area and kiosk on the
road between Llao Llao and Colonia Suiza,
22km west of Bariloche. The No 10 or No
11 bus to Bariloche (AR$3) passes five or
six times a day.
You can walk from Puente Lpez to Co-
lonia Suiza in 30 to 40 minutes by following
the bitumen 150m along to the right, then
turning off southeast (ie to the right) along
an unsurfaced road. Buses No10 and No11
run frequently between Colonia Suiza and
Bariloche (AR$3, 50 minutes, 14 daily).
THE TREK
Day 1: Villa Cathedral to
Refugio Frey
24 hours, 8.5km
This exhilarating high-level route may be
impassable because of snow and ice through
mid-December, in which case the Alterna-
tive Route via Arroyo Van Titter (p107) will
be the only safe way to reach Refugio Frey.
Fortunately, much of the higher option is
exposed to the sun so the snow tends to
melt away fairly early. If in doubt, ask in the
CABs office in Bariloche or at its informa-
tion booth in Villa Catedral regarding the
current condition of this route. Villa Cat-
edral has a number of ski lodges which may
accept guests in summer. Ask at the CAB
information booth in Villa Catedral for
other accommodation options. Kiosks in
the village are OK for last-minute supplies
such as chocolate and film. Theres also a
selection of restaurants and snack bars.
The day begins with a choice of two ski lifts
that haul you from Villa Catedral to the start
of the trek on the Cordn Catedral. The op-
tion we describe is the Aerosilla Piedra del
Cndor (adult/child AR$40/28; 10.30am-
6pm Mon-Sun). An alternative, which cuts
out even more walking, is the combination
Cablecarril y Aerosilla Lynch (adult/child
AR$40/28), which goes to Refugio Lynch.
If the fares, or the very idea of chairlifts, put
you off, you can trek to Refugio Lynch on
a foot track that spirals up below the cable
car. The trail is steep and exposed to the sun
(carry water), and the climb takes around
three hours. We only recommend this route
to save money or build character.
The chairlift heaves you up into the stony
and sparsely vegetated alpine zone to Piedra
del Cndor. At 1759m, this is the north-
ernmost point of the Cordn Catedral, and
offers an excellent unbroken panorama
across Lago Nahuel Huapi. A rough road
can be followed for 30 to 35 minutes around
to Refugio Lynch (year-round), at 2042m,
where you can get meals and refreshments.
Continue southwestward along, or just to
the left of, the bare ridgetop, following yel-
low and/or red paint markings (lots of spots
and dots on rocks) that lead up to the hump
of Punta Nevada (2050m), where winter
snowdrifts linger well into summer. There
are fine views down to your right into the
valley of the Arroyo Rucaco, whose stream
meanders peacefully through alpine moors
and over rock slabs before entering a gorge,
and beyond to the great glaciers of Monte
Tronador, which rises up on the western ho-
rizon. The route dips down to reach a small
saddle, not far from the upper station of an-
other ski lift, after 45 minutes to one hour.
Sidle rightward off the ridge to cross a
scree slide, then make your way around
below the rock spires of Punta Princesa.
On your right the land falls away almost
directly into the valley. Minor hand climb-
ing is necessary as the route picks its way
through short sections of rock blocks with
small chrysanthemum bushes sheltering in
the crevices. Keeping to this western side of
the range, make your way on to reach the
Cancha de Ftbol, one to 1 hours from the
small saddle. At this sandy shelf surrounded
by boulders, the 2388m Cerro Catedral Sur
comes into view over to the south.
Prominent signs painted on rocks point
left to Frey (Refugio Frey) and right
to Jakob (Refugio San Martn on La-
guna Jakob). Head down to Refugio Frey
(bookings at the CAB in Bariloche;
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527966; dm AR$30; kitchen use AR$10;
dinner AR$25; year-round) as described (in
reverse sequence) at the beginning of Day 2.
Walking time from the Cancha de Ftbol to
the refugio is 40 to 50 minutes.
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The refugio stands at 1700m in a particu-
larly scenic location on the eastern shore of
Laguna Tonchek, looking out across the
lake to the craggy spires of Cerro Catedral
(Cathedral Mountain). The lake takes its
name, which you may also see spelt Ton-
cek, from the late Slovene andinist and
CAB member Toncek Pangrec. The neat
two-storey hut is built of local stone, and
has sleeping space for 40 people upstairs. It
can get very crowded, particularly during
periods of poor weather in the main tour-
ist season. There are sheltered but cramped
and uneven campsites in the lenga scrub
just across the outlet creek on the southern
side of the lake, and less sheltered but more
spacious and level sites on open ground
further round the southern shore.
ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: VIA ARROYO
VAN TITTER
34 hours, 12km
This stage is longer than Day 1 and has
no lifts to haul you up the mountain, but
ascends at a more leisurely rate and is more
sheltered. It is the only safe route when the
high-level option is snowed over or icy.
From the CAB lodge at the southern edge
of Villa Catedral, cut across the parking lot
below a minor ski tow and take an old road
up left to a signpost at the trailhead. The
broad foot track goes southward through
irre and quila scrub on a kind of wide ter-
race above Lago Gutirrez, then rises gently
into the forest below overhanging cliffs to a
fork 1 to two hours from the village.
Continue up, heading right (the left-
hand route leads down to the lake), turning
up northwest through moist forest, and
cross the Arroyo Van Titter on a foot-
bridge. The first authorised campsites
along the route are by the stream just after
you cross this bridge. Ascend at a leisurely
pace through the tall lenga forest with an
understorey of herbs and wildflowers to
pass Refugio Piedritas after 50 minutes to
1 hours. This quaint little refugio belongs
to the local Club Andino Esloveno and has
been constructed by building a log wall
across the opening of a large overhang-
ing boulder just to the right of the path.
Refugio Piedritas only has space for about
eight people and is basic. You can find
numerous good campsites in the forest
nearby.
Climb on through the forest, which soon
changes into lower and denser lenga scrub,
granting views of the peaks on the Cordn
Catedral. The route crosses the now much
smaller stream on stepping stones shortly
before you reach Refugio Frey, beside La-
guna Tonchek, after a final 50 minutes to
1 hours.
Day 2: Refugio Frey to Refugio
San Martn (Jakob)
5-6hours, 8.5km
Make your way easily around either shore
of Laguna Tonchek to its northwestern side,
then begin ascending to the right (north-
west). The path winds up the loose-rock
slopes beside a splashing stream to Laguna
Schmoll, a smaller and shallower lake that
occupies a sparsely vegetated terrace oppo-
site the impressive craggy columns of Cerro
Catedral. Cross the tiny outlet and climb on
more steeply into a rock gully. Early in the
season, snow here may make this section
dangerous. Look back for a final view of
the lovely upper valley behind you, then
continue up through a small sandy basin
to reach the Cancha de Ftbol after one
to 1 hours.
A sign (Jakob) and an arrow painted
on a boulder indicate where the route
descends into the next valley. Follow red
splashes on rocks down a short way to the
right, then traverse back briefly leftward.
Now begin a long and very steep descent
more or less straight down through dusty,
raw talus, continuing down via a dry gully
into the scrub. As the gradient eases, head
off to the left along a good trail where
the beautiful lenga forest fringes the grassy
valley floor. The path ducks in and out of
the trees to cross a stream below a tiny
cascade at an excellent official campsite,
50 minutes to one hour from the Cancha
de Ftbol.
Make your way on gently up valley
through the forest, avoiding the soggy
open area to the right. The route soon
moves out into sporadic irre scrub, then
crosses a stream coming down from the
left. The Cascada Rucaco waterfall comes
into sight on the slopes of Cerro Tres
Reyes to the north, and red markings guide
you up onto a flat, stony ridge dividing the
upper valley. Behind you, on the adjacent
range, the now familiar multisteepled form
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of Cerro Catedral rises up, looking just as
spectacular from this angle.
The track leads across the broad ridgetop
to a well signposted rock, then makes a final
strenuous, but short climb west up through
steep, loose rock to reach Paso Brecha Negra
after one to 1 hours. This is the broad ridge
that connects Cerro Tres Reyes with Brecha
Negra. There are superb views from here
(better from a few paces downhill), with the
refugio on Laguna Jakob clearly visible below
to the southwest.
Sidle down towards the lake as far as
a small outcrop, then descend steeply via
(or beside) a loose chute of coarse gravel
until below the scrub line. Turn left where
the route meets the main trail coming up
through the valley, and follow this through
a few boggy areas to cross the small Ar-
royo Casa de Piedra on stepping stones
just below where it leaves Laguna Jakob.
A short way on, the route intersects with
the main path coming up through the val-
ley. Follow this briefly to the left to Refugio
San Martn (Jakob) (dm AR$30; kitchen
use AR$20; dinner AR$40; Nov-Apr), be-
side Laguna Jakob at 1650m, 45 minutes
to one hour from Paso Brecha Negra. This
timber and stone refugio stands near a tiny
peninsula. It has a wood stove, toilet and
sleeps up to 100 people. You can buy a few
basic provisions and sweet luxuries from
the hut warden. Camping is permitted in
clearings in the lenga above the refugio;
collect water from the spring water tap at
the hut.
SIDE TRIP: LAGUNA DE LOS TMPANOS
11 hours return, 3.5km
This easy side trip from Refugio San
Martn should not be missed. From the
campsite head up the steep ridge, then sidle
on around westward over polished limestone
slabs (note the scratch marks left by ice age
glaciers) to reach Laguna de los Tmpanos
after 25 to 30 minutes. This spectacular little
lake lies within a south-facing cirque with
sheer rock walls that tower above its icy, blue
waters. Return the way you came.
Day 3: Refugio San Martn
(Jakob) to Refugio Segre (Italia)
57 hours, 8.5km
This section of the trek, following a high-
level route, is harder and more hazardous
than other stages. Ideally for very experi-
enced trekkers, it should not be attempted
unless the weather is very good. At any
time most commonly, early in the season
(until about mid-December) crampons
and an ice axe may be needed to do the
route safely. The hut warden at Refugio San
Martn (who has photographs that clarify
the route) can give further advice, and will
ask you to fill in a form and hand it in on
arrival at the other end.
Follow the side trip to Laguna de los
Tmpanos (above) as far as a rocky spur that
comes down from Pico Refugio, just before
Laguna de los Tmpanos comes into view.
After carefully studying the route from this
point, follow occasional cairns northeast-
ward, with some scrambling as the ridge
steepens, to meet a narrow ledge. Head left
along the ledge for about 50m, then move
up with care diagonally rightward through
a steep couloir (rocky chute), which may
be wet or snow-filled. After another 50m
or so, ease back left across snowdrifts or,
if possible, below them to gain the top
of the ridge.
Taking care when negotiating more
patches of old snow, head northwest along
the ridge. After a short distance, a rocky
pinnacle blocks the way. Avoid this by de-
scending around to the right and traverse
the slopes below the rock face. Continue
through a stony area of gully cracks, where
more snow may lie, towards an obvious
narrow gap in the craggy range ahead, two
to three hours from Laguna de los Tm-
panos. From here, move over onto the loose
scree slopes on the eastern side of the range
above Laguna Navidad. These lead to a low
point in the main ridge line between Cerro
Inocentes and Cerro Navidad. From here,
make your way 500m up a spur on scree to
the summit of Cerro Navidad (2060m).
