TREK ACROSS NAHUEL HUAPI NATIONAL PARK
Most scenic and complete trekking trip in Nahuel Huapi National Park
TREK ACROSS NAHUEL HUAPI NATIONAL PARK
Most scenic and complete trekking trip in Nahuel Huapi National Park
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRIP
TRIP DETAILS
This guided trekking trip takes you deep into South America’s Andes to explore an untouched Patagonia. Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park protects wild lands of the Andes Mountains and deep blue waters of Patagonia’s Lakes District, and Andescross is one of the few authorized companies to run guided trekking, backpacking, and mountaineering trips here. The Nahuel Huapi National Park was Argentina’s first National Park, and it surrounds the town of Bariloche, Argentina, where we begin this guided trek.
Our mountain guides will take you hiking through the diverse ecosystems of the Argentina’s Northern Patagonian Andes: hanging glaciers, lush forested valleys, granite domes, scenic ridges, summits where the condors play above, alpine meadows, deep blue lagoons, bamboo jungles, and creek crossings.
INTINERARY
Day 1:
We begin this guided trek in Colonia Suiza, a little farm village outside of Bariloche, Argentina founded by people from Switzerland at the beginning of the XX century. Your mountain guide will take you through a coihue and cypress forest hiking beside a stream. We hike through a valley and then climb up to the foot of Cerro Negro. Here we find the deep alpine lake, Laguna Negra and beside it the Manfredo Segre Mountain Hut (1.650m). Relax by the lake, homemade dinner and malbec in the Refugio.
Night in the Manfredo Segre Mountain Hut or tents.
Approx. 12 km with 500 meters elevation change in 4 hours of hiking.
Day 2:
Multiday guided trek in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaEarly in the morning, after a good breakfast in the Laguna Negra Mountain Hut, we start hiking while the fresh moisture is raising up from the Andes Mountains. Your mountain guide will take you around the lake, and then climb up to the mountain saddle on a mellow scree slope. Hike down for few hours to a nice lunch spot beside a clear stream. After lunch, the last stretch to camp is a hike up gaining about 400 meters elevation. The whole climb is with the views of the Andes Range and the lakes of beautiful Patagonia below us. The guide will set up camp beside a lake and the river that drains out of it, prepare a hot, tasty dinner, and you can enjoy the sunset in the mountains. The scenery from our camp is fantastic! Patagonian Alpine lakes, Brazo Tristeza arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi, and some of the main volcanoes in this part of the Andes: Tronador, Osorno, Lanin.
Night in tents.
Approx. 8 km with 700 meters elevation change in 5-6 hours of hiking.
Day 3:
Multiday guided hike traverse in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaToday, your mountain guide will take you on a long journey: gain some vertical meters, hike on granite dome formations, pass some snow patches, “Crystal Ridge”, alpine meadows, and bright blue lakes. This part of Patagonia is called the Lakes District, and today you will realize why as we hike by several and see even more in the distance! We spend a lot of time hiking above tree line today, and it is very possible to see an Andean Condor, the largest bird in the world, soaring above us while we are up high!
Night in tents.
Approx. 14 km with 600 meters elevation change in 6 hours of hiking.
Day 4:
Laguna Azul – Multiday guided trekking in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaWake up in your cozy tent beside another beautiful alpine lake. After your mountain guides pack up camp, we’ll start off hiking on granite domes for less than an hour until we reach the views of the beautiful Laguna Azul, Blue Lagoon. Enormous walls of granite come down to the water. We keep hiking up, passing Laguna Jujuy, until we reach a col between two peaks. As you come up to the saddle, the huge, glacier-covered Mount Tronador comes into view. It is closer than ever and tomorrow we will be at the base of it! Below us is a lagoon with a big sandy beach that looks like it should be in the tropics and not in the middle of the Patagonian Andes. Laguna Ilon will be our camp for the night, and your mountain guide will set up the tents in the trees near the beach. This is a great spot for a swim, if you are hot after the hike!
Night in tents.
Approx. 10 km with 400 meters elevation change in 4 hours of hiking.
Day 5:
Laguna Ilon – Multiday backpack trek in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaToday is a less demanding day of hiking, and we reach civilization again… or at least a hint of it! After 4 hours of hiking down with your mountain guide, you arrive to a tiny settlement in the middle of the Nahuel Huapi National Park called Pampa Linda. “Pampa Linda” means “Pretty Grassland” in Spanish, and it is in the wide valley at the base of Cerro Tronador. This is where the trail to hike up Mount Tronador or go to the Refugio Otto Meiling begins. In Pampa Linda there is a Rangers’ Station, camp sites, little ice cream shop, stables for horseback riding, and a family-owned hosteria where we’ll spend the night. Have a well-deserved hot shower, and a homemade meal with veggies fresh from the garden. Every so often you will hear booms from Mt. Tronador, the “Thunderer”, as huge chunks of its hanging glaciers fall off the cliffs.
Night in Hosteria Pampa Linda ***
Approx. 7 km with 400 meters elevation change in 4 hours of hiking.
