Northern Patagonia: the Argentinian lakes district

When we were planning this trip, I corralled Sim and Aelie into watching a mediocre doco series called ‘Magical Andes’. In it, they showed some footage of the lakes district of Patagonia and I was instantly hooked. Think blue lakes framed by tree- and snow-capped mountains and the promise of post-hike hands warmed around a mug of hot chocolate (they also covered a few local breweries, which sounded alright to me too!). The person narrating the opening sequence had a way of saying ‘magical Andes’ that made us giggle every time.

Gazing out over the ‘magical Andes’

And so here we are! The main towns we visit have multi-barrelled names that make me imagine proud, flamboyant tango dancers - San Carlos de Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes. This part of Argentina has a strong European history including (delightfully) the making of chocolate. There are more chocolate shops per block in Bariloche than anywhere else I’ve ever been. We have to try it of course, which we do, and it is good!

So. Much. Chocolate!

Our first day here we do a lovely hike up a mountain - Cerro Llao Llao - with stunning views out over a lake and islands forming Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi…

Then we take a boat trip out to Victoria Island and a forest of Arranyes trees…

Arrayanes trees with their distinctive orange tones

Everywhere we go there’s an absolute explosion of bushes with beautiful yellow blossoms…

A few days later, we’re on another stunning drive, this one the route of 7 lakes on the way to San Martin. San Martin is smaller and more charming to me than Bariloche. It’s nestled next to a lake and surrounded by mountains. Here we do another hike to a lovely lookout (Mirador Bandurrias)…

Lovely San Martin

Views from Mirador Bandurrias

…and spend many hours lazing and reading in the sunshine by various lakes, which is my new favourite thing to do…

The car we’ve hired is a wee little thing with unimpressive suspension and clearance making it less than ideal for the bumpy gravel roads and potholes. We get a punctured tyre at one point and dent the undercarriage of the car at another so Sim spends quite a bit of time chasing up solutions.

Besides this, it’s a dreamy time of dappled sunshine, gently lapping shores and much lakeside reading of novels. Divine! 

Next stop: southern Patagonia