Head 400m down the ridge on the north-
ern side of Cerro Navidad. From here a
rough route can be followed northeast down
more steep and unstable slopes into the
narrow canyon at the head of the Arroyo
Navidad. Late-lying snow may make this
section tricky to negotiate. Crossing the cas-
cading stream wherever necessary, follow it
down to meet the main path coming up the
Arroyo Goye, two to three hours on.
Follow red-paint markings up through
lenga scrub, before beginning a steep,
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spiralling ascent adjacent to waterfalls where
the Arroyo Goye spills over 300m cliffs. The
path sidles on around westward over a low
rock crest, from where Laguna Negra comes
into view. Laguna Negra lies in a little trough
directly below Cerro Negro (2001m), and
was evidently named for its proximity to the
black-rock mountain as its water is blue. To
the north lies the paler-brown shale rock of
Cerro Bailey Willis (1850m).
Cut down leftward across the lake out-
let to arrive at Refugio Segre (Italia) (dm
AR$25; use of kitchen AR$8; dinner AR$30;
Nov-Apr) after a final 60 to 80 minutes.
This two-storey concrete construction
(whose bunkerlike design can withstand
heavy snows and small avalanches) lies at
1650m and has bed space for 60 trekkers.
There are numerous sheltered campsites
hunkering in the scrub as you come over
the rock crest just before arriving at Refu-
gio Segre.
ALTERNATIVE FINISH:
REFUGIO SAN MARTN (JAKOB) TO
RUTA PROVINCIAL 79
24 hours, 13km
This is the normal access to Refugio San
Martn and is the quickest exit route from
the hut. It is also the final stage of the three-
day trek known as the Circuito Chico.
Follow the well-travelled path down the
true left (west) side of the Arroyo Casa
de Piedra, crossing the stream just above
a waterfall. Descend steeply in a series of
switchback curves (known as Las Serpenti-
nas) into the lenga forest, then more gently
on past a side valley that ends in a large
cirque at Laguna Navidad. From here, the
route enters the drier central part of the
valley (which apparently lies in the rain
shadow of ranges to the west). The path
leads through mogotes, calafate bushes and
irres typical dryland vegetation to
cross the stream on a rickety suspension
bridge, 1 to 2 hours from the refugio.
Continue down the stony riverflats past
where the Arroyo Rucaco flows into the
main stream, then climb away left and
drop back to the riverbank several times to
avoid steeper banks before sidling gradually
down into pleasant stands of coige trees,
and some good campsites, by the Arroyo
Casa de Piedra after 50 minutes to 1
hours. The route soon leaves the riverside
again, ascending briefly through the forest
onto slopes covered by thickets of retama
as it goes over into a 4WD track. Ahead
of you, across Lago Nahuel Huapi, are the
snowcapped mountains of the Sierra Cuyin
Manzano. Pass by a tiny car park and a
kiosk beside a farm, after which a proper
road brings you down to intersect with the
Ruta Provincial 79 after 30 to 45 minutes.
Those travelling in the reverse direction
should watch out for a sign marking the
start of the track beside Ruta Provincial 79;
going uphill the trekking time is around
six hours.
Its possible to walk from here to the holi-
day village of Colonia Suiza (p125) in 1
to two hours (turn left and follow the road),
but easier to wait for the No 11 bus from
Bariloche, which passes this point five times
daily (between 9.30am & 8.30pm) on the
way to Colonia Suiza.
ALTERNATIVE FINISH: REFUGIO SAN
MARTN (JAKOB) TO LAGO MASCARDI
8-9hrs, 24kms
Use a compass or GPS unit to hike this
little-used trail linking two of the regions
finest trekking areas. The Arroyo Casalata
trail requires good route finding skills and
is best attempted when river levels are low,
since there is one tricky crossing.
Following the trail to Laguna Los Tem-
panos, take the left side of the lake valley
to Paso Sweitzer. On the pass the trail
drops straight into the valley (west). Once
you reach the valley floor, follow the trail
south. The trail mostly takes the east bank
(river left), with some river crossings. The
trail is poor and overgrown, with swampy
parts. Just before Lago Mascardi, there is
a junction that follows the lakes northern
shore; follow the indications to eventu-
ally get to a hanging bridge over the Ro
Manso.
Pass Arroyo Casalata and head west-
northwest for at least 30 minutes until the
trail meets the Rio Claro. It can be crossed
when the river is low by the facing hill
where some abandoned measurement in-
struments lie. In high water, good jumpers
only could go 100m upstream to a rocky
gully (2.5m wide) to cross. Walk south-
west on the main track, headed toward a
pair of lamos (poplars) to arrive at Rio
Mansos hanging bridge. Cross to the road
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to Pampa Linda, 17kms away. From here
buses pass for both Pampa Linda (around
10am) and Bariloche (around 5.30pm) in
summer.
Day 4: Refugio Segre (Italia) to
Refugio Lpez
45 hours, 7.5km
Head along the eastern lake shore, dotted
with chrysanthemum bushes and yellow
daisies, making your way on around the
northern side of Laguna Negra over cracked
rock and perhaps some snowdrifts. There is
a short section of rock here (probably with
a fixed rope to hang on to) that requires
some careful downclimbing. From the far
end of Laguna Negra, climb a short distance
up to the right beside the small inlet stream,
then cross to its true right side and head up
a broad open rocky slope towards the low
point in the ridge between Cerro Negro and
Cerro Bailey Willis.
Head up right along the ridge (guided
by a few cairns, canes and paint markers),
over a knob and down to reach a gap on the
southern side of Cerro Bailey Willis (where
snow may lie well into the summer), 45
minutes to one hour from Refugio Segre.
From here, the now familiar form of Cerro
Catedral can be made out to the southeast
beyond Laguna Negra. Sidle northward for
a further 15 to 20 minutes, across a slope
of coarse talus above a snow basin, to reach
another small pass.
From the slopes of Cerro Bailey Willis
(1850m) you get an unobstructed panorama
of the magnificent mountain scenery along
the ChileArgentina frontier. The great
white rump of Monte Tronador, smothered
by sprawling glaciers, completely domi-
nates the views of the western horizon. The
pointed peak visible to the north of Monte
Tronador is Volcn Puntiagudo in Chile,
and the highland lake perched in a depres-
sion to the southwest is Laguna Lluv (see
More Treks, p123).
Drop down north from the pass, de-
scending briefly rightward through loose
rock before you sidle along the left side of a
green, boggy gully. In places the foot track
is less definite, but the route is marked with
cairns and occasional red-paint splashes
on rocks. Follow these down left on to
moist grassy meadows to cross a brook
at the head of a tiny valley (the northern
branch of the Arroyo Goye), 40 to 50
minutes from the pass. There is a small
park-approved campsite here among low
lenga forest.
Head on over a marshy clearing and
up out of the irre scrub. The indistinct
path leads northeast gently up the sparsely
vegetated slopes to cross a small stream
coming from an obvious rocky gap to the
north. From this point, begin a very steep
ascent up to the right via a gully of frost-
shattered rock, whose large, loose, sharp
fragments make the going strenuous (and
slightly dangerous). Pass to the right of a
rocky knob to reach a small dip in the range
some way north of Cerro Lpezs princi-
pal summit, 1 to two hours from the
campsite.
A short way northwest along the top of
this ridge is a trig marker on the slightly
lower summit of Pico Turista (2012m).
This point offers another great panorama,
which now includes Volcn Osorno (the
perfectly symmetrical snowcapped cone
visible beyond Monte Tronador in Chile),
while to the north there are sweeping views
across the islands, peninsulas and isth-
muses that separate Lago Perito Moreno
from Lago Nahuel Huapi. Condors often
soar around these mountain tops.
Following paint arrows, drop down east
from the dip in the ridge to skirt along the
left side of a small glacial cirque known
as La Hoya. A shallow tarn forms here
once the snow melts, but by fall this basin
is normally dry and snow-free. Descend
more steeply towards the refugio, visible
far below you, downclimbing repeatedly at
short sections of rock, to arrive at Refugio
Lpez (
%
02944-527966 in Bariloche for
reservations; [email protected];
dm AR$30; mid-Decmid-Apr), after 50
minutes to 1 hours.
The privately owned Refugio Lpez is
the most popular and accessible hut on this
trek, and sits at around 1600m in a very
scenic location overlooking Lago Nahuel
Huapi. This two-storey red-brick building
has modern amenities (but no hot show-
ers) and there is sleeping capacity for 100
people. There are poor campsites near the
hut, or you can camp on a grassy area below
a waterfall about 15 minutes down beyond
the refugio. Refugio Lpez stays open for
the entire trekking season.
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ALTERNATIVE FINISH: REFUGIO SEGRE
(ITALIA) TO COLONIA SUIZA
23 hours, 12km
This is the usual access to Refugio Segre
(Italia). Its also an easier alternative route
out for trekkers who dont feel confident
enough to tackle the high-level traverse of
Day 4.
Head back down the switchbacks as de-
scribed at the end of Day 3 to cross the
Arroyo Goye and the Arroyo Navidad just
above their confluence. The path dips down
into the lenga forest beside the cascading
stream to an official campsite after 40 to 50
minutes. Head gently downstream below
high rock walls fronting the opposite side
of the valley, crossing through a small area
of irre and quila before you pass a side
valley of the Arroyo Goye (barely visible
through the trees).
Continue along the true-right bank,
gradually moving down into evergreen
forest dominated by coige to where the
route joins a rough, disused road, one to
1 hours down from the official campsite.
At this point youll see a signpost (Picada
a Laguna Negra/Refugio), which indicates
the way back up to the hut. Another trail
branches off right (southeast) from here up
to the 1550m lookout peak of Cerro Goye
(1550m), a return side trip of 3 hours.
Sidle down above the rushing stream
through patches of exotic North American
fir trees, then turn right off the vehicular
track at a gate and make your way along the
right-hand side of a fence. The first part of
this route ascends steeply; the last section
takes you through stands of ciprs de la
cordillera before dropping steeply through
the coige forest to reach Ruta Provincial 79
at a parking area and a signpost (Refugio
de Montaa Laguna Negra6 horas) after
35 to 45 minutes. Go left along this road,
turning right into Felix Goye to arrive in
Colonia Suiza (p125) a further 10 to 15
minutes on. Trekkers hiking up to Refugio
Segre will find the signpost indicating the
trailhead beside a black gate 400m east of
the road bridge over the Arroyo Goye.
Day 5: Refugio Lpez to
Puente Lpez
12 hours, 3.5km
From just below the terrace of the refu-
gio take a path that winds down through
low scrub before joining a broad track that
comes in from the right. This crosses two
small streams at the source of the Arroyo
Lpez and meets the end of a road after 15
to 20 minutes. Follow the road past a small
car park, then turn off left on to a sign-
posted foot track leading steeply down into
the forest. The route twice crosses the road
at hairpin bends, then leads down through
previously fire-cleared slopes, now regener-
ating with lenga scrub and thickets of spiny
crucero. It leads to La Roca, a refugio offer-
ing meals and snacks. Here, avoid picking
up trails which diverge rightward back on
to the road, and continue down north into
the forest. (If you follow the road, youll end
up about halfway along Ruta Provincial 79
between Puente Lpez and Colonia Suiza).
The last section of the route follows the
right side of the Arroyo Lpez before com-
ing to a picnic area and kiosk at Puente
Lpez after a final 1 to 1 hours.
