It’s perhaps the most popular thing to do in the Bariloche area: the 7 lakes route. The Ruta 40 between San Martín de los Andes and Villa la Angostura is particularly scenic and has become a popular day trip, even from Bariloche. I’d hoped to find some other people interested in renting a car and exploring the road, but that didn’t happen. Even during my stay in San Martín there was nobody in the hostel who planned to go. Meanwhile the weather was turning and the days got cloudier. There were tour companies offering day trips, but they were relatively expensive. And I had already seen a lot of the landscape from the bus. Would it really be worth it?
Yes. The answer is yes. I ended up paying for the tour, who would drop me off in Villa la Angostura rather than taking me back to San Martín again. This way I’d at least save the time and money for another bus. Although the forecast wasn’t great, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sun in the morning. There were clouds and at times it was overcast, but the sun also came through and the views would be great. To my surprise the guide drove us slightly off the main highway too and provided great information. On the first part of the drive we went through an area of the national reserve where the original people, the Mapuche, live. After that, pretty much all the forest we saw was part of the Lanín national park and partly of Nahuel Huapi.
Despite there being a national park, there is still some development along the way. Recently someone started a new, although small, ski resort. It’s far from the bigger towns, but supposedly it’s very pretty and in an area where snow accumulates. So even some of Europe’s national teams have used it for training. There are campings and accommodations close to the lake shores and I can imagine it’s pretty busy during the peak season. The first lake was Lácar, right by San Martín de los Andes. Since you can visit it from town we didn’t even stop at any of the view points. Next up, Machónico lake was very pretty, especially surrounded by the fall colors. We also stopped at a waterfall, Cascada Vuliñanco. You had to find a strategic point to admire it since a lot of trees were obscuring the views. Lago Falkner was right at the road and offered a large beach. According to our guide it was the best camping spot in the area, or perhaps the camping with the best facilities.
When we got to Villarino lake it was quite overcast. Perhaps it was because of that that I didn’t find it particularly special. But of course it still added to the beautiful landscape and beautiful drive. Lago Escondido was, as the name suggests, truly hidden. There was a small parking lot and a mirador, which pretty much gave you views of the forest. You could see people had created all kinds of trails around it, but I never really got a good view. For lago Correntoso we drove off the main route for a few kilometers. It was a dirt road and apparently part of the original 7 lakes circuit, before there was an asphalted highway. There was a guest house, campground and peaceful beach. I found some roses laying at the water’s edge.
Perhaps the most impressive view was over lago Espejo. We’d turned onto the road leading to Chile, to get to a better viewpoint. There was a beautiful beach below us to the right. On the left the lake seemed to continue endlessly. There was this odd line of bright blue water.
To finish off we stopped at the world’s shortest river (although google gives multiple other options). The Correntoso river connects the Correntoso and Espejo lakes and runs for about 200m. We got to walk across the bridge and look down at the river and the colorful trees surrounding it. We also made a stop at Bahía Manzano, part of lake Nahuel Huapi, where we found the Villa la Angostura sign and a lot of fancy hotels. After the rest of the group got dropped off for lunch, I was brought to my hostel. It was early afternoon and I still had plenty of time for a stroll around town. It’s the slightly fancier town of the region and my tour guide informed me queen Maxima would often visit, especially since her brother owns a restaurant here. In fact, she was there last January. I enjoyed the look of the town, situated in the forest. I wrapped up my day in a café and looked forward to my weekend here.
