Discover the Hidden Gems of Patagonia

Three Day Road Trip Covering Bariloche, Route 40, and San Matin de los Andes in Argentina

Hidden along the foothills of the Andes Mountains that border Chile, Patagonia is gem of Argentina. This wildly gorgeous lake district makes up the incredible panorama between Bariloche and San Martin de Los Andes. Undoubtedly, driving the Circuito Chico and Route 40 was the most amazing road trip I have ever taken.

Like a little Switzerland in Argentina, Patagonia was beyond gorgeously scenic. Not only did these roads led around a series of lakes that were surrounded by snow-peaked mountains, but they were also connected by wonderfully quaint towns along the way.

In particular, Route 40 (aka Ruta de Los Lagos) connected the towns of Bariloche, Villa de Angostura, and San Martin de Los Andes. The shades of blue and green that made up the panorama in this region were unparalleled.

Futhermore, there were interesting stops along the way. It was a place that needed to be experienced with all five senses.

Road Tripping in Patagonia

Truthfully, I was lucky enough to have taken this trip with a very close friend living in Argentina. Beside the pleasure of his super fun company, his fluency in both Spanish and the ways of Argentine culture were an integral part of my trip. It made the experience much easier for me as a tourist. The trip would have been much more difficult for me to handle alone.

The issue with this Patagonian region, despite being incredibly beautiful, was that there was very little organized tourist assistance available. Many of the sights were “off the beaten path”. It made them hard to find, and there were few guides available to follow. In addition, there was no dependable form of public transportation, so getting around would have been difficult if we chose not to rent a car.

Beside all that, being so far away in the wilderness meant that reception was spotty at best making dependence on a GPS difficult. However, despite all the struggles that the Bariloche region of Patagonia presented, it was hands down one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of my life.

Day 1 - Bariloche

The Circuito Chico

We began in Bariloche, which was our base for exploring the area. It was a 3 day trip, so we used our first and last days to explore the city of Bariloche and the Circuito Chico. Quaint and small, Bariloche was very reminiscent of a Swiss lake town with cobblestone roads and an adorable town square. (More on this on Day 3).

After settling in to our lodgings we made our way to the Ciruito Chico, a 65 km long road that looped around the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi and Moreno. It also went through the forests, out along the Llao Llao peninula, and up to the peak of Villa Tacul.

Lake Nahuel Huapi

One of our first stops was a relatively short hike through the forest and down to the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi. Walking though the forest seemed like a scene out of Narnia to me. It felt undoubtedly enchanting. The vivid green glow of the the tall, skinny trees revealed glimpses of the gorgeous lake below.

When the trail finally reached the beach of the lake, it turned out to be the perfect spot to stop for some mate. Mate is basically the national drink of Argentina, so we quickly attracted some locals from the area who were happy to give us suggestions for our itinerary.

Patagonia Brewery

We continued down the Circuito Chico for some time, stopping for absolutely stunning photo ops along the way. Indescribably, the scenery throughout seemed to only get better at each turn. Looking back, it seemed more like a series of paintings than a place that actually existed.

Our final stop was at the Patagonia Brewery. Undoubtedly one of the best pub experiences for me, Patagonia Brewery was a lake side oasis of locally crafted beer, insanely good bar bites and the most stellar views I’ve ever seen while sitting in a bar.

We were lucky enough to snag cliff side lounge chairs over looking the lake and mountain backdrop just as the sun was setting. The backdrop was stunning as we sipped on our cold beers and gorged on the most epic loaded fries. This was definitely a trip highlight.

We completed our circle just after dark. Importantly, it is notable to mention the treachery of the narrow bendy road that is the Circuito Chico. Luckily, the summer days in January meant it didn’t get dark until well after 9:00 PM. This was as due to how far south Patagonia is on the map. As a result, it left plenty of time for us to explore and return to Bariloche city before it got too dark.

Day 2 - Ruta de Los Lagos

Villa de Angustura

Stops Along Route 40

The next morning we started the 230+km trip up the Ruta de los Lagos to San Martin de los Andes. After leaving the city limits of Bariloche, Route 40 wrapped around Lake Nahuel Huapi. On one side were mind blowing glimpses of the massive lake. On the other were the snow peaked mountains making up the backdrop. However, we drove for about two hours before stopping.

Our first pit stop was in Villa de Angostura, which was basically the only town between Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes. Much like a tiny Bariloche, it was an adorably quaint, highly tourist centered town. Still, that didn’t take away from it’s charm.

