Table of Contents:
- A Few Days in the Puerto Varas Area
- The Cruce Andino From Puerto Varas to Bariloche
- My Bariloche Base Camp – Hostel 41 Below (No longer open)
- Hiking Trails Near Bariloche
See the following for what I did and learned –
- Puerto Varas in Chile’s Lakes Region – Top Things To Do!
- Climbing Volcan Osorno in Chile’s Lakes Region
- By Boat And Bus Through The Andes – The Cruce Andino
- Base Camp Bariloche & The Hiking Trails of Northern Patagonia
- Day 1: Villa Catedral To Refugio Frey
- Day 2: Refugio Frey To San Martin (Jakob)
- Day 3: Laguna Jakob to Laguna Negra
- Day 4 (Laguna Negra to Refugio Lopez)
- Day 5 (Refugio Lopez to Bariloche)
- The Hike To Refugio Otto Meiling – Getting Closer To Cerro Tronador
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A Few Days in the Puerto Varas Area
Click on the More options prompt on the top left of the map for a full-screen view.
A month from now I travel to the Bariloche area of Argentina. It is located in northern Patagonia on the east side of the Andes in an area known for its volcanoes and sapphire-coloured alpine lakes. The Chilean side is just as spectacular! I will be there for three weeks of hiking and volcano climbing.
After flying down from Toronto to Santiago de Chile and then on to Puerto Montt, I’ll spend the first three nights in Puerto Varas as I get over jet lag and dust off my very basic castellano!
After an easy first day checking out Puerto Varas, I plan to head to the Volcan Osorno (2,652 meters) for a walk to the top – it will make a nice warm-up hike. Hopefully, a local agency can arrange the transport and a guide and equipment rental if any is needed.
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Cruce Andino: Puerto Varas to Bariloche
From Puerto Varas, I cross the Andes into Argentina and the resort town of (San Carlos de) Bariloche. While there is a bus that will take you to Bariloche, another much more expensive option that takes you by boat and bus.
Click on the map to access the source web page
See here for the Cruce Andino website.
It promises to be a scenic bus/boat trip even if a bit pricy at $280. U.S. (The 2024 price is $US325.) The Google map above shows the much cheaper bus route but I think this splurge will be worth it! It will take me past Volcan Osorno again as well as across Lago Totos Los Santos from Petrohue to Peulla. It takes 12 hours to get to Bariloche.
A couple of years ago I spent $320. US for a spectacular 45-minute balloon ride over the Plains of Merit in Pagan, Burma so I have had practice in rationalizing seemingly ridiculous expenditures. See Ballooning Over The Plains Of Bagan for my thoughts on that extravagance!
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My Bariloche Base Camp – Hostel 41 Below
I’ll be spending two weeks in the area, a few days in town getting organized and one on a rented bicycle saddle doing the Circuito Chico, a 60 km ride along the lakeshore to the Hotel Llao Llao. I’ve already booked a room for three nights at the Hostel 41 Below in the downtown area. A selling point was the vegetarian meals served at lunch and dinner. It can be difficult to maintain a vegan diet while travelling. This should make my stay in Bariloche somewhat easier!
2024 Update: The hostel is apparently no more, perhaps a casualty of the COVID era. While it still appears on TripAdvisor, the last reviews are from 2018. It has reopened – perhaps with new owners – as the Patagonia Jazz Hostel. My reason for staying at the 41 Below had been, besides the cost, the availability of vegetarian food. It turns out that Bariloche is very veg-friendly so it really was not an issue finding excellent veg food. The main street has Ren Vegetariano, a place I had more than a few means at.
Location of Ren Vegetariano and Patagonia Jazz Hostel
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Hiking Trails Near Bariloche
Most of my time in the Bariloche area will be spent on the hiking trails to the west. I have two hikes planned:
1. Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Refugio Frey to Refugio Lopez
the five-day hike from Cerro Catedral to Refugios Frey, Jakob (San Martín), Laguna Negra (Italia), and Lopez before coming down to Colonia Suissa and a bus ride back to Bariloche. I’ll have my tent – but if the weather is really bad a space in the refugio is an option.
2. Refugio Otto Meiling – Cerro Tronador Hike/Climb?
a hike up to Refugio Otto Meiling from Pampa Linda. Once there I hope to find a guide who can get me to the top of Cerro Tronador (a 3,470-meter-high extinct volcano) – or at least to Pico Argentino. It is the peak accessible from the Argentinian side. Glacier melt over the past decade or so means that the actual highest peak is a dangerous undertaking. It would be a ten-hour slog starting around 3 a.m. to take advantage of the harder snow. I will bring along my crampons and climbing harness; I may be able to rope in with a group that is already going. I did find a guide service which offered to do it for $650. for the day but have to believe that it can be had for much less. Time will tell!
Return To Puerto Monte After Volcan Lanin Climb
After that things are a bit up in the air. I know I’ll be heading to the north end of Lago Nahuel Huapi to Villa de Angostura and then up to San Martin de los Andes but have no goal in mind other than to arrange a hike to the top of Volcan Lanín with one of the many agencies based in San Martín. A three-day $650. excursion looks like the solution.
I then loop back to Chile through the town of Osorno and spend the last two nights in Puerto Montt – I’ve pre-booked a room at the Hotel Seminario on a street above the downtown area – before flying back to Toronto near the end of February.
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Update: Check out these posts to see how it all went down!
Puerto Varas in Chile’s Lakes Region – Top Things To Do!
https://albinger.me/wp-admin/post.php?post=24380&action=edit
Climbing Volcan Osorno in Chile’s Lakes Region
By Boat And Bus Through The Andes – The Cruce Andino
Base Camp Bariloche & The Hiking Trails of Northern Patagonia
Base Camp Bariloche & The Hiking Trails of Northern Patagonia
Day 1: Villa Catedral To Refugio Frey
Patagonia’s Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Day 1 (Cerro Catedral to Refugio Frey)
Day 2: Refugio Frey To San Martin (Jakob)
Patagonia’s Nahuel Huapi Traverse: Day 2 – Refugio Frey to Refugio San Martin/ Laguna Jakob
Day 3: Laguna Jakob to Laguna Negra
Patagonia’s Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Day 3 (Laguna Jakob to Laguna Negra)
Day 4 (Laguna Negra to Refugio Lopez)
Patagonia’s Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Day 4 (Laguna Negra to Refugio Lopez)
Day 5 (Refugio Lopez to Bariloche)
Patagonia’s Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Day 5 (Refugio Lopez to Bariloche)
The Hike To Refugio Otto Meiling – Getting Closer To Cerro Tronador
The Hike To Refugio Otto Meiling – Getting Close To Cerro Tronador
Cool Beans…looks like an awesome trip! Looking forward to hearing about it!
Awesome indeed – or as the Brits would say – “brilliant”! I’m working on reviving my rudimentary Spanish right now. Since I’ve only used it for three weeks every couple of years starting with my first visit to Peru a decade ago, I keep relearning the same stuff! I need to up the frequency of my visits to the Andes! Now that would be copado!
Hi, Peter. Sorry to hear about your fall. I hope you feel better already.
What can I say! A bit of black ice and a sideways crash to the sidewalk while Viggo licked my face. Let’s put it down as one of those things that commonly happen to old people!