Bariloche in 3 days
Three days around one lake — and a sixty-kilometre road that holds nearly everything you came for.
- How long
- 3 days
- Book ahead
- The lake crossing into Chile
- Don't get caught out
- SUBE card first: the buses take no cash
Three days in Bariloche revolve around the Circuito Chico, a sixty-kilometre road around the Llao Llao peninsula. Everything else — the town, the chocolate, the ski area — is an addition. The third day depends on the season: in summer you walk, in winter you ski.
The town and Cerro Campanario
The Civic Centre, where buses 20 and 55 leave from. SUBE card first: the office on the square opens weekdays 8 to 15, and the driver takes no cash. Arriving at a weekend, look for the card at the bus terminal.
Mitre street and the chocolate, sold by weight from the counter. If it is going home with you, buy it on the last day, not the first.
Bus 20 to Cerro Campanario, seven minutes on the chairlift. It sits here in the afternoon only if the morning was overcast; otherwise Campanario goes at 10 and the town waits until the afternoon, because the wind after midday closes the lift.
Back along the lake on foot or by bus; the shore is lined with small beaches, as warm in summer as a Patagonian lake gets.
Dinner: lamb, lake trout or fondue — the German and Swiss inheritance is on the menu here, not only in the architecture.
The Circuito Chico, a full day
A hired bike or car; the loop is sixty kilometres with climbs, so it takes all day by bike and half by car.
Bahía López and the Punto Panorámico — two stops that show how the lake branches.
The Llao Llao hotel, on the neck between two lakes: opened in January 1938 in timber, burnt to the ground in October 1939, and reopened in December 1940, this time in stone and concrete. You do not have to stay to have coffee on the terrace.
The path to Cerro Llao Llao, two hours there and back through a forest of arrayán trees with orange bark.
Back to town; if you cycled, the last ten kilometres are downhill and that was planned.
Day 3 — depends on the season
December to March: the walk to Refugio Frey — bus 55 to the Catedral car park, then ten kilometres of path, three to four hours up and two and a half back, to a mountain hut by a lake under granite towers; or kayaking on Nahuel Huapi. June to September: Cerro Catedral, nineteen kilometres from town, with a hundred and twenty kilometres of piste; kit is hired on site and the queue is shortest before nine.
The lake crossing into Chile
If you are heading on: the Cruce Andino, boats and buses to Puerto Varas, leaves in the morning from Puerto Pañuelo by the Llao Llao hotel, not from town — which is why the last night is worth spending at that end of the Circuito Chico. Booked ahead, and cancelled in high wind.
Three things that wreck the plan
- Cycling the loop without checking the climbs. Sixty kilometres with hills is not sixty on the flat.
- A chairlift in the afternoon. Patagonian wind gets up after midday and closes them more often than in the morning.
- April and November. Shoulder season: the snow has gone, the lakes are cold, and half the rooms and restaurants are shut.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How many days does Bariloche need?
Three. One for the town and Campanario, one for the Circuito Chico, one for walking or skiing. If you are going on into Chile, a fourth goes on the lake crossing.
Summer or winter?
Summer (December–March) for the lakes, walking and kayaking; winter (June–September) for Cerro Catedral and the snow. April and November are shoulder season with half of it shut — the only months to avoid.
Do you need a car?
Not necessarily. City bus 20 runs to Llao Llao and 55 to Catedral, and a bicycle covers the whole Circuito Chico. A car saves time but takes away the best part — riding along the lake with no glass in between.
Ready for Bariloche?
Where to next
Bariloche
→An alpine town on an Argentine lake, chocolate in every second window and a ski area above it
Mendoza · 944 km
→A wine country in a desert, watered by channels older than the Spanish arrival — where no tasting is planned without a driver
How well does Bariloche suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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