Trekkers who do this stage in reverse
order should reckon on taking two to
three hours to reach Refugio Lpez from
Puente Lpez because of the steepness of
the trail.
The aptly named 1435m Paso de las Nubes
(Pass of the Clouds) lies on a continen-
tal watershed, sending its waters into the
Pacific on its southern side, via the Ro
Manso and Ro Puelo, and into the Atlan-
tic on its northern side, via Lago Nahuel
Huapi. The route over Paso de las Nubes
can be done as a trans-Andean trek by
continuing over Paso de Prez Rosales
to the isolated village of Peulla on Lago
Todos Los Santos in Chile (see the Alter-
native Finish, p117).
Duration 2 days
Distance 23km
Difficulty moderate
Start Pampa Linda
Finish Puerto Fras
Nearest Town Bariloche
Transport bus, boat
Summary Links two river valleys through
saturated rainforest and below hanging
glaciers at the foot of the mighty four-
summit massif of Monte Tronador.
PASO DE LAS NUBES
Paso de las Nubes LAKES DISTRI CT 111
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PLANNING
The trek follows a much travelled and gen-
erally well-marked path for most of the way.
Apart from a short section on top of Paso
de las Nubes and the side trip to Refugio
Otto Meiling, the route is completely within
the shelter of the forest. Snow often lies on
the pass well into January. On the section
between the upper camp near Glaciar Fras
and Laguna Fras, fallen logs and colihue
canes sometimes lie across the path; here
the going may be slippery after rain.
From Puerto Fras many trekkers con-
tinue into Chile via a good dirt road to
Peulla on Lago Todos Los Santos (see the
Alternative Finish, p117). This isolated
26km section across Paso de Prez Rosales
is inaccessible to outside traffic, and is
traveled only by a regular bus service and
occasional border-control vehicles.
The usual trekking time from Pampa
Linda to Puerto Fras is two full days, but
the recommended side trips to the Salto
Garganta del Diablo or Piedra Prez and
Refugio Otto Meiling will lengthen the trek
by one day each. These side trips begin and
end in Pampa Linda, and so need to be done
before you set out on Day 1 of the trek.
Continuing to Peulla requires at least one
additional (very long) day. Those continu-
ing on to Chilean towns will need a second
day to boat across Lago Todos los Santos
and reach a transport hub by bus.
The walk can be done in either direction,
although for transport reasons south-to-
north will probably be the most convenient.
When to Trek
This trek is best done between December
and April.

What to Bring
Some form of alternative footwear suited
to wet terrain, such as sport sandals, makes
negotiating the malln north of the Upper
Ro Alerce campsite less of a drama. As this
is a frontier area, be sure to carry proper
identification.
All trekkers must register before the trek
at the Intendencia (administration center)
in Pampa Linda, and return their registra-
tion stub to the office at Puerto Blest on
the way back to Bariloche after the end of
the trek, or to Argentine Gendarmeria if
crossing into Chile.
Maps
Recommended is the contoured 1:50,000
Trekking 2 map in the Refugios, Sendas y
Picadas series, which is an extract (with ad-
ditional topographical information) from
the larger-format color 1:100,000 Refugios,
Sendas y Picadas Parque Nacional Nahuel
Huapi. This latter map covers a much wider
area and is perhaps a better alternative if you
plan further treks elsewhere in the park. Both
are available from the CAB in Bariloche.
The Argentine IGM 1:100,000 map
Llao Llao (Neuqun, No 4172-22) covers
this area completely. However, this map
(also used for the Nahuel Huapi Traverse)
gives poor topographical detail and doesnt
shown the trekking route correctly.
A Chilean IGM 1:50,000 map, Monte
Tronador (Section H, No 46), includes a
good part of the frontier area on the Argen-
tine side and is especially useful for trekkers
who continue on to Peulla. Maps can be
found at Bariloches CAB.
Pampa Linda (start)
The trek begins at Pampa Linda, 77km by
road from Bariloche via Villa Mascardi.
Through summer, Express Meiling
(
%
02944-529875; reservations at the
CAB) runs regular buses to Pampa Linda
and Cerro Tronador (AR$40, 2 hours),
leaving throught the morning from outside
the CAB in Bariloche. Daily return buses
leave Pampa Linda starting at 5pm. Charter
service can also be arranged.
Puerto Fras (finish)
The trek ends at Puerto Fras. From here a
tourist boat across Laguna Fras to Puerto
Alegre connects with a bus to Puerto Blest
on a branch of Lago Nahuel Huapi. Or
trekkers can trek or take a catamaran to
Peulla, Chile.
BOAT/BUS COMBINATION
Those continuing on to Bariloche in Argen-
tina can book a boat-bus-boat combination
(AR$150), followed by a public bus to Bar-
iloche. Always check prices and departure
times at the CAB in Bariloche or the CABs
campamento mvil (a kind of base camp) at
112 LAKES DISTRI CT Paso de las Nubes
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lonelyplanet.com Paso de las Nubes LAKES DISTRI CT 113
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de Chile)
(Carabineros
Casa Pangue
T
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Blest
Bariloche
Paso Vuriloche
Peulla (20km)
To Casa Pangue
de Chile);
(Carabineros
(77 km)
To Bariloche
To Puerto
Puerto Blest &
To Puerto Alegre,
las Nalcas;
To Saltillo de
Campsite
Ro Alerce
Fras Campsite
Upper Ro
Pampa Linda
Meiling
Refugio Otto
Nacional)
(Gendarmera
Puerto Fras
Confitera
(2270m)
Tronador
Refugio
Hostera
Guardera
(3320m)
Cerro
1584m
Pico Chileno
Vuriloche
1861m
(1526m)
Cerro Prez Rosales
Rosales (1022m)
Paso de Prez
(1435m)
Nubes
Paso de las
(1920m)
Cerro Constitucn
(1760m)
Vichadero
(1780m)
Cerro Righi
(1916m)
de Piedras
Cerro Mar
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(3554m)
Pico Internacional
(3253m)
Pico Argentino
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Piedra
(1390m)
Paso
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Laguna
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(770m)
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Laguna
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DAY 2
START
Side Trip
Side Trip
Route
Alternative
Side Trip
Side Trip
FINISH (Alt)
FINISH
START
Jetty
Paso de las Nubes
1:125,000
0 2 km
0 1 mile
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the upper Ro Fras campsite. The combina-
tion runs: boat from Puerto Frias to Puerto
Alegre, bus from Puerto Alegre to Puerto
Blest, catamaran from Puerto Blest across
Lago Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Pauelo (at
Llao Llao). The last boat usually leaves
Puerto Fras at 3pm. At Puerto Pauelo,
catch the frequent local bus No 20 (AR$4)
for the final stretch back to Bariloche.
Peulla (alternative finish)
Those heading to Chile finish with the
Alternative Trek to Peulla. From Peulla,
catamaran Cruce de Lagos (in Chile;
%
65-
437127; www.cruceandino.com) departs for
Petrohu (CH$22,000, 1 hours) at 3.30pm
daily, with bus service continuing to Puerto
Montt.
Theres a Conaf-run campsite without fa-
cilities opposite the Conaf office in the vil-
lage of Peulla, as well as the upmarket Hotel
Natura (
%
065-560483; www.hotelnatura
.cl, in Spanish, d with breakfast CH$132,000),
1km from the dock.
THE TREK
Day 1: Pampa Linda to Upper
Ro Fras
45 hours, 13km
Guardaparques at the national park office
in Pampa Linda provide the latest infor-
mation on trail conditions when trekkers
register.
Near the national park office, CAB-run
Camping Pampa Linda (camping per
person AR$15) has ample facilities, hot
showers and a well-stocked kiosk. Contin-
uing towards Monte Tronador, Hostera
Pampa Linda (
%
02944-490517; www
.hosteriapampalinda.com.ar) has a good
restaurant, and Hostel Pampa Linda, run
by the same outfit.
The trek proper begins, as does the side
trip to Refugio Otto Meiling (p115), with a
walk of 30 to 40 minutes along the vehicle
track from Pampa Linda to the Ro Castao
Overo. Cross the river and continue up the
vehicle track to a clearly signposted junc-
tion on a bend to the left a short distance
above the river.
Go right here and follow the remains
of an ancient road northeastward to meet
the Ro Alerce. Apart from a short section
where you have to climb over fallen logs
at a tight bend in the river (while the old
road simply fords and re-fords the milky
waters), the route continues on gently up
along the western bank. It goes through
pleasant coige and lenga forest to reach the
Ro Alerce campsite at the edge of a malln
after a further one to 1 hours.
Make an easy ford of the small Ro Alerce
and wade north for several hundred meters
across sodden ground scattered with irres
and thickets of chapel, a small shrub with
fragrant white flowers. Pick up the path at
the edge of the forest and begin a steadily
steepening climb, making a few zigzags into
the lenga scrub before the gradient eases.
The route continues up more gradually,
crossing a number of small streams and fol-
lowing cairns and paint markers northward
over grassy alpine meadows to reach Paso
de las Nubes after 1 to two hours.
The 1435m pass is too scrubby to give
any real vistas, but as you descend you pass
small lookout points that grant a clear view
down through the glacially formed valley
ahead as far as the sombre-looking Laguna
Fras. The descent is much steeper on this
side of the pass. The path takes you directly
down through moss-draped forest to cross
a fast-flowing stream on stepping stones
before coming out on to a small rocky out-
crop.
Here you stand immediately opposite
Glaciar Fras, an amazing icefall sprawl-
ing down from the nvs on the eastern
side of Monte Tronador. This glacier feeds
a surging waterfall and numerous other
smaller cascades that form the Ro Fras,
and drops large chunks of ice over a high
cliff face. Drop down along the small rocky
ridge to the valley floor, then recross the
gravelly stream to arrive at the official, free
Upper Ro Fras campsite, 50 minutes to
1 hours from the pass. The CAB main-
tains a campamento mvil (fixed tents per
person AR$30; breakfast AR$25; dinner
AR$30) here.
SIDE TRIP: SALTO GARGANTA DEL
DIABLO
34 hours return, 17km
Although it follows an often dusty road
for most of the way, this return side trip
into the head of the Ro Manso, at the foot
of Monte Tronador, should not be missed
(although you might consider hitching).
For safety reasons the road is open only to
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upward traffic until 2pm and to downward
traffic after 4pm. If you arrive with a re-
turn-day bus tour from Bariloche, the trip
up to the Salto Garganta del Diablo will
probably be included.
From Pampa Linda, walk northwest along
the road past the guardera and hostera.
Five minutes on, you pass the signposted
path thats the turn-off to the Saltillo de
los Nalcas (which is also the trail head for
the route to Refugio Tronador see More
Treks, p122). The road rises steadily beside
the upper Ro Manso, crossing the northern
branch of the river shortly before it comes
to a car park at a lookout point, one to 1
hours on.
From here you get a sensational view up
to Glaciar Manso, which ends abruptly at
a hanging icefall above a 750m-high preci-
pice on Monte Tronador. Blocks of ice that
periodically drop off the icefall are smashed
to pieces as they hit the ground, where the
pulverized ice re-forms as another glacier.
Its known as the Ventisquero Negro (Black
Glacier) since large quantities of moraine
and broken rock mixed in with the ice give
it a dark hue. A short trail leads down to the
murky lake where the Ventisquero Negro
ends.
