3 Best Sights in The Lake District, Argentina

For an aerial view of Bariloche and its environs, hoist yourself up the 1,405 meters (4,608 feet) to the top of Cerro Otto. A little red cable car owned by Teleférico Cerro Otto will carry you there in about 12 minutes, and all ticket proceeds go to local hospitals.  A free shuttle bus leaves every hour on the half-hour from the corner of Cls. Mitre and Villegas. You can also hike or bike to the top, or drive from Bariloche on a gravel road. In winter, cross-country skis and sleds are available for rent; in summer, hiking and mountain biking are the main activities. There's also a revolving restaurant serving goulash and charcuterie boards, the Confitería Giratoria, on the summit. For a real thrill, try soaring out over the lake in a paraglider.

The Mapuche name of this 2,260-meter (7,415-foot) granite ridge means "mountain hung with clouds," which is a fair description of the peak itself. What it leaves out, however, is the array of sights and activities to be enjoyed on the way up: miradores, a paragliding pad, the Bosque Tallado, and a homey refugio (cabin) run by Club Andino Piltriquitrón where you can rest at the halfway mark. In summer, the lodge is surrounded by wildflowers, but in every season, the views extend all the way to Lago Puelo and the Chilean border.

This 3,491-meter (11,500-foot) extinct volcano—the highest mountain in the northern Lake District—straddles the frontier with Chile, with peaks on either side. Home to eight different glaciers, it owes its name ("Thunder Hill") to the icy seracs that periodically crash down from its slopes.

A visit to Cerro Tronador is an all-day affair, traversing some 170 km (105 miles) round trip from Bariloche. To get there, take Ruta Nacional 40 south along the shores of Lagos Gutiérrez and Mascardi; between the two lakes, the road crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific watershed. At Km 35, turn right onto Ruta Provincial 82, which is unpaved and marked "Tronador" and "Los Rápidos"; very soon you'll hit the pay station to enter Parque Nahuel Huapi. From there, continue along the shores of Lago Mascardi until the road forks about 6 km (4 miles) on. The left branch is Ruta Provincial 81, which goes to Lago Hess and Cascada Los Alerces—a detour you might want to take on your way out. Your path, however, lies to the right, which takes you the 40 km (25 miles) to the foot of Cerro Tronador itself.  

After crossing Los Rápidos Bridge, the roadway narrows; note that it’s one way inbound between 10:30 am and 2 pm, one way outbound between 4 pm and 6 pm, and two ways from 7:30 pm to 9 am. The lake ends in a narrow arm (Brazo Tronador) at the Hotel Tronador, which has a dock for tours arriving by boat. From there, the path follows the Río Manso to Pampa Linda, which has a lodge, restaurant, park ranger's office, campsite, and trailhead for the climb up to the Refugio Otto Meiling at the snow line. Guided horseback rides can be organized at the lodge. The road ends 7 km (4½ miles) beyond Pampa Linda in a parking lot that was once at the tip of the receding Ventisquero Negro (Black Glacier). As the glacier flows down from the mountain, the dirt and black sediment of its lateral moraines get ground up and cover its frozen core. At first glance, it's hard to imagine the tons of ice that lie beneath its black cap.