Enjoy Villa La Angostura

Villa La Angostura is a city in Argentina, located in the south of the province of Neuquén in Patagonia. Nestled in the northern sector of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, surrounded by lakes, forests and mountains, it is considered one of the most beautiful towns in the Patagonian mountain range, earning the nickname "Garden of Patagonia". A few kilometres away is the border crossing with Chile, Cardenal Samore, and together with other nearby towns, such as San Carlos de Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes, it forms a very popular tourist corridor both in the summer and winter seasons. Villa La Angostura is an isthmus that connects the coast with the Quetrihué peninsula (in mapudungun: where there are myrtle trees or place of ducks). 

To the north and east it is bordered by the Bayo (1,782 m), Inacayal (1,840 m) and Belvedere (1,992 m) mountains, and to the south and west by the Nahuel Huapi lake. It is divided in two by the Las Piedritas stream. The entrance to Los Arrayanes National Park is located in the area known as the port. A 12 km long pedestrian path crosses the entire Quetrihue peninsula, and allows you to reach the national park by land, where the myrtle plant grows as a tree and not as a bush, forming a dense forest. The Ruma Andina by DOT Cabana cabins are located 300 metres from Los Arrayanes Park.

Bahía Manzano

This picturesque neighbourhood is 7 km away from "El Cruce", on the RN40, towards Bariloche. It is one of the neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of lodgings. The architecture harmonises with the spectacular views of the Manzano Bay. The layout of its streets, the leafy grove, and the harmony between the exquisite Andean architecture and the landscape, invite you to explore it either on foot or by car. On both sides of the peninsula there are small sandy beaches interspersed with rocky formations distributed along its perimeter. To bear in mind: The beaches facing east get the sun in the morning, while those on the west side get it in the afternoon.

Cerro Bayo

It is one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the Argentinean Patagonia. Surrounded by forests and with a particular view of the Nahuel Huapi Lake, this ski centre is located minutes away from the mountain village and offers about 200 hectares for the practice of skiing in almost all its variables, among which Alpine skiing stands out. Cerro Bayo is ideal for beginners as well as for advanced skiers, who have more than twenty slopes and lifts to enjoy the mountain in its different slopes.

Los Arrayanes National Park

It was created in 1971, with the objective of protecting a singular myrtle forest, one of the purest and most extensive of this exquisite species. These trees are concentrated in the Quetrihué Peninsula (Province of Neuquén), which is located at the northern end of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and is included in the 1,753 hectares of the Park. Considered an emblem, this Arrayanes Forest, which covers about 20 hectares, represents a unique landscape in the world.

Route of the 7 lakes

The road that joins Villa La Angostura with the city of San Martín de Los Andes is called the Road of the 7 Lakes, due to the fact that in the 110 kilometres of its route, you can appreciate incomparable natural sceneries formed by the lakes Espejo, Correntoso, Escondido, Villarino, Falkner, Machónico and Lacar.

Nahuel Huapi National Park

It was the first protected area in the country, created in 1934. It comprises 705,000 hectares that form part of the natural environment of the southwest of the province of Neuquén and the northwest of the province of Río Negro. It represents, with its ecological and scenic richness, the entire Andean region of northern Patagonia, preserving the forest and steppe of Patagonia and the Andes.

The geography of the place allows a great variety of activities and well-defined sports depending on whether you are in the winter or summer season. During the winter season the most popular are skiing, snowboarding and mountaineering; during the summer season, the number of activities increases due to the rise in temperature, allowing the use of lakes and rivers for the practice of different nautical sports, swimming and fishing, as well as mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding. Sport fishing occupies a very important place within the tourist scheme of the place and is internationally recognised. In lakes and rivers, you can catch perch, trout and salmonidae, and the mouths of the Correntoso, Bonito, Estacada, Ragintuco, Huemul, Limay, Machete and Ruca Malen rivers, among others, are famous among the fans of this sport.

The gastronomy of the place does not offer great variations with respect to the other towns of the Patagonian mountain range, within which exquisite dishes of trout, deer and smoked wild boar can be appreciated; the preparation of sauces based on mushrooms is also very widespread. The cold weather and the historical contribution of German and Swiss immigrants in the area have led to a great diffusion of sweet dishes such as Kuchen, Apfelstrudel and other typical German cakes, high quality chocolates, wild fruit jams and other smoked products.