Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - San Martin de los Andes - What to eat

While in San Martin I recommend indulging in its local delicacies, such as cheese, smoked meats, trout and Lamb.

Not like the pampas where Meat and dairy products are abundant and cheap, In Patagonia Cows are rare since they lack the fertile lands full of luscious grass from the Pampas. Here most livestock consists of sheep. So I picked up some at the local butcher and cooked it myself at the hostel, but of course its served at most restos.

There are plenty of well stocked delicatessens in town that have a wide variety of cold cuts and cheese and even a store that only does smoked meat.

 

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - San Martin de los Andes- where to stay

I was referred to the Puma Hostel back in Villa La Angostura,  located at Asunción Fosbery 535 in walking distance from the downtown area and the bus terminal

The premises are clean and it has a great kitchen, but I was more satisfied with the one in La Angostura.

The city can be toured walking and if you need to catch a bus or take a tour you can walk there from this place.

They overdid the signs on washing dishes, basically in every language unles you speack arameic  or some ancient dialect.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes III

 

After "Cascada Vullinanco" there were another three "Miradores" before Lago Lacar, but its literally down hill for the last 20 clicks before arriving in San Martin.

So enjoy the ride cuz literally you don't have to pedal the last 20 clicks so you can actually count 108 minus twenty on this part of the trip.

When you finally see "Lago Lacar" you will rejoice and be glad you made the trip, the acces to San Martin de los Andes brings you right there.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes II

Without describing each stop of the seven lakes route I have to tell you that the trip is extremely entertaining even though it takes from 6 to 8 hours, having reached Pichi Traful wich is more or less half way in between both cities.

After stoping at Lake Falkner Y moved on to Cascada Vulliñanco where I had lunch.

 

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes

So, after resting for a day (sort of) in Villa La Angosture I departed to my next destiantion on the seven lakes route, which is San Martin de los Andes, a larger city compared to La Angostura.

I left La Angostura at first light and found the road covered in a beautiful morning mist.

First stop was Lago Espejo (Mirror Lake) which greeted me with all its morning splendor, there would be 10 sight seeing other stops with equal beauty to complete the 106 km trip.

Next stop was Lago correntoso which also seems so calm in spite of its name (current lake).

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Sunset at Lago Correntoso

One of the things I did enjoy while in Villa La Angostura was to watch the sunset at Lago Correntoso which has a beautiful shore with a pebble beach.


Located right at the edge of the city, Lago correntoso is one of the seven lakes of the Patagonian region which renders spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Where to stay

There are many lovely venues to stay at Villa La angostura, from Hotels af all star ratings, to Air B&B and Hostels. I Bumped into the " La Angostura Hostel" by reference from some locals.

Located at 157 8407, A. L. Barbagelata, not more than 10 blocks from the downtown area, it is a very nice house with ample common areas, a well supplied kitchen and a comfy bed, which fills all my check boxes.

The price is fair and the staff is very friendly and helpful.

 

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Bosque de Arrayanes III

At the end of the trail you will find the Arrayanes forest, which used to be bigger and without other native species in the past.

a series of walkways takes around the forest, not much to see but tall trees, nevertheless they are majestic in their own way.

Definitely worth visiting, specially on a sunny day.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Bosque de Arrayanes II

Now after you made it to the end of the trail you will find the "Bosque de Arrayanes" (Myrtle forest) which is not that big but it will give you an idea of the size of the trees.

The Trees are great if you are into trees, but for photo purposes they are very limited. The real treat for me was the view of the lake and the sight seeing points.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Bosque de Arrayanes

My original idea was to spend a day in Villa la Angostura chilling out and preparing for the second leg of the trip which would be another 100 clicks.

But then I saw that "Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes is just outside the city, maybe 3 clicks from downtown, so off I went to spend the morning and early afternoon there. There´s a small entrance fee to the park and you can either walk or bike the 20 km trail. I biked (Helmet is mandatory)

There is only one trail which is well marked and gives you estimated time walking or biking. If you bike you will swear the first two kms which are up hill with stairs that are flimsy even for walking, meaning you have to carry your bike and gear till you hit the nice part of the trail which allows you to bike.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura - Where to stay

Gotta tell ya that I had not booked a place to stay in Villa La Angostura, cuz I did´nt know what time I was going to make it there or if I would make it there that day.

Fortunately I made it there with plenty of daylight to look for a hostel, not that the town is so big anyway.

After checking out some other leads I had, I found "La angostura Hostel" located at 157 8407, A. L. Calle Barbagelata. I stayed there for two nights and was very satisfied with the rooms, common areas and kitchen which had all the utensils to cook a fresh trout I bought at the local fish store.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - Villa La Angostura

So, halfway in between Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes you will find "Villa La Angostura". Having alraedy switched provinces from Rio negro to Neuquen.
Nestled in the Northern part of the Nahuel Huapi national park and surrounded by forests, Lakes and Mountains, its considered one of the most beautiful areas in the mountainous part of Patagonia, being rightfully called "The Garden of the Patagonia"

I spent a whole day to rest before starting the second leg of the trip, the town is really samll and tranquill and has some very nice surrounding areas to walk or bike on.

You might want to look for the covered bridge at one of the cities entrances.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes - From Bariloche to Villa La angostura

The seven lakes route is one of the most attractive destinations of the Argentine Patagonia ,it really starts in Villa La Angostura but really, I wanted to start in Bariloche to have bragging rights.

the distance is roughly 90 clicks from Bariloche to La Angostura, most people camp in between, but since I was at the end of the season I decided to do the trip in one day, (totally doable if you are in basic shape)Also I wanted to train for the second leg from V. La Angostura to San Martin.

I have to mention that the trip is all on good asphalt , a bit tight since the road does not have a curve but this is the most scenic part of Ruta 40 that goes all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

It has too many hills to count and is mostly and windy and windy (as in wind) specially when it hits a straight stretch around the Lake Nahuel Huapi which it circles around.

I know that this is a very frequented road by both cars and bikes, but I was really lucky since it was the end of the season plus some covid scare and I was practically the only cyclist on the road.

The trip was splendid, with a wonderful sunny day.

I stopped for lunch at the tip of Lake Nahuel Huapi and continued to Villa La Angostura arriving at 5pm.

Trip to Bariloche in Autumn - Biking the Seven Lakes

And finally, the main purpose of my trip to Bariloche. Bike the seven lakes from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes, crossing two provinces in a 210 click voyage.
Before even travelling to Bariloche you need to have a proper bike to do the trip. There are several options. One being renting a bike in Bariloche and paying an extra fee to return it in San Martin, or bringing it back yourself by bus.
According to my research that was more than double the price of bringing it down with me, for that there are also two options.
1- Flying it with you, for which you need to procure a bike box, taxi it to and from the airport.
2- Shipping it by bus and avoid all the airport hussle.I took the second option shipping it 3 blocks from where I live in Buenos Aires. the company name is "Via Cargo" and they have offices all over Argentina.

Upon arriving in Bariloche I took public transport from the airport to the city, got off at the shipping depot and hopped on my bike.

I stayed a day in Bariloche and departed early in the morning.