Head on for 10 to 15 minutes to the
confitera (cafe) at the end of the road;
snacks and refreshments are available here.
A foot track from the upper end of the car
park here continues for a further 15 to 20
minutes up to the stream at the base of an
impressive cirque at the head of the valley.
Up to your left the long and spectacular
waterfall known as the Salto Garganta
del Diablo shoots down from the side of
Glaciar Manso, while numerous other high
cascades emerge from the icefalls up to the
right. The agile can climb up to where the
Salto thunders into a tiny chasm, spraying
out mist that settles on the mossy rocks.
Trekkers who visit the Salto Garganta
del Diablo should be mindful that there is
a risk, although it is relatively low, of ice
breaking off the hanging glaciers directly
above and falling into the upper valley.
SIDE TRIP: PIEDRA PREZ/FILO CLERK
If you dont mind a strenuous climb, this
side trip on a side trip, to a lookout point
up on the ridge to the north of the route to
the waterfall, is even more rewarding than
the original.
From behind the confitera (see side trip:
Salto Garganta del Diablo, p114), head 50m
right and downstream, crossing several
small channels in the glacial stream. Pick up
a graded foot track at the edge of the coige
forest, and follow it as it snakes its way up-
ward with the odd fallen trunk to clamber
under or over. The route steepens as it rides
a narrow spur covered with lengas up to the
top of a broad ridge known as Filo Clerk
(sometimes used by andinists as a route to
the summits of Monte Tronador). Follow
white paint markings a few hundred me-
ters left (northwest) along the scrubby ridge
above Piedra Prez, a small but prominent
tooth-shaped pinnacle visible from down in
the valley, to reach a lookout point one to
1 hours from the confitera.
This part of the ridge offers a classic
close-up view of Glaciar Castao Overo.
The crevasses and seracs of the glacier ter-
minate in an impressive icefall that like
Glaciar Manso hangs over a mighty prec-
ipice. Numerous meltwater cascades spill
out from the edge of the ice. Visible on the
ridge beyond the glacier is the path going
up to Refugio Otto Meiling (see Side Trip:
Refugio Otto Meiling, below), while to the
southwest you should just be able to make
out the old Refugio Tronador (see More
Treks, p122) on a high rock ridge just left
of the Glaciar Manso icefalls. You also get
an excellent view back into the upper valley
of the Ro Manso.
Return to the confitera via the ascent
route.
SIDE TRIP: GLACIAR CASTAO OVERO
& REFUGIO OTTO MEILING
This is another highly scenic return day or
overnight side trip that is recommended
to all trekkers. Note that the 4WD road
above the Ro Castao Overo has been af-
fected by landslides; the guardaparques at
Pampa Linda have the latest information
on the route.
After signing in at the guardera, take the
vehicle track heading roughly north past a
signposted trail diverging rightward up to
Laguna Iln (see Pampa Linda to Refugio
Lpez under More Treks, p122). This 4WD
road brings you through coige forest and
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small clearings intermittently strewn with
the striking orange flowers of the amancay
to reach the Ro Castao Overo after 30 to
40 minutes. Cross the small glacial river
on a footbridge and continue a short way
upstream to rejoin the 4WD road.
Bear left briefly along the road, which
soon begins a steady winding ascent
through attractive mature coige forest.
Follow the vehicle track only for short sec-
tions (it has been cut by landslides further
east), cutting between the long switchback
curves on foot tracks to reach a signposted
turn-off to Glaciar Castao Overo. The re-
turn side trip to this glacier, which ends in
a spectacular icefall, takes around one hour.
After a longish switchback in the road, con-
tinue up a steep network of often eroded
foot tracks through lenga forest to reach
the top of the ridge at an area known as La
Almohadilla, 1 to 1 hours from the Ro
Castao Overo.
Make your way gently up along this broad
ridgetop until the 4WD track ends at a grassy
clearing near the upper limit of the lenga
scrub. A well-marked path sidles on around
to the left above high bluffs on the southern
side of the ridge, giving wonderful views
across to the adjacent Glaciar Castno Overo
and the various summits of Monte Trona-
dor behind it. Cross back up to the right
over a small snowfield before following large
cairns and marker stakes up the bare, rocky
ridgetop to arrive at Refugio Otto Meiling
(dm AR$30; use of kitchen AR$15; dinner
AR$42) after one to 1 hours.
Refugio Otto Meiling stands at an alti-
tude of around 2000m, a short way below
the permanent snowline, and has a loft with
sleeping capacity for 60 people. Its location
offers a superb panorama taking in Pampa
Linda, Paso de las Nubes and Cerro Cat-
edral to the east. There is space for several
tents in the shelter of rocks near the refugio,
where trekkers may camp with the permis-
sion of the warden in reasonable weather.
This side of Monte Tronador is relatively
sheltered from the westerlies, but its still
a windy site.
Descend by the same route.
SIDE TRIP: LAGUNA ALERCE
2 hours return, 2km
From the Upper Ro Fras campsite, head
up the south (true right) bank of the Ro
Alerce to the base of a cliff on the left side
of the gushing meltwater cascade. A steep
climb over rock slabs leads into a tiny mo-
raine-filled upper valley, which is followed
(crossing the stream where necessary) to
this impressive glacial lake lying directly
under the hanging glacier known as Glaciar
Alerce. When crossing the river, move be-
tween the rocks, not over them, since they
are extremely slippery. Return the same
way.
Day 2: Upper Ro Fras to
Puerto Fras
34 hours, 10km
Pick up the trail below the campsite and
begin the trek downvalley. This route avoids
the open, waterlogged ground near the
banks of the river by maintaining a slightly
higher course along slopes on the eastern
side of the valley through wet temperate
rainforest dominated by coige, mao and
laurel. The moist conditions favour climb-
ing epiphytes such as the botellita and the
estrellita, whose delicate crimson flowers
stand out on trunks.
The foot track is quite well maintained,
with logs laid across boggy sections, as it
leads through dense thickets of colihue cane
and negotiates numerous trees that have
fallen across the way. The going is slow but
not tedious, despite there being only the
occasional glimpse through the trees of the
range (usually snowcapped until midsum-
mer) on the adjacent side of the valley. The
path meets the Ro Fras 2 to three hours
from the campsite.
Follow the true right (eastern) bank of
the river for 10 to 15 minutes, then cross
its deep, murky waters on a large fallen log
to halfway, then the rest of the way on a
log bridge with handrails. Head on, close
to the true left bank of the Ro Fras at first,
then leaving the river and coming on to a
long-abandoned road just before you pass
a memorial to members of the Argentine
Gendarmera Nacional, who died in a plane
crash here in 1952.
The route soon skirts the southwestern
side of Laguna Fras to arrive at a small
boat landing, a shelter with toilets and an
outpost of the Gendarmera Nacional at
Puerto Fras after a final 30 to 40 minutes.
Laguna Fras is a superb example of a glacial
trough and is surrounded by sheer-sided
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mountains that rise directly from the shore,
giving it a dramatic fjordlike appearance.
Trekkers continuing to Peulla in Chile pass
through customs here (if you want to leave
early its possible to have your passport exit-
stamped the night before). Be aware that
you cant take fruit, meat or dairy products
across the border. Those not going on to
Chile begin the long trip back to Bariloche
here by catching a boat to Puerto Alegre
(see Getting to/from the Trek, p112).
There is a small campsite at Puerto
Fras, just up from the jetty, but no roofed
accommodation.
ALTERNATIVE FINISH: PEULLA (CHILE)
69 hours, 26km
Be sure to have your passport exit-stamped
at the gendarmera building before setting
out.
Follow the good dirt road around the
southwest side of Laguna Fras. The road
climbs steadily in switchbacks to reach Paso
de Prez Rosales (1022m) after 45 minutes
to one hour. The pass lies in lush rainforest
on the ArgentinaChile border.
Begin the descent into Chile past tiny
pampas and an abandoned farmhouse on
your left. There are excellent campsites on
little meadows 10 to 15 minutes down from
the pass. The road gradually winds down
through more dense forest of coige and
arrayn to reach Casa Pangue after two to
three hours. This post of the Carabineros
de Chile looks up the valley towards the
spectacular snowbound northern slopes of
Monte Tronador. From here trekkers can
opt to do the long (20km return) day trek
up the gravelly east bank of the Ro Peulla to
the snout of the receding Glaciar Peulla.
Follow the road 3km downstream and
cross to the southern side of the Ro Peulla
on a suspension bridge. The road heads west
across the flat valley floor for two to three
hours, before swinging around through a
wide expanse of soggy grassland. Continue
south for another 1 to two hours to the
Chilean customs post just outside Peulla
(p114). Passports must be presented here
and luggage may be inspected.
While in Peulla, stroll around to the
Cascada de los Novios waterfall, or do the
threehour return trek up to Laguna Mar-
garita. The tiny harbor is 1km on from
the village.
PARQUE
NACIONAL
ALERCE ANDINO
Few venture to the rugged emerald forest
of 40,000-hectare Parque Nacional Alerce
Andino, despite its 40km proximity to
Puerto Montt. The park was created in 1982
to protect some of the last remaining stands
of alerce, found primarily 400m to 700m
above sea level. An extremely slow-grow-
ing native conifer (known to the Mapuche
as lahun), the now-endangered alerce was
logged to near extinction up until the mid-
20th century.
Those who brave the mud and frequent
rain will be rewarded by forest vistas rang-
ing from sea level to 900m, a thick twisting
medley of coigue and ulmo, ferns, climbing
vines and dense thickets of quila. Pumas,
pudus, foxes and skunks are about, but
youll have better luck glimpsing condors,
kingfishers and waterfowl.
The park occupies precordillera, or An-
dean foothills, between the broad bay of
Seno Reloncav and its elongated eastern
arm known as the Estuario de Reloncav.
At its hub, two small valleys (of the upper
Ro Lenca and the Ro Chaica) run between
granite ranges with summits surpassing
INDESTRUCTIBLE,
ETERNAL ALERCE
Waterproof and nearly everlasting, the
valuable alerce shingle once served as cur-
rency for the German colonists in Chiles
south. Known as lahun in Mapuche, Fit-
zroya cupressoides ranks among the oldest
and largest tree species in the world, with
specimens reaching almost 4000 years
old. This 40m to 60m jolly evergreen giant
plays a key role in temperate rainforests,
though its prime value as a hardwood
(and surefire shelter in a rainy climate)
means it was logged to near-extinction.
It is no longer legal to harvest live trees,
but you can see alerce shingles on Chilote
houses and the real deal deep in Lakes
Region and Northern Patagonian forests.
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1500m. Intensive glaciation marks this rug-
ged landscape, notable with its dozen or so
beautiful glacial lakes. On its northeastern
side the park almost touches Lago Chapo,
a natural lake whose water level has been
raised as part of a hydroelectricity project.
ENVIRONMENT
Luxuriant montane rainforest grows at an
almost visible speed at all but the highest
elevations. Two trees particularly favoured
by Andino Alerces moist and mild climatic
conditions are the tiaca, with elongated, ser-
rated leaves, and the ulmo, found up to an al-
titude of 500m. In January and February, the
ulmo is easy to identify by its many fragrant
white blossoms, producing delicious honey.
