When my husband told me that he had arranged a four-day trip
to Argentina’s Lake District over Christmas, I thought brilliant, sunbathing on
the lakey shores. Erm not quite, we would be cycling the Road of the Seven Lakes… on Christmas Day and to top it off with a tent, sleeping bags and
all our clothes.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind cycling. Generally, when it
involves a light bike, no add-ons and time on bike limited to a few hours, plus
a compulsory coffee break. My keen-cyclist husband, on the other hand, had been
itching to go on a cycling holiday since we first moved to Buenos Aires almost
a year ago.
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| Mirror this... Lake Espejo, Route of the Seven Lake |
Oh well, this was not quite how I’d imagined our first
Christmas in Argentina. Still, I’d rise to the challenge. The cycling was tough
at times but not impossible, even for an amateur like me. Four days later, hand
on heart, I can say this was one of the best holidays I have been on.
Argentina’s Lake District is simply breathtaking, a real gem in terms of natural beauty. So much so that the New York Times has put The Road of the Seven Lake sat Number 15 of its 52 places to visit in 2016.
The route, 66 miles (106km) of stunning scenery, takes you
into the heartland of the Patagonian Andes foothills. With view upon view of
aquamarine lakes, waterfalls and snow-capped mountains, you can easily become a
bit too blasé.
It goes from Villa La Angostura, an hour away from Bariloche
– Argentina’s mini Switzerland - to San Martín de los Andes, or of course
vice-versa. Now that the road is fully paved, there are several options for
visiting the lakes – from a day trip by bus or car, a more leisurely affair, or
as we chose, by bike.
On your bike
The route has traditionally been done on mountain bikes, which is what we hired, but
road bikes are becoming more popular as there is tarmac throughout.
Although the route starts from Villa de la Angostura, we
hired our bikes and paniers from just outside the town of Bariloche which meant we started a day earlier to get to Villa La Angostura. We also chose to go from Bariloche/Villa La Agostura rather than from
San Martín as the latter starts with a 15km ascent.
- Day 1: Bariloche to Villa La Angostura; total cycling: About 23km
Starting
from Bariloche was worth it just for the boat trip across the immensely spectacular Lake Nahuel Huapí alone. In Mapuche, the name means isle of the tigers, in reference to the jaguars that once lived in this area.
We started from Av. Bustillo Km.18 from Bariloche and
cycled 7km to Puerto Pañuelo where we embarked with our wheels and possessions.
About 50 minutes later we arrived at Los Arrayanes National Park, one of the main forests of the Chilean myrtle native to the central
Andes between Chile and Argentina. This involved 12km of cycling, including a
lot of dismounting and dragging the bike on foot through the forest. Be
warned, the last couple of kilometres includes a sharp steep, followed by an even
steeper downhill plus some steps to contend with.
The forest is a bit of a bit of a slog, but once you come
out at the other end in Villa la Angostura, you are greeted with further magnificent
views of Nahuel Huapí. Villa la Angostura consists of one main central road,
which is pleasant, but it is quite expensive.
- Day 2: Villa La Angostura to Lago Correntoso; total cycling: 26km*
This is where the luxury ended and our immersion into nature
began. On Christmas Day, after a hearty breakfast (just as well), we set off
from Villa La Angostura along Ruta 40, the longest road in
Argentina and one of the longest in the world. The first 10km from Villa La Angostura is normally a
busy road shared with trucks and general traffic. Given the time of
the year, we were fortunate to have it almost to ourselves.
This section of Ruta 40 is pretty much flat, with some
wonderful viewpoints dotted along the way, with views of Lake Correntoso. At
the end of the 10km, we took a 300m detour heading towards Chile to see an
incredible sight of Espejo Lake.
We were then back on to Ruta 40, where the cycle lane widens but the road is more up and down. We continued
until the campsite of Correntoso, where we spent our first night. The campsite, however, was busier and had more facilities than we
had anticipated.
Accommodation: AR$120 per person (~USD9); loos, hot showers from 6pm,
benches, fire areas and a couple of kiosks. Take toilet roll, toiletries,
including soap etc. The only issue was that the so-called restaurant was low in
stock so our dinner consisted off a loaf of bread, boiled eggs and a bottle of
cider.
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| Leaving Lake Espejo, back on to Ruta 40 |
- Day 3: Correntoso Lake to Falkner Lake; total cycling: 33km*
After a pleasant 18km or so on Ruta 40, there is a steep
incline for about 5km, but then followed by a glorious flat and downhill
section past a picture-perfect river. We cycled past the lakes Escondido and
Villarino before reaching the campsite at Lake Falkner.
The campsite is a thin strip on the Western shore, with views all along the lake. This was a heavenly, tranquil spot and had more
facilities than Correntoso.
Accommodation: AR120 per person; loos, hot showers from 6pm,
benches, fire areas and a shop with more provisions/restaurant also serving a
limited selection of hot meals. However, do take toilet roll, toiletries,
including soap etc.
- Day 4: Lago Falkner to San Martin do los Andes: 45km*
The day started with a gentle climb past Hermoso Lake (not
one of the seven), an Armenian church, a viewpoint from where you could see
waterfalls and Machonico Lake.
About half-way through the cycle, brace yourself for a more
prolonged, and for us at least a windy climb. It seemed worse at the time, but once through it, it’s
a blissful 15km downhill to Lake Lácar, on the edge of San Martin de los Andes.
* Just short of the exact distance
Additional information:
Cycling level: Manageable if you’ve got some experience
Bike hire from Bariloche: We used Cordillera Bike Rental – They helped us to advance our bike in advance. Good English and good
knowledge of the route. Bikes and equipment were fine but could do with
updating their helmets
Best time to go: We went between Christmas and New Year,
which was perfect as the temperature was in the mid-20s during the day and the
roads were quiet
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