Bariloche
An alpine town on an Argentine lake, chocolate in every second window and a ski area above it
- When to go
- September 4° · 11 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€price 3 of 5
- How many days
- 3days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 13 km Bariloche
- Right now
Bariloche is one of the few places that work in both seasons: December to March you walk and swim in the lakes, June to September you ski at Cerro Catedral. The town sits between those two things, and it is pretty but short — the reason to come is what is around it.
The town looks alpine because it was deliberately built that way: the 1940 Civic Centre is stone and timber, modelled on central Europe, and the settlers were Swiss, German and Austrian. Hence the chocolate, which is an industry here rather than a souvenir — Mitre street has a dozen shops that make their own.
Everything worth seeing is on the Circuito Chico, a sixty-kilometre road around the Llao Llao peninsula. It drives in half a day with four stops: Cerro Campanario, where a chairlift takes you to a view of all five lakes at once; the Llao Llao hotel; Bahía López beach; and the Punto Panorámico. Bikes are hired in town and the loop takes a full day, but there are climbs.
The crossing into Chile is one of the finest on the continent and takes a whole day, with the Osorno volcano on the far side — booking and cancellation are covered under the lake crossing entry below. Heading further south, the Seven Lakes road leads to San Martín de los Andes — four hours of driving with ten stops.
Guides for Bariloche
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Bariloche in 3 days
→Three days around one lake — and a sixty-kilometre road that holds nearly everything you came for.
What to see in Bariloche
Cerro Campanario
A seven-minute chairlift to a viewpoint over five lakes, two peninsulas and the Andes. There is a café with a terrace at the top. This is the one thing in Bariloche worth doing even in bad weather.
The Circuito Chico
Sixty kilometres around the Llao Llao peninsula with four compulsory stops. Half a day by car, a full day by bike, or bus 20 with a change — every version works.
Cerro Catedral
South America's largest ski area, with a hundred and twenty kilometres of piste. The season is June–September; in summer it works as a viewpoint and a trailhead.
The Civic Centre
A square of grey stone and timber from 1940, with the Patagonia museum and a view of the lake. Every day in town starts and ends here, and the buses leave from it.
- C
Chocolate on Mitre street
A dozen shops making their own, some since the fifties. Rama is the local speciality; tasting is free and taken seriously.
- T
The lake crossing into Chile
A full day of boats and buses through Nahuel Huapi, Frías and Todos los Santos to Puerto Varas under the Osorno volcano. Booked ahead, and cancelled in high wind.
Two things you probably did not know
Bariloche is known for chocolate because Swiss, German and Austrian settlers arrived at the end of the nineteenth century. The main street now has dozens of chocolate shops, and the town holds a chocolate festival at Easter.
The Nazi officer Erich Priebke lived in Bariloche for almost fifty years under his own name, as head of the German school. He was uncovered in a television interview in 1994 and extradited to Italy.
Ready for Bariloche?
Within reach from here
Places sorted by straight-line distance from Bariloche — day trips or weekends.
Argentina
→A country 3,700 kilometres long, where the far south is seen in December and the whales and the snow in August
Chile
→A country 4,300 kilometres long and 180 wide — driest desert on earth to glacier, without a single turn
Brazil
→A country where the flight between two cities is often cheaper, and always faster, than the overnight coach
All 277 places we write about sit on one page — narrow them down by continent, country, price or what you are travelling for.
Within reach from here: Santiago, Valparaíso and Mendoza
See how much of that actually suits you — or pin Bariloche if you have been.
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