Hummingbirds, or picaflores, thrive on
such nectar-bearing flowers, and because
of their surprising lack of timidity, you
can observe these delicate birds from close
range. Unfortunately, tbanos also gain
strength feeding on nectar, but soon start
to crave the protein-rich blood of passing
trekkers.
Other common tree species found in
Alerce Andino include coige de Chilo,
tepa, tineo, canelo, arrayn, avellano, cip-
rs de las Guaitecas and, of course, the
majestic alerce. The areas relative inacces-
sibility has prevented major exploitation of
its stands of giant alerces. The species is
now protected, its most ancient and mas-
sive specimens may exceed 4m in diameter
and reach several thousand years of age.
Among the numerous creepers and vines
of the rainforest understorey are the copi-
hue, whose beautiful crimson flowers are
the floral emblem of Chile. The related co-
icopihue has somewhat less exuberant red
flowers, which are nevertheless quite lovely.
Less discreet climbers are the pilpil de ca-
nasta, recognisable by its pinkish, tubular
flowers, and the voqui, or lilinqun, a small
bushy plant with alternate tear-shaped
leaves that yields clusters of tiny (but un-
palatable) deep-purple, cherrylike fruit.
Native fauna is much less conspicuous,
but the shy pudu and the marsupial monito
del monte are occasionally spotted in the
forest. The vegetarian coipo and the carniv-
orous huilln are thought to inhabit Andino
Alerces lakes and streams. Cat cousins, the
puma and the far smaller huia, are the
largest terrestrial predators.
CLIMATE
Close to the coast, the area has a mild mari-
time climate and high annual rainfall. Pre-
cipitation ranges from 3300mm in the lower
sectors to maximum levels of 4500mm on
the highest ranges, usually falling as snow
down to 800m (or lower) in winter.
PLANNING
Information Sources
There are three ranger stations in Parque
Nacional Alerce Andino. The administra-
tive office is at Guardera Correntoso, on
the parks northern boundary; and Guard-
era Sargazo is 10km further along the road
at the main entrance gate. The southern
sector of the park is managed from Guard-
era Chaica.
There is a CH$1000 entrance fee to Parque
Nacional Alerce Andino, payable when you
sign in at Guardera Sargazo. The only of-
ficial campsite is Camping Correntoso. The
only other place to stay is Refugio Sargazo,
at the park entrance.
Although the guardaparques, with the help of
volunteers, do their best to keep Alerce And-
inos foot tracks open, the ferocious growth
rate of the southern Lakes District vegetation
makes this a difficult task. This trek takes
advantage of those tracks on which most at-
tention is lavished. Even so, occasional fallen
tree trunks have to be ducked or climbed
over, and vigorous quila leans over the route
in many places. Heavy winter snowfalls can
flatten the quila canes, completely obscuring
the path, and the treks level of difficulty will
depend largely on how recently track-clear-
ing work has been done.
lonelyplanet.com 118 LAKES DISTRI CT Laguna Fra
Duration 2 days
Distance 17km
Difficulty easymoderate
Start/Finish Guardera Sargazo
Nearest Town Puerto Montt
Transport bus, walk
Summary Trek into the heart of the park,
where massive and ancient alerces grow
and solitary lakes nestle in the cool, temper-
ate forest.
LAGUNA FRA
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The difficulty of keeping tracks open
means that an additional section be-
tween Guardera Correntoso and Guard-
era Sargazo, and an alternative to that
route via Refugio Pangal (closed), are
closed for an undetermined period.
If these tracks are eventually reopened,
they would offer a worthwhile three-day
trek beginning and ending in Correntoso,
which is accessible by bus from Puerto
Montt.
PLANNING
When to Trek
You are best to trek in Parque Nacional
Alerce Andino between late November
and mid-April. In January the tbanos are
a nuisance.
What to Bring
Carry a tent or do the trek in one longish
day from a base at Refugio Sargazo. Refugios
within the park are derelict. Hikers should
avoid them due to the presence of hanta
virus, spread by rodents, in the region.
Maps
Two IGM 1:50,000 maps cover the central
part of the park: Correntoso (Section H, No
52) and Lenca (Section H, No 61). These
maps do not accurately show local roads
or trekking routes, but are otherwise rea-
sonably accurate (note that on these maps
the Ro Lenca is incorrectly given as the
Ro Chaica and vice versa). The same is
true of the JLM Mapas Ruta de los Jesuitas
map (No 15), which includes a 1:50,000
Laguna Fra LAKES DISTRI CT 119 lonelyplanet.com
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1518m
(19km)
Chamiza
(37km)
To
Chapo (13km)
To Lago
Montt
To Puerto
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Campamento
(ruin)
Gate
Sargazo
Refugio
(locked)
Laguna Fra
Refugio
Sargazo
Refugio Ro
Sargazo (ruin)
Refugio Laguna
Sargazo
Guardera
Pangal
Refugio
Correntoso
Guardera
Correntoso
Camping
A N D I N O
P A R Q U E
N A C I O N A L
A L E R C E
A L E R C E A N D I N O
de Alerces
Catedral
Rodal
1280m
1281m
1187m
1345m
1217m
1371m
1287m
1273m
853m
932m
Elefante
Cerro
Alerces
(1293m)
Cerro Hurn
919m
1159m
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DAY 2
START
Side Trip
Route
Alternative
START/
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START (Alt)
Bridge
Track
Closed
Closed
Track
Laguna Fra
1:100,000
0 2 km
0 1 mile
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(approximately) partial map of Parque Na-
cional Alerce Andino.
ACCESS TOWNS
Puerto Montt (p122) is the logical base for
the trek and has the nearest well-stocked
supermarkets. The village of Correntoso
has a small grocery store selling basic provi-
sions, which is likely to be your last option
after leaving Puerto Montt. In the park itself
theres nowhere to buy anything.
To get there in a private vehicle, follow Ruta
7 the Carretera Austral east from Puerto
Montt across the Ro Chamiza to Chamiza,
then head left up the Chamiza valley to the
park. Vehicles can be left at the end of the
public road, just outside the park entrance
at Guardera Sargazo.
For those without private transport, the
trek begins and ends with a road walk of
about 13km between the village of Corren-
toso, 37km east by road from Puerto Montt,
and Guardera Sargazo (see the Alternative
Start, this page). From the Puerto Montt
bus terminal, Buses JB run up to five buses
daily (fewer on Sunday) to Lago Chapo,
which pass through Correntoso (CH$1000,
one hour).
A former residence for guardaparques
adjacent to Guardera Sargazo, where the
trek starts and finishes, Refugio Sargazo
(bunks CH$5000) has been converted into
a comfortable, basic refugio with bathroom
(cold water only) and kitchen. Camping
is not permitted anywhere nearby, so the
refugio is a valuable option for those with-
out private transport who must walk from
Correntoso.
THE TREK
Day 1: Guardera Sargazo to
Campamento Ro Sargazo
12 hours, 4km
Follow the road 500m past Guardera
Sargazo and pick up the signposted and
substantially reinforced path leading off left
into the trees. The route climbs up past a
forestry observation tower and over a low
ridge, then dips gently around the rainfor-
ested northern slopes just above Laguna
Sargazo to pass a left-hand turn-off to an
alerzal (a stand of alerces) known as the
Rodal Alerces after 40 to 50 minutes. This
is a rewarding short side trip to a small stand
of particularly massive ancient alerces.
Make your way on through damp groves
of leafy tiacas, which grant only the oc-
casional unobstructed glimpse of the lake,
and cut down across a small wash full of
boulders. After finding the trail again in
the scrub just up from the tiny rocky beach,
climb on some way above the lake before
you drop down again to a small, unofficial
campsite and the reedy eastern shore of La-
guna Sargazo after one to 1 hours.
Pick up the path in the scrub on the far side
of this flat, boggy area and continue north-
eastward to the remains of an old orchard
and the free Campamento Ro Sargazo, with
pit toilets, after 10 minutes or so.
ALTERNATIVE START: CORRENTOSO
23 hours, 13km
From the bus stop in Correntoso (on the
main road to Lago Chapo), take the turn-
off leading east past wooden houses to cross
the Ro Chamiza bridge. Because water
has been diverted for the hydroelectricity
scheme on Lago Chapo, the once-power-
ful cataract known as the Salto Chamiza
(Salto Correntoso on the JLM map) is now
little more than a trickle. Continue along
the road around a bend to reach Guardera
Correntoso after 20 to 25 minutes, where
you should sign in and ask the friendly and
knowledgeable resident guardaparque for
the latest information about tracks and re-
fugios in the park. A few minutes further
along the road is Camping Correntoso
(per site CH$3000), with toilets and plenty
of grassy campsites.
The road now continues gradually uphill
for about 10km, and lies outside the park
for much of that distance. Theres no navi-
gation required, and not much of interest
to detain you until you come to the park
entrance gate, Guardera Sargazo and the
adjacent refugio (see Refugio Sargazo, this
page) after two to 2 hours. Day 1 begins
at the guardera.
SIDE TRIP: REFUGIO LAGUNA SARGAZO
50 minutes1 hour return, 2km
This easy walk to the southwestern corner of
Laguna Sargazo is worth doing even though
at present its not possible to stay at the hut.
From Guardera Sargazo follow the road for
1.5km until it ends at a tunnel sealed by a
lonelyplanet.com 120 LAKES DISTRI CT Laguna Fra
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locked gate. A path leads off right to meet the
Ro Lenca after a minute or two. Cross the
river a short way downstream from here an
easy ford, since a weir just upstream diverts
most of its water into the nearby tunnel. The
path climbs up roughly eastward through the
damp forest of tepa and mao, then descends
to the refugio after 25 to 30 minutes. This di-
lapidated shingled wooden shack stands just
above a tiny beach on Laguna Sargazo.
Return by the same route.
Day 2: Campamento Ro Sargazo
to Guardera Sargazo
45 hours, 13km
The continuation of the trek as far as La-
guna Fra could be done at the end of Day 1
or even omitted (although its hard to imag-
ine why youd come here and not go on).
Leaving your packs at camp, continue
northeast and almost immediately pass the
largely demolished Refugio Ro Sargazo.
Built by a long-since evicted local settler,
this shelter awaits rebuilding.
Proceed gently upvalley along the north-
ern bank of the Ro Sargazo through quila
thickets, crossing several small side streams
before a log bridge over the Ro Sargazo
after 35 to 45 minutes. The foot track, val-
iantly maintained in the face of overgrowth
by vigorous bamboo, leads on up past a
signpost pointing east towards another fine
alerzal, the Catedral de Alerces, accessi-
ble just a short distance off the main track.
Continue upstream to reach the lovely La-
guna Fra 40 to 50 minutes after the Ro
Sargazo crossing.
Refugio Laguna Fra, closed to trekkers,
is 300m on around the western side of the
lake. Despite its name Cold Lake, Laguna
Fra is actually fine for swimming, enclosed
by various granite peaks visible only from
the middle of the lake.
Return the same way to Campamento
Ro Sargazo to collect your packs, then re-
verse Day 1 to reach Guardera Sargazo,
three to 3 hours from Laguna Fra.
