Lago Rivadavia
Tres días a fines de febrero de 2020, manejando desde Bariloche por El Bolsón — una ruta realmente escénica — para acampar en la orilla norte del Lago Rivadavia. Todo iba en la caja del camión y llegó cubierto de tierra. Subimos el Cerro Alto El Petiso, hicimos asado y kayak en el lago, y el último día seguimos por el Parque Nacional Los Alerces hasta Esquel a almorzar, y de ahí de vuelta a Bariloche. Toda la zona está al lado del asentamiento galés de los Andes, con casas de té. Lamentablemente no llegamos a Trevelin, el corazón de esa comunidad.
- Otro
Bariloche
Visitado: 27 feb 2020
Notas de llegada: We left Bariloche in a truck, everything piled in the back, heading south on the Andean road.
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The start of a three-day loop, not a stay. From here the road drops toward El Bolsón and then into Chubut — lakes, forest, and dust.
- Atracción
El Bolsón
Visitado: 27 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: Coche — The scenic drive south from Bariloche on RN40 / the Andean corridor. We crossed through town on the way to the lake.
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The midpoint of a really scenic route — hops, mountains, and the last proper town before the lakes. The truck bed collected the whole road: by the time we reached Rivadavia, every bag was covered in dirt.
- Alojamiento
Lago Rivadavia — north shore camp
Visitado: 27 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: Coche — Drove on from El Bolsón to the northern edge of the lake, inside the approach to Parque Nacional Los Alerces.
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We camped at the northern edge of Lago Rivadavia — a quiet, cold-water lake under the Andes. Three nights’ worth of gear out of a filthy truck, then fire, water, and the kind of silence you come south for.
- Recreativo
Cerro Alto El Petiso
Visitado: 28 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: A pie — Hike from the Lago Verde / Puerto Mermoud side — a long, steep day. Register with the guardaparques.
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An amazing hike with very rewarding sights — forest, a creek bed, then a summit plateau over the lakes. Somewhere along the way I remember a millenary alerce, a lahuan standing in the Valdivian woods. Worth the tired legs.
- Recreativo
Kayak and asado on Lago Rivadavia
Visitado: 28 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: Otro — From camp, onto the water and back to the fire.
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The lake day: kayaks on the cold water and a grill on the shore. After Petiso this is the right pace — swim if you dare, eat meat, watch the light move across the cordillera.
- Atracción
Parque Nacional Los Alerces
Visitado: 29 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: Coche — On the last day we drove further south along RP71 through the park — Rivadavia, Verde, Futalaufquen.
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Incredibly beautiful. The park is more than the lake we camped on: arrayanes, hanging valleys, and the ice-field country opening as you keep south. Give the drive time — it is the point, not a transfer.
- Restaurante
Esquel
Visitado: 29 feb 2020
Cómo llegué: Coche — Kept going south out of the park to Esquel, had lunch, then the long drive back to Bariloche.
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Lunch in Esquel after the park, then the whole way home to Bariloche in one go. The town sits on the edge of the Welsh Andes — there are nice casas de té around. A proper Patagonian day of sitting in a truck and watching the mountains change. If you can spare the detour, Trevelin is only a short hop further.
- Atracción
Trevelin
Cómo llegué: Coche — We did not go. From Esquel it is a short drive west toward the Andes — twenty minutes, if that.
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We sadly did not go. Trevelin — Trefelin, the mill town — is the heart of the Welsh community this close to the Andes, a few kilometres from Esquel. Casas de té, bara brith, and a different Patagonia. If you have even two extra hours after lunch in Esquel, go.
Resumen de la ruta: Bariloche → El Bolsón → Lago Rivadavia — north shore camp → Cerro Alto El Petiso → Kayak and asado on Lago Rivadavia → Parque Nacional Los Alerces → Esquel → Trevelin