Today has been a long day but worth every bit of it. We started at 10.30am from the pier below the Hotel Llao Llao in Bariloche (Puerto Panuelo) in a catamaran for a sail through Lago Nahuel Huapi. This journey includes crossing the Andean lakes partly by boat and partly on bus through the various unpaved passes to the other side.
Goodbye Bariloche
The pristine lake waters and the mountains on both sides are an embodiment of calmness and peace. The first part of the journey of 15 miles ended at Puerto Blest where the Lago Nahuel Huapi is joined by the Rio Negro with its ethereal green waters (due to the suspended minerals reflecting the sunlight).
Puerto Blest
At this point we did a 20 minutes bus ride to Puerto Alegre on Lago Frias. Here we boarded a smaller boat with 35 people for another 20 minutes (4 miles) to Puerto Frias. The colours of this lake are completely different. The green takes on a pastel shade and the environment is even more untouched than the one we crossed a while ago.
Lago Frias and Volcan Tronador on the Right
As the boat approached Puerto Frias in the distance the Volcan Tronador came into sight. This volcano takes its name from ‘thunder’ that it sounded like during its last eruption and the sound of the rocks that rolled down from its fringes. The extremely calm waters and the surrounding scenery was
Volcan Tronador after Crossing into Chile - From the Otherside
in complete contrast to even the thought of such thunder. Puerto Frias is the last post on the Argentinian side and we had to go through a ‘not very complicated’ immigration procedure.
It was bus ride once again for nearly 2 hours through unpaved Chilean Andean roads to Peulla. This was an interesting journey with the Andean flora in full spring bloom and the fragrance of various wild flowers drifting through the air. This 2 hour journey through the forests concluded at the village of Peulla. Passing through fascinating scenery of hills and valleys, rivers and ravines, various birds and animals, we had to complete Chilean immigration at this point.
Peulla and Lago Esmeralda
A hotel emerged from no where and we were already in the Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales. After a quick lunch of Reineta ( a typical Chilean fish) we walked onto the pier on the Lago Esmeralda (Lago Todos Los Santos) for a nearly 2 hour catamaran journey to Petrohue.
Volcan Puntia Gudo
This was the most captivating part of the journey…..the lake is rightfully named Esmeralda – we were travelling through 22 miles of clear green waters surrounded with snow covered Andean peaks. In this land of volcanoes we first came across the Volcan Puntia Gudo with its very sharp
Volcan Osorno
edged broken peak. Soon emerged the Volcan Osorno – majestic and completely snow covered. Last known to have erupted in the 1800s it is now considered dormant and serves as a popular ski resort. The first looks of it remind you of Mt.Fuji but it isn’t half as tall at the Fujiyama. The voyage through the Lago Esmeralda passed under the foothills of the volcanoes where the landscape is shaped by lava flow for many years. When we reached Petrohue it was 5.30 pm already.
The bus now took us through the ‘fruit bowl’ of Chile, as this region has miles of orchards and farms. Berries, apples, oranges, peaches and plums are exported from this region. This region also provides 30% of the meat and 60% of milk for the Chilean consumption. Beautiful farms lined the sides of the road on one side and the Lago Llanquihue (Yaan – ki – hue) took the other side. The Volcan Calbuco that erupted last in 1960 came into sight a few times on this journey.
Petrohue
Our 2 hour drive then brought us to a very German town of Puerto Varas on the banks of the Lago Llanquihue…..and we checked in to our hotel for the next two nights – the Cabanos del Lago with a magnificent view of the lake.
Volcan Osorno from Puerto Varas
After a quick round of freshening up, we trudged to a small but very authentic El Gordito restaurant for a delicious seafood dinner – well helped by the few Pisco Sours. And boy was I drunk after a long day – don’t remember much after that!
Fantastic. Did you plan this all on your own?
J.A.P.
J.A.P well we did a lot of research and planned the trip.
Good post mate!! Keep ‘em flowing!
Did you buy beforehand the boat and bus trips? If so where/ when?
Could you inform the hotel prices?
Celio Guimaraes
Regarding your Day 13 in Arg and Chile. How did you arrange all of the boats and buses strung together to make that trip? Did you purchase a package of some sort?
You say you did research. How? I am finding specific details about bus travel in Arg difficult enough let alone local buses and local boats.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for reading my blog. With regards to stringing together the connections for buses and boats for the lake crossing, my advise will depend on whether you intend to come in from Chile into Argentina or the other way round?
There are local operators in both countries who would happily do the planning. Examples are: Gateways in Buenos Aires and Travelart in Santiago. On top of this you can get loads of information on articles on Patagonia tours and travels as well as Lonely Planet.
However, most importantly it will depend on wht kind of a tourist you are – leisure or adventure and how much you want to pack in. Just for curiousity where would you travel from?
I am planning the lake crossing from Bariloche to Chile in Oct,2012. I am looking for info on how to plan the trip. Is there local cos that do this tour?
Hi Rika, thank you for reading my blog.
We had booked through Gateways Travel based in Buenos Aires. However, there are local companies that you can book with while you are in Bariloche. One of them is called Cruce de Lagos.
Wish you the best and am so sure you wll enjoy the trip – its simply breathtaking!