Argentinian lake district holidays

The Argentinian Lake District is a long ribbon of forested mountains, glacial lakes and alpine towns running down the eastern side of the Andes in northern Patagonia. Deep-blue lakes sit beneath snow-dusted peaks, southern beech and monkey-puzzle forests cloak the slopes, and the whole region is laced with hiking trails and scenic drives. Swiss and German settlers left their mark in the timber-and-stone architecture and the chocolate shops.

The hub is Bariloche, a lively town on the shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi and the gateway to Argentina’s oldest national park. Nahuel Huapi, created in 1934, spreads across some 700,000 hectares of lakes, forest and mountains, crowned by the extinct volcano Cerro Tronador. Just outside town, the scenic Circuito Chico loops past the Llao Llao peninsula, and the Cerro Campanario chairlift takes you to one of the finest viewpoints in Patagonia.

North of Bariloche, the Seven Lakes Road threads between lakes and forest to the quieter towns of Villa La Angostura and San Martín de los Andes. West of town, the lakes lead to the border, where the Lakes Crossing links the Argentinian and Chilean sides by a chain of boats and buses.

This is a place to be active. In the warmer months, trails climb from the lakeshores to mountain refuges like Refugio Frey, and the lakes come alive with kayaks, sailing boats and fly-fishing lines. Come winter, Cerro Catedral becomes one of South America’s largest ski areas. Between the peaks, the forest shelters the pudú, the world’s smallest deer, while condors ride the thermals overhead.