Villa La Angostura

Villa La Angostura is the quiet alternative to Bariloche, a village spread among the trees on the north shore of the Nahuel Huapi. The Quetrihué peninsula, which hangs from it into the lake, ends in the Bosque de Arrayanes, a forest of myrtles with cinnamon-coloured bark found almost nowhere else. On the other side of the village, Lago Correntoso empties into the Nahuel Huapi through one of the shortest rivers in the world; the hotel at its mouth was a fishermen's refuge in 1917.

Two or three nights here work as a base for the whole northern shore. The Bosque de Arrayanes can be reached on foot or by bike along a twelve-kilometre trail, with the boat back across the lake. The Correntoso is fly-fishing water; the Seven Lakes road leads north to San Martín de los Andes; and the Cardenal Samoré pass, a short drive away, is the road crossing to Chile, towards Osorno and Puerto Varas. Bariloche is an hour away.

November to April is the season for walking and fishing. Autumn colours come in April and May; in winter, the Cerro Bayo ski area opens above the village.