Enchanting Lakes (AR 046)

9 days / 8 nights in the Lake District

Departures: daily, except Sundays. From September 15th to April 15th.
Guide: Spanish and bilingual (English, German, Italian, French)
Meals: breakfast. Air Fare: not included.

An unforgettable circular trip around the region of the lakes in the Argentine and Chilean Patagonia. Visit the first class tourist centres of Bariloche and San Martín de los Andes, unique for the perfect combination of stone and wood buildings with beautiful landscapes. Travel along the incredibly beautiful Seven Lakes Route and cross the Andes Mountain Range towards Pucón, with its dense forests and Villlarica Volcano that dominates the place before continuing to the lake crossing. An incredible experience with breathtaking views.

Day 1 - Bariloche
Reception at the airport and transfer to the selected hotel. Depart from the hotel for a half-day sightseeing tour of Bariloche and its outskirts. Drive along Bustillo Ave. bordering the Nahuel Huapi Lake towards Playa Bonita. Continue to Campanario Hill, where a chair lift will take you to the summit. Enjoy a complete overview of Nahuel Huapi Lake, the mountain peaks of the Andean Range and the city. Then drive towards the San Pedro and Llao Llao Peninsulas. Visit San Eduardo Chapel and admire the view of the Llao Llao Hotel and Puerto Pañuelo, embarkation point of most lake excursions. Cross the bridge that connects Nahuel Huapi Lake and Moreno Lake and proceed to López Bay. Enjoy a breathtaking view of Nahuel Huapi Lake from the Panoramic Point, a natural balcony facing the Moreno Lake. Return to Bariloche. Accommodation.

Day 2 - Bariloche / San Martín de Los Andes
Breakfast. Departure to San Martín de los Andes through the Seven Lakes Road. This scenic route that borders the northern margin of Nahuel Huapi Lake will take us to Villa La Angostura, a little village surrounded by dense forests and towering mountains. The road has mountain stretches and goes through dense woods with huge coihues. Proceed along the Seven Lakes Road passing by Correntoso, Falkner and Villarino Lakes, among others. Arrive at San Martín de los Andes, a lovely alpine village located by the Lacar Lake shore. Accommodation.

Day 3 - San Martín de Los Andes
Breakfast. Departure to Quila Quina, located 18 km away, where you can still see the ancient houses belonging to the Mapuche Curruhuinca group (Indian tribe). Visit the Arroyo Grande Cascade, a source of carbonated mineral water, and admire the rupestrian paintings of the area. Continue to Chapelco Ski Center to appreciate the panoramic view of the Lanín Volcano and Lacar Lake. Return to San Martín. Accommodation.

Day 4 - San Martín de Los Andes / Pucón
Breakfast. Early departure by motorcoach from San Martín de los Andes to cross the Andes to Chile through Tromen Pass. It will take you quite a long time to forget this fascinating crossing. While ascending through Lanín National Park, the landscape will change constantly, until you finally rise above the tree-line in the mountain slope. Close to the route, the Lanín Volcano, 3,776 mt high, stands high above the rest of the surrounding mountains with its majestic conical snow-capped peak. Native Araucaria trees, known by some as the Monkey Puzzle Tree, dominate the landscape. Upon arrival in Pucón, transfer to the hotel.

Day 5 – Pucón
Breakfast. Day of active excursions to explore Pucón. Some options are climbing the local Villarica Volcano, rafting at the Trancura River or visiting the Huife hot springs. Accommodation.

Day 6 – Pucón / Puerto Varas
Breakfast. Regular bus transfer along the Panamerican Highway southwards to Puerto Varas, passing by the city of Valdivia. Great views of the Andes and the snowcapped volcanos will lead your way. Accommodation.

Day 7 – Puerto Varas / Puerto Montt / Frutillar / Puerto Varas
Breakfast. Departure to Puerto Montt, capital of the Chilean Lake District, founded in 1853 by German colonists. City tour visiting the main squares and historical monuments, the port including the fish market of Angelmo where there is a large handicraft market full of crafts men and lots of fresh shellfish. Continue to the lakeside town of Frutillar. Sigtseeing of the village. Return to Puerto Varas. Brief tour of the city, known as the 'City of the Roses' due to the wide variety of roses everywhere. Accommodation.

Day 8 – Puerto Varas / Peulla / Bariloche Lake Crossing
Breakfast. In the morning you will set out along the southern shore of the lake to Ensenada. Even the hardest among the adventurers will find it difficult not to stop and take a few photos on approaching the Osorno Volcano. The first real stop, however, will be at Petrohue Falls (entrance fee not included as it has to be paid directly). This series of rapids and waterfalls were formed a long time ago by the cooled lava from the volcano towering behind them. They form an impressive sculpture of extruded volcanic rock shaped by thousands of years of thundering water flow.
Later, board the catamaran and get ready to cross Todos Los Santos Lake (All Saints Lake), surrounded by high mountains whose lower slopes are thickly forested. As you pull away from the source of Petrohue River, the view is quickly stolen away by the impressive size and proximity of the ice-capped Osorno Volcano behind. The rest of the morning will be spent sailing. Southbound, high above the forested shore, you will see the peculiar shape of Puntiagudo Volcano and a series of waterfalls. Upon arrival in Peulla, at the eastern end of the lake, you will have time for lunch (optional). This is the heart of Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park. Here you may enjoy a lovely hike to the Cascada de la Novia (Bride’s Cascade) a native growth Valdivian Rainforest, quite an amazing vegetation for these southern latitudes.
In the afternoon continue by motor coach through Pérez Rosales Pass and into Argentina. On the Argentine side, you will meet a ferryto go across Frías Lake, followed by a short bus ride up to Puerto Blest from where the final sailing across Nahuel Huapi Lake will finally take you to Bariloche. Upon arrival at Puerto Pañuelo, transfer to hotel in Bariloche. Accommodation.

Day 9 - Bariloche
Breakfast. Departure, transfer to the airport.