Lakes District: Argentina & Chile

The Lakes District is the gentle Patagonia: mountains with forest on them, lakes you can swim in by February, towns with chocolate shops and wooden chalets. Bariloche, on the Nahuel Huapi, is its capital on the Argentine side; across the passes, Puerto Varas and Pucón play the same role in Chile, with volcanoes instead of granite on the skyline. It is the part of the south that works for families, for people who walk but do not climb, and for anyone who wants Patagonia without its wind.

Bariloche is the natural base: three or four nights for the lake, the Circuito Chico, a day at Tronador or a raft down the Manso. The Seven Lakes road leads north to Villa La Angostura and San Martín de los Andes, with the arrayán forest and a lot of good stopping places on the way; south, Esquel and Los Alerces are the quieter option. What makes this region different from the rest of Patagonia is that the Andes can be crossed here, and in many places: by boat through the lakes from Bariloche to Puerto Varas, by road from Villa La Angostura, from San Martín de los Andes towards Huilo Huilo, from Villa Pehuenia under the Batea Mahuida volcano, or from Esquel through Futaleufú onto the Carretera Austral. A journey can start in one country and end in the other, or loop through both, and Pucón, Puerto Varas and the road south are as much part of the region as the Argentine side.

November to April is the season for the lakes and the trails, with January and February the warmest and the busiest. Autumn, in April and May, turns the forest red and empties the roads. Winter means snow and the ski season at Cerro Catedral, from July to September, which is a different trip altogether.