Day 6:
Multiday hut to hut trek in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaWell-rested, we start this morning hiking at the foot of Mt Tronador, which is the highest mountain in the Nahuel Huapi National Park and Bariloche area at 3554 meters. Your mountain guide will take you hiking through a Valdivian Forest, temperate rain forest, and green meadows. You will see and hear the hanging glaciers of Mt. Tronador to the left as you hike. We will trek up to Paso de las Nubes, Cloudy Pass, (1400 m), and then descend to the Frias Valley. This is an area where Andean Condors bring their young to practice flying, so make sure to keep an eye on the sky. We come to the hanging Frias Glacier and make camp beside the milky-turquoise colored river and below the impressive glacier.
Night in tents.
Approx. 12 km with 400 meters elevation change in 6 hours of hiking.
Day 7:
Multiday trek Nahuel Huapi national park in Bariloche, Patagonia ArgentinaWe wake up below the hanging glacier, and on our day’s hike the mountain guide will take us along the river that drains from it to its lake. The glacier, river, and lake all share the same name: “Frias”, meaning “cold”. The water from glaciers is sometimes referred to as “glacial milk” because it has a white tint from the very fine sediment suspended in it. This sediment is produced by the glacier sliding slowly forward and grinding smooth the rock below it. Along the river, we will trek through a deep jungle of bamboo and ancient coihue trees. Once we arrive at Lago Frias, we wait for the boat to take us across. The lake is cold, but refreshing for a quick swim before the boat arrives. After cruising the Frias Lake, we arrive to Puerto Blest and take another boat on a long cruise back to Bariloche. Cruising the Nahuel Huapi Lake is very scenic with lots of little islands and peninsulas in the National Park. The boat comes to port in front of the huge Llao Llao Luxury Hotel, about a 25 km from downtown. Your mountain guide will drive you to your lodging in Bariloche.
Approx. 8 km with 50 meters elevation change in 4 hours of hiking.
For this trek, we strongly recommend hiring a Professional IFMGA UIAGM or AAGM Mountain Guides.
GEAR LIST
- Backpack 55 lts
- Headlamp (Petzl Tikka plus, Black diamond or similar) and extra batteries
- Waterbottle Nalgene or Camelbak
- Trekking boots to hike comfortable in scree slopes, snowpatches and forest trail.
- Crocs sandals (Optional)
- 2 pairs of sintethic socks (like Columbia or similar)
- Hiking or trekking pants – Quick dry-(North face, Mammut or similar)
- Capilene underwear
- Polipropilene – capilene shirt
- T shirt
- Thin fleece
- Thick fleece
- Puffy or down jacket, beautiful for cozy afternoons in the mountains
- Lightweight Water proof Goretex jacket
- Lightweight Water proof Goretex pants
- Fleece gloves x 2
- Warm hat
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses with UV filter
- Sun screen and lipstick
- Hiking poles x 2 (Leki , Black Diamond, etc)
- Gaiters
- Pocket knife
- Small Tupperware – pot for meals- or similar (if you have it, if not we will provide it)
- Sleeping bag (800 grs of goosedown or equivalent) and sleeping pad (Therm-a-rest)
- Spoon
- Ipod- Mp3 player (optional)
Summer/ Fall Trekking Trips and Multiday Backpacking trips
This gear list is designed for Backpacking for Several days in the Mountains being able to carry the minimum but logical to travel light and safe in the mountains of Patagonia
- Backpack 35-45 liters if you need sleeping bag bring the bigger
- Sleeping bag ideal 600/700 grams of down fill
- Sleeping pad as Therm-a-rest or similar
- 2 pairs of sintethic socks (like Columbia or similar)
- Hiking or Trekking boots good to deal with wet meadows and scree slopes
- Gaiters
- Quick dry pants with Schoeller material (North face, Mammut or similar)
- Merino wool long underwear
- Water proof Goretex pants
- 2 T shirt- Capilene or Merino wool ideal
- Thin fleece, like Patagonia R1 or similar with a hood ideal
- Mid fleece layer or synthetic Jacket with some insulation
- Down jacket or warm puffy
- Water proof Goretex jacket
- Thin Fleece gloves for hiking
- Thick gloves (according to season)
- Warm hat
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses with UV filter
- Sun screen and lipstick
- Earplugs… very recommended (for Mt huts, windy days in tents)
- Tooth brush and paste
- Headlamp (Petzl Tikka plus, Black diamond or similar)
- Waterbottle Nalgene or similar
- Thermos 0.5 liters ideal for warm drinks
- Crocs
- Iphone/ Ipod music player/camara- optional
- Hiking poles
Camping Gear:
- Mug to go
- Spoon
INCLUDES
- Private transportation, AAGM or UIAGM Mountain Guide
- All meals and lodging in the mountains
- Tents, and cookware
- One night in Hosteria Pampa Linda mid-trip
- 2 boat crossings (Frias Lake & cruise across Nahuel Huapi Lake).
PHOTO GALLERY
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
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