San Martín de los Andes

San Martín de los Andes is a town of wooden houses and gardens at the head of Lago Lácar, smaller and quieter than Bariloche, and the northern end of the Seven Lakes road. It sits inside the Parque Nacional Lanín, named after the volcano whose white cone, almost four thousand metres high, dominates the north. Around it, forest tracks, rivers and lakes spread in every direction, and the Chapelco ski resort is on the hill above.

Two nights are the measure. The park is good country for mountain biking, from easy forest tracks to long rides with views of the Lanín. A boat on Lácar leads to the beach at Quila Quina; a drive north reaches Lago Huechulafquen at the foot of the volcano. South, the Seven Lakes road goes down to Villa La Angostura. San Martín is also a door to Chile: by the Hua Hum pass and a boat across Lago Pirehueico towards Huilo Huilo, or by the Mamuil Malal pass under the Lanín towards Pucón.

Summer is for the lakes; autumn turns the forest red and gold. Winter brings the ski season at Chapelco.