San Carlos de Bariloche

San Carlos de Bariloche (Bariloche) is a town in the North of Patagonia. It is situated beside a lake which is surrounded by mountains. In winter it is a famous ski area and then a popular hiking area during the summer. The town itself is strange as it looks as it looks like a town that should be situated in the Alps due to the European influence. There are multiple Italian restaurants and Swiss chocolate shops.

We came to Bariloche to do some hiking. Three different hikes were recommended to us from different people whom we had met along the way and aslo from online blogs. We hoped to enjoy all three hikes however this didn't really occur. The first hike was supposed to be a four hour hike ending with a view over the lake however after spending an hour trying and failing to find the start of the trail we had to abandon that hike. The second hike was a forty minutes steep ascent up a mountain for a different view over the mountain however when we got to the top of the mountain the clouds came in over us and it started to lash rain preventing us from seeing much of our surroundings. The final hike we wanted to do was a six hour hike up a mountain that has multiple ski resorts in winter, the Refugio Frey hike. Thankfully we found the start point and the weather had improved so we were able to see the lake and mountains surrounding us. We initially walked on a trail through a forestry region, over streams and parallel to the Nahuel Huapi lake gradually climbing higher up the mountain. During the last hour of our ascent the trail became quite steep and we started walking through the snowy region of the mountain. The higher we climbed the deeper the snow was. At the top the snow was covering the ankles of our boots. At the top there was shelter house for multiday hikers who wanted to camp overnight. This is where we stopped because it was too dangerous to climb higher due to the snow and rocky conditions that we didn't have the gear for. The shelter house was located at 1700m altitude beside a small lake that had frozen over. We ate our well deserved lunch gazing at the stunning snowy surroundings. We were delighted to be able to appreciate Bariloches beautiful surroundings after a few failed attempts. That evening we treated ourselves to some well deserved delicious chocolate sweets and hot chocolate while overlooking the lake again. I beautiful end to a few active days.

Bariloche is a hikers paradise as there are plenty of trails to explore and the scenery is so pretty. I would love to return and explore further south in the Patagonia region but we will have to leave that for another trip as the weather is too snowy there at the moment.Read more