The brilliant architecture was undoubtedly Bavarian in style. Much like a tiny Bariloche, it was an adorably quaint, highly tourist centered town. The architecture was undoubtedly Bavarian in style. Without a doubt, beyond the cute little “5 block” town center, there wasn’t much else incredibly interesting about it.

Villa de Angustura was a place for us to stop and stretch our legs after a couple hours of driving windy roads. It also happened to be the midway point of the road. Although we didn’t make many stops on the way from Bariloche to Villa de Angustura, after we left the town the real fun began.

Along the road up from Villa de Angustura to San Martin de los Andes, there were many great places to stop and take in the sights. That being said, some of them were unquestionably a bit hard to find. The “official” scenic outlooks were clearly marked along the route and easily identified by the clusters of cars randomly parked by the side of the road. However, some of the best stops were hidden off the path.

Entering Neuquén Province

Shortly after leaving Villa de Angustura, we arrived at the bridge crossing over the Correntoso River. It connects Lake Nahuel Huapi with Lake Correntoso – the 2nd of the 7 lakes on the route. As a result of its small size, it is regarded as the “the shortest river in the world”. The view from the bridge was stellar, displaying the narrow calm of Lake Correntoso compared to the grandeur of Lake Nahuel Huapi.

There was a foot-bridge visible from the car-bridge crossing that went over the Correntoso River. However, we didn’t know of its existence until after we passed the outlet to get to it. As a result, it is remained a mystery to us how to get down there. In other words, the lack of adequate signage in Patagonia was again to blame.

Abandoned Hotel

We drove down Ruta de los Lagos for a little while. After passing Lake Espejo (lake 3 of 7), and the tiny Bailey Willis Lake around km 106 was the small dirt road that led to Ruca Malén. Here we found the remains of an abandoned hotel. Down a small road to the left of the hotel stood the frame of a wooden bridge. It stands over the river that flows out to smaller Espejo Chico Lake. This place had the most crystal blue water I’ve ever seen. It was pretty hard to believe.

Lakes Traful and Escondido

We followed the Ruta de los Lagos up into the hills and then down though the Pichi Traful River Valley. Somewhere around mile maker 139 km was a left hand exit to a dirt road through the forest leading down to Lake Traful. Accessing it was quite the struggle, but the beach of this lake was wildly beautiful and a worthwhile detour.

After leaving Lake Traful, we reached the 4th lake on Ruta de los Lagos called Lake Escondido. Its name means “hidden lake” and is not in the least bit misleading. It was quite literally hidden behind trees with small clearings from where the lake was visible.

Lakes Falkner and Vilarino

Further down Route 40 were the 5th and 6th lakes of the route. Called Lake Falkner and Lake Vilarino respectively, both have beach outlets available.

Lake Faulkner was named after an English Jesuit who lived in several missions of Argentina near Patagonia. He lived there from 1730 to 1767, leaving only following the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish Crown. He is most well known for his book: Description of Patagonia and the Adjoining parts of South America.

Lake Vilarino was named after Basilo Villarino, a Spanish explorer in the 1770’s. He was the first European sailor to sail up the Rio Negro, Rio Limay, and Rio Collón Curá.

Vullinanco Waterfall and Lake Machónico

At around mile marker 146 on Route 40 we stopped at an outlook that had views of Villinanco Waterfall. It as obviously one of the more interesting after hours of lake after lake. The drop of Villinanco Waterfall is about 20 meters (or 66 feet). After leaving, it wasn’t far to Lake Machonico, the 7th and last of the lakes on Route 40.

Lake Machonico translates from two Mapuche words: Mashó meaning “shrimp”, and kó meaning “water”. As a result, it means Lake of Shrimps, and there are actually shrimp and crab living in it. Who knew there were shrimp in lakes in Patagonia?

Arroyo Partido - Split Creek

The Arroyo Partido was probably the most interesting part of Route 40 for me. Located just before km 175 is an area called the Pil Pil pass. Through it runs two creeks, the Arroyo Culebra and the Arroyo Pil Pil. This place marks a continental divide.

The south arm, or Arroyo Culera runs into the Atlantic Ocean through the Limay and Negro Rivers. It is on the right side of the photo. Conversely, the north arm, or Arroyo Pil Pil, flows to lake Lacar, over into Chile through the Hum Hum River and the Chilean Seven Lakes, and ends up in the Pacific Ocean. It is on the left side of the photo.

Standing on the little marshland that separates these two creeks was like having one foot in each ocean. Talk about being in two places at the same time.