MORE TREKS
PARQUE NACIONAL LANN
Around Lago Lcar
For trekkers based in San Martn de los
Andes, this easy and convenient three-day
route (two days if you get picked up in Pu-
car) leads around the southern shore of
Lago Lcar. From the trailhead 2km south
of Quila Quina (accessible in summer
by regular buses and organized tours), a
broad path climbs gently southwest to the
eastern shore of Lago Escondido, where
there is a park-authorised campsite. From
a turn-off 1.5km before (east of ) Lago Es-
condido, a trail climbs away north across
a pass past Laguna Vizcacha and on down
to Lago Lcar. The route then follows the
lakes southern shore via Ruca ire and
Pucar to Hua Hum, from where there are
daily tourist boats and buses back to San
Martn in summer. Trekkers can also ar-
range to be picked in Pucar by one of the
organized tours that explore Lago Lcar
(including the nearby Termas de Quei) in
summer. Sendas y Bosques 1:200,000 trek-
king map Parque Nacional Lann shows
the route.
PARQUE NACIONAL VICENTE
PREZ ROSALES
Volcn Puntiagudo Lookout
Puntiagudo is a spectacular sharp volcanic
plug whose distinctive form makes it eas-
ily recognisable from many places in the
southern Lakes District. A long return day
walk from Baha Escocia (near the southern
shore of Lago Rupanco see Day 3 of the
Termas de Callao trek, p97) follows a path
south via a steep spur to a lookout point
on the prominent volcanic ridge coming
down from Puntiagudos northeastern side.
Two Chilean IGM 1:50,000 maps, Cerro
Puntiagudo (Section H, No 35) and Volcn
Casablanca (Section H, No 36), cover this
trek but do not show its route.
Volcn Osorno to Rufugio
Picada
This short one- to two-day trek from Petro-
hu on Lago Todos Los Santos follows a
trail around the northeastern slopes of Vol-
cn Osorno (2652m) to the ruins of Refugio
Picada. Markings are minimal; for more in-
formation, consult the casa de expediciones
(guide services) of Hotel Petrohue. Ascents
of Osorno are usually made from the ski
area on the other side of the mountain. The
Chilean IGM 1:50,000 map Petrohu (Sec-
tion H, No 44) covers this area of the trek
but does not show the path.
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Raln to Ensenada Cayute
This easy return trek to Ensenada Cayute,
an isolated southern arm of Lago Todos
Los Santos, takes around three days. The
route begins at a prominent road turn-off
2km east of the village of Raln on Seno
Reloncav. The road passes farms before it
terminates at a logging camp, from where
a path climbs northward through the val-
ley of the Ro Reloncav to the low pass of
Portezuelo Cabeza de Vaca. From here, you
descend to the lovely Laguna Cayute, then
continue down the Ro Concha to Ense-
nada Cayute. The recommended place to
camp is at Laguna Cayute, on the other
side of the inlet stream. The land fronting
Ensenada Cayute is private property and
camping there is not permitted.
Two Chilean IGM 1:50,000 maps, Petro-
hu (Section H, No 44) and Cocham
(Section H, No 53), cover the route. Raln
is about 95km east of Puerto Montt by
road and can be reached by daily bus or
ferry.
PARQUE NACIONAL NAHUEL
HUAPI
For further suggestions, consult CAB and
the staff at the APN Intendencia in Bar-
iloche.
Refugio Tronador (Refugio Viejo)
Refugio Tronador was the CABs first refu-
gio on Monte Tronador. Today, this small,
arched-stone building (with room for 10
people) is also known as Refugio Viejo (Old
Refuge), and has largely been superseded by
Refugio Otto Meiling.
Standing on a high ridge of the main
Cordillera, Refugio Tronador offers
superb views of both sides of the Lakes
District. Five minutes west of Pampa
Linda, the path (signposted Cascada de las
Nalcas) leads off the road and across the
young Ro Manso. The route follows the
Ro Cauquenes up across Paso Vuriloche
on the ArgentinaChile frontier to Mal-
ln Chileno, a beautiful alpine meadow,
then follows a rocky ridge northwest to
the refugio, just a few paces inside Argen-
tine territory at 2270m. The best map is
the 1:50,000 Trekking 2 map. The trek is
recommended as an overnight trip. If the
hut is full, Malln Chileno is a good place
to camp.
Cerro Volcnico
The climb to the 1861m summit of Cerro
Volcnico is another excellent long day (or
overnight) return trek from Pampa Linda.
The route fords the Ro Cauquenes where
it leaves the path to Refugio Tronador (de-
scribed previous) and follows a large side
stream southward. A gentle climb eastward
leads to Laguna La Rosada, from where the
trail continues southwest through malln
meadows then on steeply through lenga for-
est on to a flat, windy ridge that gradually
brings you up to the summit. Cerro Vol-
cnico offers a fine view down to Lago Fonck
and Lago Hess in the upper basin of the Ro
Manso between Cerro Cretn and Cerro
Grantico. Use the 1:50,000 Trekking 2 map.
Refugio Neumeyer
This easy and sheltered area makes a good
option for two or three days trekking if
the weather looks unstable. From Ruta
Nacional 258 on the way to El Bolsn, a
turn-off heads southwest up the Arroyo
irec, before entering the broader side
valley of the Arroyo Challhuaco. The road
leads to Refugio Neumeyer (general use
AR$5; dm AR$25; kitchen use AR$10), a
well-equipped CAB hut, from where you
can do a variety of nice day walks. Where
the road crosses the Arroyo irec a foot
track turns off to the right (west). A path
continues along the eastern bank of the
stream to Refugio irec, beside a malln
at the head of the valley. From here, a more
difficult route leads west to a pass and fol-
lows the range north before descending via
the Arroyo Melgurejo to Lago Gutirrez.
The best map is the 1:50,000 Trekking 3
map. Refugio Neumeyer is accessible from
Bariloche by private vehicle or tour bus (ask
at the CAB office); you can walk to the
trailhead in half a day.
Pampa Linda to Refugio Lpez
This excellent four- or five-day trek is simi-
lar to the Nahuel Huapi Traverse, but much
wilder. An old road leads from Pampa
Linda across the Ro Alerce, then climbs up
between Cerro del Viento and Cerro Punta
Negra to a minor pass. The descent dips
north to Laguna Iln, with a basic refugio
on its northern shore. The route continues
eastward between Cerro Capitn and Cerro
Punta Negra, then descends past Laguna
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Jujuy to Laguna Callvu (Azul). From La-
guna Callvu you go northeast via another
gap south of Cerro Cristal, before drop-
ping down to Laguna Lluv (or CAB) and
another basic refugio. From here the route
descends to the Arroyo Lluvuco and crosses
the Bailey Willis range to connect with Day
4 of the Nahuel Huapi Traverse (p103). An-
other possibility is to continue down the
Arroyo Lluvuco to meet an old road lead-
ing northeast along the southern shore of
Brazo Tristeza to Baha Lpez on Lago Na-
huel Huapi. See the Paso de las Nubes trek
(p111) and the Nahuel Huapi Traverse for
transport details. The 1:50,000 Trekking 1
and Trekking 2 maps cover the route.
Around Lago Mascardi
Lago Mascardi has a rough U shape
formed by two arms on either side of a
peninsula. From the northeastern side
of Lago Mascardi, a path leads around
the lakes western shore, cutting off the
peninsula as it climbs to Laguna Llum,
a tranquil lake surrounded by rainforest.
The route continues over the main ridge
north of Cerro General Justo, then drops
back down to the lakeside. The route fol-
lows this western arm (Brazo Tronador)
around to cross a footbridge over the Ro
Manso 1.5km before meeting the Pampa
Linda road. Alternatively, trekkers can
make their way up the Arroyo Callvuco (or
Azul) to Laguna Callvu (or Azul) to meet
the Pampa Linda to Refugio Lpez route
described previously. Use the 1:100,000
Refugios, Sendas y Picadas Parque Nacional
Nahuel Huapi color map. This is a two-day
trek with a camp at Laguna Llum. For ac-
cess, take one of the daily buses between
Pampa Linda (see Paso de las Nubes, p111)
and Bariloche.
Ascent of Volcn Osorno (Chile)
One of the great landmarks of the southern
Chilean Lakes District, the perfect white
cone of Volcn Osorno attracts consider-
able attention from serious mountaineers.
Volcn Osornos last major eruption oc-
curred in 1835, and released a series of
catastrophic floods and lahars (mud ava-
lanches). The volcano has been more or
less dormant since then, allowing exten-
sive glaciers to re-accumulate around its
upper slopes.
The climb to the summit takes one long
day and should be started at dawn. It is
normally undertaken from the refugio at
1180m on the western slopes of Volcn
Osorno (outside Parque Nacional Vice-
nte Prez Rosales). At all times of the year
crampons and an ice axe are required, and
inexperienced climbers are strongly urged
to make the ascent of the volcano with a
professional local mountain guide.
A paved road leads off the main Puerto
OctayPuerto Varas road, 2km north of
Ensenada on the eastern shores of Lago Llan-
quihue, up to Refugio Teski and the Centro
de Esqui. The Chilean IGM 1:50,000 map
Las Cascadas (Section H, No 43) covers the
west side of Volcn Osorno and most of the
ascent route. The adjoining map Petrohu
(Section H, No 44) is also very useful.
RESERVA NACIONAL
LLANQUIHUE (CHILE)
The roughly 300-sq-km Reserva Na-
cional Llanquihue forms a narrow band of
wilderness stretching southeast from the
southeastern corner of Lago Llanquihue
along the north side of Lago Chapo almost
as far as Seno Reloncav. The 2015m Volcn
Calbuco, in the north of the reserve, can be
climbed in a two-day return trek from the
Guardera Chapo, which is at the northern
end of Parque Nacional Alerce Andino. The
trek follows a path up the Ro Blanco to a
rustic Conaf refugio on the volcanos south-
ern side. From here experienced climbers
can tackle the relatively easy Volcn Calbuco.
The 1:50,000 Chilean IGM map Correntoso
(Section H, No 52) covers the trek.
PARQUE NACIONAL ALERCE
ANDINO
Lago Tringulo
Lago Tringulo lies in a deep fjordlike
trough fronted by massive smooth gran-
ite walls in the southern (Chaica) sector of
Parque Nacional Alerce Andino. It can be
visited in an easy three-hour return trek
through the rainforest from the parking
lot at Lago Chaiquenes. The path leads
briefly around the northern shore of Lago
Chaiquenes, then follows the east bank of
the Ro Tringulo northward to the south-
ern end of Lago Tringulo. Lago Chaiquenes
is 17km by road from Lenca, a scattered
village on Seno Reloncav; there is a Conaf
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guardera 4km before Lago Chaiquenes.
Lenca is on the Carretera Austral, and can
be reached from Puerto Montt by several
daily buses. There is no public transport to
Lago Chaiquenes, which makes a pleasant
but long 4-hour uphill walk from Lenca.
The 1:50,000 Chilean IGM map Lenca (Sec-
tion H, No 61) covers the route.
PARQUE NACIONAL CHILO
(CHILE)
The 430-sq-km Parque Nacional Chilo,
on the windswept western side of the large
island of Chilo, offers two excellent treks
with wonderful coastal scenery of sandy
beaches and estuarine lagoons set before a
backdrop of densely forested hills. Due to
the mild coastal climate, these treks can be
undertaken at virtually any time apart from
winter (June to September).
