Bariloche Department: Lakes, Trails and Mountain Hikes
Accommodation in Bariloche Department
Mountain trails, lakes, forest landscapes and regional culture shape the experiences in the Bariloche Department. Options range from short walking trails and a traditional sightseeing route to multi-day Andean and high-altitude treks. Cycling, viewpoints and regional cuisine also add their own appeal. When choosing your vacation rental, the first thing to consider is therefore what kind of excursion you want to define your trip.
Sightseeing Route and Regional Cuisine
The Circuito Chico is Bariloche’s traditional sightseeing route. It connects the city, forests, lakes and mountains in a single landscape. From kilometer 30, the route includes a turnoff to Villa Tacul at Llao Llao Bay; it also continues toward Lago Escondido. Diving is considered a suitable activity at the beaches of Villa Tacul.
Colonia Suiza is also on the Circuito Chico. There, you can visit farms and campgrounds and enjoy tea. Along the route, you’ll also find tea houses, restaurants, steakhouses and beer bars serving regional cuisine, as well as shops selling local handicrafts. If you’d like an excursion to include food and crafts as well as scenery, you’ll find plenty of options here.
Another viewpoint is located at the summit of Cerro Campanario. There is a café and a lookout point offering panoramic views. This stop offers a different kind of experience from a hike, where the distance and level of difficulty are more central.
Trails on Foot and by Bike
The Cerrito Llao Llao–Villa Tacul hike is rated easy. Depending on the section and starting point, it takes between 50 minutes and 1 hour 20 minutes. The hike at Bahía López is also rated easy and takes about 1.5 hours. The stated durations and difficulty ratings help distinguish these two shorter hiking options from multi-day mountain treks.
At Cerro Catedral, the Bike Park has forest trails, downhill runs of varying technical difficulty and a 4X track for mountain biking. When planning a trip together, it’s worth considering the activity you want and its level of difficulty separately: mountain bike trails with different technical difficulty ratings are a different undertaking from a walking trail or a challenging Andean hike.
Nahuel Huapi National Park offers visitors mountaineering, boat trips, hiking, camping, horseback riding and rafting. Its administrative headquarters are in San Carlos de Bariloche. The variety of activities opens up different options for day trips, from outings on the water to active mountain trails.
Multi-Day Treks and Forest Landscapes
The Travesía de los Cuatro Refugios is a challenging Andean hike rated difficult and takes 4 to 5 days. Another high-altitude trek goes from Cerro Tronador to Pico Argentino: it takes 3 days and is rated moderate to difficult. Both treks require multi-day planning, but differ in duration and stated difficulty.
The Río Azul–Lago Escondido Protected Natural Area offers trekking routes through lenga, coihue, ñire and Andean cypress forests, as well as Valdivian and high-altitude Andean landscapes. There is a network of 13 interconnected refuges. The trail to Refugio del Encanto Blanco takes about 3 hours, follows a moderately difficult to somewhat challenging path, crosses a wooden suspension bridge and runs along the Río Blanco.
Another hike at Cerro Otto starts at the summit, 1,400 meters above sea level. The trail passes through a lenga forest to Piedra de Habsburgo and returns along the same route. At Lago Escondido, a trail passes through the Bosque de Coihues; the lake’s water is said to be pleasantly warm in summer. Each of these trails highlights a distinct landscape and type of excursion.
Culture and Further Discoveries
The short walking trail to Puente Romano leads to an old stone bridge built by the national parks authority in 1937. Bosque Tallado is about an hour’s walk away and features 60 sculptures by artists from around the world. Both destinations combine a walk with a specific cultural or historical point of interest.
In the El Bolsón Valley, organic farming, handicrafts, the production of sweets and beer, and tourism all come together. The Feria Regional Artesanal de El Bolsón is a cultural and productive tradition dating back to the 1970s. If you’re especially interested in crafts and local products, you can take this focus into account when planning your trip.
Other places also offer different starting points for your search: Llao Llao, Villa Mascardi, Río Villegas, El Foyel and Puerto Blest. Compare which landscapes, trails and activities matter most for your trip, and use them to guide your choice of accommodation.
For the broader travel overview: Río Negro.
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