San Martin de los Andes

After leaving the Arroyo Partido, it did not take us long to cross the cliff side road into San Martin de los Andes. The view coming into the town was incredible. It was like a painting with its lake front marina and houses built into the mountains. Undoubtedly, it is one of the best views on the whole route.

Not unlike Villa de Angustura, San Martin de los Andes was a quaint highly tourist centered Bavarian town. We walked the main plaza and strolled the craft shops with a Patagonian ice cream in hand. After taking in all we could in of the town’s center, we went down to the marina for a late lunch.

It was very windy lake-side and we still had to drive back to Bariloche, so we didn’t stay very long. Despite that, we had our fill of what San Martin de los Andes had to offer.

The Milky Way

We had spent the better part of our day getting to San Martin de los Andes. As a result, we only started driving back to Bariloche around 6:30pm. At that point, our goal was to get as far down the road before it became dark and unlit. Therefore, we didn’t stop until Villa de Angustura, just for a restroom, to get gas, and stretch our legs a bit.

Despite our efforts, we still caught some of the dark driving back. Although we were making good time, as the road got darker we the concocted the most brilliant an idea ever. We pulled over the car on the shoulder of Route 40 just far enough outside of Bariloche city limits that the light was still dull in the background. Then, we turned off the lights.

Since the road was mostly empty because most people didn’t want to brave Route 40 in the dark, all we could see was one or two sets of headlights at a time on an almost completely blacked out backdrop. What we saw when we turned the lights off was the most mind blowing thing.

The sky was lit up with speckles of light scattered literally as far as the eye could see. I had never seen anything like it. My mind was blown by the realization that because we were on the Southern Hemisphere, we were standing directly under the Milky Way. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen it.

There we stood for some time in darkness and silence, awing at the grandeur of nature. There wasn’t a picture that could capture the feeling passing through us as we marveled at the universe above us. This was absolutely the most amazing part of the whole trip for me.

Day 3 - Final Leg

Bariloche Cathedral

Since our flight back to Buenos Aires was in the late afternoon, we had the better part of the morning to meander around some of Bariloche city center. Beside the quaintness of the Bavarian style center, the most notable architectural marvel in the city for me was the the Cathedral Our Lady of Nahuel Huapi (aka Bariloche Cathedral). It is the main Catholic temple in Barlioche and sits on a small hill with a stunning lakefront view.

Barlioche Cathedral was designed by architect Alejandro Bustillo and was built between 1942 and 1947. It was a beautifully crafted Neo-Gothic display of Catholic grandeur, from its stone walls to it’s huge arches , gorgeous stained glass windows, and tastefully elegant altar. Bariloche Cathedral was absolutely worth the visit, from both the outside and in.

Bariloche Pier

From Bariloche Cathedral, a small walk down the hill left us at the foot of the lake front pier. Unfortunately the wind was very strong that day, which made it hard to avoid the crashing waves or get carried away. (Who knew lakes had big waves too?) Despite that, the views of the lake were absolutely stellar. Additionally, the city of Bariloche made for a beautiful backdrop.

If the weather had been less windy, this would have been the pier from which to take a boat ride on Lake Nahuel Huapi. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option for us. As a result, after a short walk down the pier we decided to take one more spin around the Circuito Chico before leaving Patagonia.

Lunch at Criadero de Truchas

After making almost the full loop around the Circuito Chico, my friend and I decided to stop for a last lunch before heading back to the airport. Generally, we like to visit places off the beaten path because they tend to be the most authentic experiences.

We dug around Google recommendations for a bit before my friend found a place called Criadero de Truchas. Though rated at 4.5 stars, the lowly 39 reviews would have discouraged most people from visits. That would be a huge mistake.

Criadero de Truchas was absolutely adorable, and undoubtedly some of the best food we had. Bariloche is known for trout, so of course I couldn’t resist ordering it. The dish wasn’t in the least bit disappointing.

Fresh local produce combined with the most adorable beirgarten ambiance and local crafted beer. They had both inside and outside seating. Truthfully, it was a very homey place that was a great stop for our last lunch.

Final Thoughts

This road trip around Patagonia felt more like a fairy tale than reality a lot of the time. Although Patagonia had a tendency to throw random curve balls at us, it was impossible not to appreciate the sheer magnitude of this place hidden deep in the mountains of Argentina. All in all, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Not only did I have a wonderful travel partner but also got to experience a mind blowing place I couldn’t even imagine existed. This was absolutely a marvelous trip – and I highly highly recommend adding it to bucket lists everywhere!