A two-day return trek leaves from the
village of Chepu, in the parks northern sec-
tor, accessible by daily bus from Ancud. A
good foot track can be followed south to a
Conaf guardera and refugio by the Ro Lar,
where seal colonies inhabit the numerous
rocky islets just offshore. The Chilean IGM
1:50,000 map Chepu (Section H, No 75)
covers this route.
A more popular three-day return trek
(25km) leads from the village of Cucao in
the parks southern sector. Cucao is acces-
sible by up to six daily buses from Castro.
The route leads along lovely sandy beaches,
past isolated farmlets and through wet
rainforests as far as the Ro Anay (which
can be crossed to reach a wild surf beach).
Wild camping is free. Two renovated Conaf
refugios, at Ro Cole Cole and Ro Anay,
are planned for 2010. For updates, contact
Conaf (
%
065-532502) in Castro.
Use two 1:50,000 Chilean IGM maps: Ro
Anay (Section H, No 86) and Cucao (Sec-
tion H, No 95).
TOWNS &
FACILITIES
ANTICURA (CHILE)
%
064
Meaning rock of the sun in Mapundungun,
Anticura is 94km east of Osorno on the inter-
national highway Ruta 215 (which runs via
Paso de Puyehue to Bariloche in Argentina).
The Guardera Anticura (
%
064-374572)
is on the south side of Ruta 215. Opposite,
north of the highway, are Conafs infor-
mation center and Etnoturismo Anticura
(
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099-1774672; www.etnoturismoanti
cura.blogspot.com), a Mapuche-run albergue
(dm CH$6,000 per person) with camping
(campsites with hot showers CH$3,000 per
person), two person cabins with gas cooking
& hot water (CH$25,000) and a snack kiosk.
Overnight parking is CH$800.
BARILOCHE (ARGENTINA)
%
02944 / pop 98,000
The Breckenridge of South America, Bar-
iloche is a ski town of city proportions,
sprawled out on southeastern shores of co-
balt Lago Nahuel Huapi. This dose of urban
Andes is as dedicated to mountain culture as
its main strip is to chocolate shops and the
sale of carved gnomes. Local andinist tradi-
tion started with its Swiss settlement, and is
evident today in various mountain refuges
and a near constant cycle of outdoor events.
Bariloche is also the gateway to Argentinas
superb Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi.
Information
All trekkers should visit Club Andino
Bariloche (CAB;
%
02944-422266; www
.clubandino.com.ar; 20 de Febrero 30;
9.30am-1pm & 4.30-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 4.30-
8.30pm Sun), which sells trekking maps
and is a great source of information. The
administration center (
%
02944-423121;
[email protected]; San Martn 24;
9am-2pm Mon-Fri) for Parque Nacional
Nahuel Huapi is uphill from the Centro
Cvico and one block downhill from CAB.
The city website is www.bariloche.com.
Supplies & Equipment
For used gear, try the sale board at CAB.
The biggest outdoor retailer is Scan-
dinavia (
%
02944-433170; Mitre 219).
Mountain store RAID (
%
02944-522178;
Neumeyer 60) has new and used equip-
ment, plus does repairs. Try Grupo Garca
Pinturera (cnr Gallardo & Rolando), a
paint shop, for solvente (white gas), and
outdoor-gear suppliers for gas canisters.
Supermarkets include Todo (San Mar-
tn 281), which has several branches
around town.
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Sleeping & Eating
The oficina de turismo (
%
02944-423022,
423122; www.barilochepatagonia.info;
Centro Cvico; 8am-9pm daily) has accom-
modations listings.
Party hostel Perikos (
%
02944-522326;
www.perikos.com; Morales 555; dm AR$45,
d AR$150; i) has large six-bed dormitories
and rents bikes. Immaculate Albergue El
Gaucho (
%
522-464; www.hostelelgaucho
.com; Belgrano 209; dm AR$56; ni) is plain
but spacious. The penthouse panoramas at
Hostel 1004 (
%
02944-432228; 1004hos-
[email protected]; 10th floor, San Martn
127; dm AR$45) beat any hotel views in
town. Theres no sign; enter the Barilo-
che Center, take the elevator to the 10th
floor, and look for room 1004. Or get a free
transfer to the hostels mountain property
La Morada, just out of town. The restored
Hostera El Ciervo Rojo (
%
02944-435241;
www.elciervorojo.com in Spanish; Elflein
115; s/d AR$130/160) has slate floors,
sloped ceilings and homey touches.
The best licks are at Helados Jauja (Perito
Moreno 14; cone AR$5), with ice creams that
incorporate local berries and honey. Das
de Zapata (
%
02944-423128; Morales 362;
mains AR$25-35; lunch & dinner) is a warm
and inviting little Mexican restaurant with
happy hour specials on margaritas. For creative
pastas, La Trattoria de la Famiglia Bianchi
(Av Bartolom Mitre 240; mains AR$20-35;
lunch & dinner) fully satisfies. Cozy pub/
restaurant Map Room (Urquiza 248; mains
AR$20-30; 11am-1am) promises a good
range of beers and real American breakfasts.
Getting There & Away
Bariloche is the Patagonian Andes best
connected city for air services, with flights
to/from Buenos Aires (AR$500, 2 hours,
several daily), El Calafate (AR$305, 1
hours, nine weekly) and many other large
cities throughout Patagonia. The main
local carriers are Aerolneas Argentinas
(
%
0810-2228-6527; Mitre 185) and LADE
(
%
02944-423562; Quaglia 238/242, Via
Firenze center).
The bus terminal (
%
02944-426999;
Ruta Nacional 237) is out of town to the
east; serving local and long-distance des-
tinations. Numerous daily buses run south
along Ruta 258 to El Bolsn (AR$15, two
hours) and Esquel (AR$32, 4 hours), as
well as north to San Martn (AR$37, 4
hours) and Buenos Aires (AR$180, 23
hours). There are also daily buses to Os-
orno (AR$60, five hours) and Puerto Montt
(AR$60, seven hours) in Chile with Tas-
Choapa (
%
02944-426663; Moreno 138).
COLONIA SUIZA (ARGENTINA)
%
02944
Colonia Suiza, near the end of the Nahuel
Huapi Traverse, was originally settled by
Franco-Swiss farming families in the first
decades of the 20th century and is today a
modest lake-side holiday village. A number
of the original houses remain, and the lo-
cals sell homemade fruit preserves and
chocolates.
Colonia Suiza has two public campsites,
both with hot showers: the cramped and
dusty Camping Goye (
%
02944-448627;
www.campinggoye.com.ar, in Spanish;
camping per person AR$20), near the No
10 bus stop, and the more spacious Camp-
ing Hueney Ruca, with sites right on the
shore of Lago Perito Moreno (closed at
the time of research). Restaurante Heidi
(
%
02944-448492; beds AR$38) offers basic
lodging and a restaurant.
Campsites
The road to Llao Llao has several camp-
sites, La Selva Negra (
%
02944-441013;
Av Bustillo km2.9; per site AR$25) is the
nearest. Further down is Camping El Yeti
(
%
02944-442073; Av Bustillo km5.8;
per site AR$24) and Camping Petunia
(
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02944-461969; Av Bustillo km13.5; per
site AR$24).
JUNN DE LOS ANDES
(ARGENTINA)
%
02972 / pop 11,000
Humble Junn is popular with fly-fishers
but has less happening than other Lakes
District towns. Its location 41km north of
San Martn makes it a good base for trips to
the north of Parque Nacional Lann.
Information
Junns helpful tourist office (
%
02972-
491160; [email protected]; Padre
Milanesio 596; 8am-11pm Nov-Feb, 8am-
9pm Mar-Oct) is on Plaza San Martn.
The local APN office (
%
02972-491160;
Domingo Milanesio at Coronel Surez;
Towns & Facili ti es LAKES DISTRI CT 125 lonelyplanet.com
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9am-8.30pm Mon-Fri, 2.30-8.30pm Sat &
Sun) gives information on Parque Nacional
Lann. Alquimia (
%
02972-491355; www
.alquimiaturismo.com.ar; Padre Milanesio
840) rents climbing gear and does two-day
guided volcano ascents. Recommended
Tromen Turismo (
%
02972-491469;
Coronel Surez 445) does trips into Parque
Nacional Lann and tours of Mapuche com-
munities. Rentals include mountain bikes
and climbing gear.
Sleeping & Eating
The fully-equipped Camping Laura Vacua
(Gins Ponte s/n; sites per person AR$5)
occupies a sublime location, perched on
an island in between two burbling creeks.
A beautiful spot minutes from the center,
Hostera Chimehun (
%
02972-491132;
www.interpatagonia.com/hosteriachime
huin, in Spanish; Coronel Surez & 25 de
Mayo; s/d AR$130/150) has big, comfort-
able rooms and a tranquil air. For pasta, try
El Preferido de Junn (General Lamadrid
20; mains AR$20-30; lunch & dinner), also
offering takeout.
From Junns bus terminal (
%
02972-
492038) there are frequent departures to
all of the regions major centers, including
San Martn de los Andes (some via Alu-
min) and Zapala. Empresa San Martn,
Igi-Llaima and JAC all have (almost) daily
buses to Pucn and Temuco, which run via
Tromen and Paso Mamuil Malal.
MAMUIL MALAL/TROMEN
AREA (ARGENTINA)
%
02972
The remote locality of Tromen consists of
a Gendarmera Nacional customs post and
the APNs Guardera Tromen (
%
02972-
427204, 427210; laningparque@smandes.
com.ar) on Ruta Provincial 60, which con-
tinues 4km across Paso Mamuil Malal into
Chile. Free camping is allowed near the
guardera (ranger station), but much better
is the beautiful free campsite 3km away on
the southern shore of Lago Tromen. There
is no nearby store or accommodation.
OSORNO (CHILE)
%
064 / pop 149,443
Agricultural hub Osorno, 910km south
of Santiago, is an access point to Parque
Nacional Puyehue and a convenient bus-
transfer point for crossing into Argentina.
While mild-mannered and pleasant, theres
little to seduce a visitor into dawdling here.
Sernatur (Servicio Nacional de Turismo;
%
237575) has a tourist office on the west
side of the Plaza de Armas. Conaf (Corpo-
racin Nacional Forestal;
%
234393; Mar-
tnez de Rozas 430; 10am-5pm, Mon-Fri)
has park information.
Sleeping & Eating
The best budget option, the basic Hos-
pedaje Snchez (
%
064-422140; Los
Carrera 1595; r per person CH$5000) is
run by a nice older couple. Upgrade with
Hostal Reyenco (
%
064-236285; reyenco
@surnet.cl; Freire 309; s without bathroom
CH$12,000, d CH$16,000) with a nice liv-
ing room and breakfast area. The alluring
Clube de Artesanos (
%
064-230307; Juan
Mackenna 634; mains CH$2600-5200;
lunch & dinner Mon-Sat, lunch Sun), a
former union house, serves traditional pas-
tel del choclo and Mrzen, a local home-
brew. On the plaza, the busy Caf Central
(
%
064-257711; OHiggins 610; mains
CH$1250-6100; breakfast, lunch & dinner)
offers colossal burgers and breakfast.
THROUGH THE ANDES BY
BOAT
One of the Andes classic journeys is the
Cruce de Lagos, an ultra-scenic 12-hour
bus-and-boat trip over the Andes between
Bariloche, Argentina and Puerto Montt,
Chile. Aimed at package tourists, all this
scenery comes with a price tag. The total
fare is US$238, and those who try to book
ahead may be told that segments cannot
be purchased at a discount. Ferry seg-
ments can be purchased on-site though,
given availability.
Service is daily in the summer and
weekdays the rest of the year. Cruce de
Lagos (www.crucedelagos.cl) runs the
trip. You can book in Puerto Montt with
Turistur (
%
065-437127) or in Bariloche
with Catedral Turismo (
%
02944-425444;
www.crucedelagos.cl; Palacios 263). In
winter (mid-Apr to Sep), the westbound
trip takes two days.
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There are daily flights to/from Santiago
(from CH$141,000) with Lan (
%
600-
5262000; Eleuterio Ramrez 802) and Sky
Airlines (
%
064-230186; Galeria Centro
Osorno, Cochrane).
Long-distance buses use the main bus
terminal (
%
064-234149; Errzuriz 1400),
near Angulo. Companies include Pull-
man Bus (
%
064-318529), Tas Choapa
(
%
064-233933), JAC (
%
064-553300),
Tur-Bus (
%
064-201526), Igi Llaima
(
%
064-234371) and Cruz del Sur (
%
064-
232777). Bus Norte (
%
064-233933) and
Andesmar (
%
064-233-050), reach the Ar-
gentine Lakes District. Sample travel times
and fares follow:
Destination Fare (CH$) Duration (hr)
Ancud $4500 4
Bariloche (AR) $12,000 5
Coyhaique $30,000 20
Puerto Montt $1500 1
Punta Arenas $40,000 27
Santiago from $1800 12
Temuco $4000 4
Zapala- $14,000 17
Neuqun (AR)
Buses leave from the Terminal de Buses Ru-
rales (
%
064-232073; Mercado Municipal,
Errzuriz & Prat), two blocks west. Expreso
Lago Puyehue (
%
064-243919) goes to Ter-
mas Puyehue/Aguas Calientes (CH$1700)
and Anticura (CH$4000) from the northeast
corner.
PETROHU (CHILE)
%
065
At the western end of Lago Todos Los San-
tos, Petrohu has a dock, trails and beach
access. Conaf has a park administration
center (
%
065-486115) here and a small
campsite ( four-person site CH$8000) on
the beach, usually smoked-out with family
barbecues. In summer, vendors sell last-
minute snacks at the boat dock.
On the other side of the Ro Petrohu,
Camping Kschel (camping per tent
CH$4000) has noisy waterfront sites. Boats
from the dock at Petrohu shuttle backpack-
ers across the river (CH$1000). The upscale
Hotel Petrohu (
%
065-258042; www
.petrohue.com; s/d CH$99,000/130,000)
has the feel of a luxuriant lodge but the
small restaurant (mains CH$5000-8000)
maintains leisurely service.
PUERTO MONTT (CHILE)
%
065 / pop 168,242
Puerto Montt has grown up from the ho-
hum provincial capital of Los Lagos to a
grinding hub of commerce and industry.
Chiles salmon industry is based here and its
also the springboard to a number of national
parks, the Island of Chilo and Patagonia.
Information
On the plaza, Puerto Montts municipal
tourist office (
%
065-261823; Antonio
Varas 415; 9am-9pm) offers plenty of
national park information. Conaf (
%
065-
486130; Ochagava 464) can provide
details on nearby national parks.
Sleeping & Eating
Hospitality makes family lodging Casa
Perla (
%
065-262104; www.casaperla.com;
Trigal 312; campsites per person CH$5000,
dm & r per person CH$7000) worth the
uphill walk. Boutique hotel Tren del Sur
(
%
065-343939; www.trendelsur.cl; Santa
Teresa 643; s/d from CH$21,800/29,900)
offers high style with cozy rooms, central
heating and a sky-lit hallway.
The ecologically-minded Camping An-
derson (
%
099-5177222; www.chipsites
.com/camping/; Panitao; campsites per
person CH$3000) is worth the short trip.
Fresh food provisions are available on site.
Buses Bohle makes the 20km trip from
Puerto Montts bus terminal to Panitao
(nine times daily, CH$750).
Supermarket Santa Isabel (Diego Portales
1040) faces the bus station. A choice spot
for Chilean junk food, Tabln del Ancla
(
%
065-367554; Antonio Varas 350; mains
CH$1900-5900; lunch & dinner) serves chor-
illana, a mixture of fries, cheese and sausage,
and typical fare with beer on tap. Its on
the main plaza. The fancy Fogn del Lea-
dor (
%
065-489299; Rancagua 245; mains
CH$6000-9500; lunch & dinner) has the best
steak in town, served with hot sopaipillas.
Lan (
%
600-5262000; OHiggins 167,
Local 1-B) flies daily to Punta Arenas
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(from CH$105,350), Balmaceda/Coy-
haique (from CH$62,100) and Santiago
(from CH$108,100). Competitor Sky Air-
lines (
%
065-437-555; www.skyairline.cl,
in Spanish; cnr San Martin & Benavente;

9am-6.45pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat)
flies to Punta Arenas and Santiago (from
CH$32,300) with slightly cheaper fares.
Puerto Montts waterfront bus terminal
(
%
065-253143; cnr Av Diego Portales &
Lillo) is the chaotic transportation hub for
the region watch your belongings or leave
them with the custodia. In summer, trips to
Punta Arenas and Bariloche can sell out, so
book in advance.
Minibuses to Puerto Varas (CH$800, 25
min), from where there are connections
to Petrohu, leave frequently from the
eastern side of the terminal. Buses Fierro
(
%
065-289024) leaves for the villages of
Raln (CH$1500, two hours) and Cocham
(CH$2000, 2 hours) five times daily, two
of which carry on to Ro Puelo (with ferry
and bus connections to Llanada Grande).
With offices at the terminal, bus compa-
nies include Cruz del Sur (
%
065-252872),
with frequent services to Chilo; Tur-Bus
(
%
065-259320), Igi Llaima (
%
065-254-
519); and Pullman Bus (
%
065-254399).
All go to Santiago, stopping at various cit-
ies along the way. For long-haul trips to
Coyhaique and Punta Arenas via Argen-
tina, try Cruz del Sur.
For Bariloche, Argentina, Tur-Bus/Tas-
Choapa, Andesmar (
%
065-312123) goes
daily via the Cardenal Samor pass east of
Osorno. Cruz del Sur goes on Thursday and
Sunday only. For information on the popu-
lar bus-boat combination trip to Bariloche,
see the boxed text, p126.
Some sample travel times and costs are
as follows:
Destination Fare (CH$) Duration (hr)
Ancud $3300 2
Bariloche (AR) $13,000 6
Castro $4700 3
Coyhaique $30,000 24
Osorno $1500 1
Pucn $5900 6
Punta Arenas $35,000 30
Santiago $20,900 12
Temuco $8000 5
The Terminal de Transbordadores (Av
Angelm 2187) hosts Navimag (
%
065-
432360; www.navimag.com), a commercial
transporter that runs the popular three-
night journey through Patagonias canals.
Navimags M/N Magallanes sails each
Monday to Puerto Natales. If you reserve
via the internet, confirm your booking pre-
departure. Fares (which include meals) vary
according to season, class of accommodation
and view, but in high season (November to
March), the cheapest one-way fares start at
CH$202,800 per person.
Navimag also sails the Ferry Puerto Eden
to Puerto Chacabuco on Wednesdays in
high season. Prices range from CH$143,000
for the AA single to CH$38,000 for the C
berth.
SAN MARTN DE LOS ANDES
(ARGENTINA)
%
02972 / pop 26,000
This mountain town, a tourist attraction
in its own right, is the kind of place you
would see a local biking with skis on their
shoulder and perhaps a dog running along-
side. Known as San Martn, it occupies the
east end of Lago Lcar in Parque Nacional
Lanns southern sector. Cerro Chapelco is
the local hub of alpine skiing.
Information
San Martns tourist office (
%
02972-
425500; www.smandes.gov.ar; San Martn
& Rosas; 8am-9pm, until 10pm Dec-Mar),
across from Plaza San Martn, is well or-
ganized and sells fishing licenses. Across
the plaza, the APN Intendencia (
%
02972-
427233; www.parquenacionallanin.gov
.ar, in Spanish; Emilio Frey 749; 8am-2pm
Mon-Fri, daily Jan & Feb) administers
Parque Nacional Lann and offers some
maps.
For guided Volcn Lann ascents, check
out Cerro Torre (
%
02972--429162; cerro-
[email protected]; San Martn 960) a
reputable outfitter with retail and rentals of
mountain gear. Recommended guide service
Andestrack (
%
02972-420588; www.andes
track.com.ar; Perito Moreno 722) also does
volcano climbs.
Sleeping & Eating
Spacious Camping ACA (
%
02972-
427332; Av Koessler 2640; sites per
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person with two-person minimum fee
AR$10) sits on the eastern outskirts of town.
For a hostel, try the HI-affiliated Puma
Youth Hostel (
%
02972-422443; www.pu
mahostel.com.ar; A Fosbery 535; dm AR$35,
d AR$95) with spacious dorms and ski
transfers; or shiny newcomer Secuoya Hos-
tel (
%
02972-424485; Rivadavia 411; dm
AR$33, d with shared bathroom AR$80; i),
offering welcoming spaces. The alpine-style
Hostal del Lago (
%
02972-427598; hostal
[email protected]; Coronel Rhode 854; s/d
AR$120/150) offers six super-cozy rooms
and friendly management.
For homemade pastas, Trattoria Mi
Viejo Pepe (Villegas 725; mains AR$15-25)
makes outstanding dishes. Vegetarian Pura
Vida (
%
02972-429302; Villegas 745; mains
AR$10-18; lunch & dinner daily, closed
lunch Sun) serves tasty pizzas, savory pies
and heaping salads, with a couple of meat
options.
Aerolneas Argentinas (
%
02972-427003,
427004; Capitn Drury 876) flies to Bue-
nos Aires (AR$700 one-way) daily except
Wednesday.
The bus terminal (
%
02972-427044;
Villegas & Juez del Valle) is a block south
of the highway and 3 blocks southwest of
Plaza San Martn. To get to Alumin you
must first change buses in Zapala (AR$39,
four hours). Departures south to Bariloche
(AR$40, 4 hours via Seite Lagos) are also
frequent. Igi Llaima (
%
02972-428100)
has three departures weekly via Paso Ma-
muil Malal to Temuco AR$50, six hours),
in Chile. Buses Lafit (
%
02972-427422)
runs several times weekly, via Paso Hua-
hum to Puerto Pirehueico in Chile (AR$9),
from where there are sporadic ferry/
bus connections on to Puerto Fuy and
Panguipulli.
In addition to serving Bariloche via
the Seite Lagos route, Ko-Ko (
%
02972-
427422) travels from January through
March to Puerto Arturo (AR$4) on Lago
Lolog; from here hikers can do a two-day
trek north via Portezuelo Auquinco to Lago
Curruhue.
To access treks in Parque Nacional
Lann, the only form of public transport are
tour agencies, including Huemul Turismo
(
%
02972-422903; www.huemulturismo
.com.ar; San Martn 881), with service on
most summer days. Destinations include
Quila Quina, Termas de Lahuen Co, Termas
de Quei and Lagos Huechulafqun and
Paimn. Andes (
%
02972-429110; Ville-
gas 944) shuttles trekkers to trailheads for
reasonable rates.
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