Holidays in Bariloche

What to See and Do in Bariloche

Although it's an undeniably pleasant place to stroll around, there are no major 'sights' in Bariloche itself, so once you've spent some time enjoying the 'Black Forest' atmosphere (and maybe the gateaux...) you're likely to spend most of your days heading out of Bariloche itself and enjoying the superlative countryside.

Lake Nahuel Huapi

The picture-perfect Lake Nahuel Huapi forms the focus of many activities, and a popular day tour from Bariloche is to take a boat across to Isla Victoria, which sits right in the middle of the lake. Here, a chair-lift to the top of the island's central hill gives you superb views in all directions across the lake and on to the snow-capped mountains on the border with Chile. You can also sail further on the Los Arrayanes National Park, where there are some lovely walks in this old myrtle forest. Among other wildlife, you can hope to see home to deer, guanaco, eagles and condors.

And when the weather's fine in Argentina's summer (roughly December to February) you can also enjoy some of the beaches around the lake, many of which (like the lovely Playa Bonita) are absolutely gorgeous. You might not want to do too much in the way of swimming, however - the lake is largely formed from meltwater and so the water is absolutely freezing even in the height of summer.

Trekking in Bariloche

The countryside around Bariloche offers some of the nicest walks in Argentina, so if trekking is on your agenda, then Bariloche should definitely be on your itinerary. Although the landscape is generally more gentle than further south in Patagonia, the scenery is still spectacular.

If you just want to stretch your legs, then the Arrayanes National Park offers some beautiful walking, or you could do a day trek up to one of the refuges maintained by the Club Andino Bariloche like the one at the top of Cerro Lopez, just outside of town. Another option is to take the cable-car up to the top of nearby Cerro Otto and just walk back down, which takes around an hour and a half and will still give you some amazing views.

And if you have more time available on your Bariloche holiday, then you can look at some longer treks, with some superb 2-5 day routes available. You should be aware, however, that most of these longer treks will take you well over 2000m and conditions can be very changeable, even in summer. We have some suggestions for treks from Bariloche, as well as elsewhere in Argentina, so have a look and see what you think.

Skiing in Bariloche

For obvious reasons, trekking in Bariloche is more of a spring/summer activity, but if you're visiting in Argentina's winter then fear not! Bariloche is a popular ski resort both with Argentinians and Brazilians - it's one of the nearest ski resorts to Sao Paulo or Rio, so you'll find many Brazilians in Bariloche during the main ski season of June-September. The main ski centre is Cerro Catedral, which is located 20km out of Bariloche and has over 100km of ski runs, along with chair lifts and all the other facilities you need. It might not be quite up to the standards of the top European ski resorts, but it's certainly not far off, and the views down to Lake Nahuel Huapi beat anything you'll get in the Alps...

Eating out in Bariloche

Bariloche has a surprisingly varied range of restaurants for a relatively small town, and if you can tear yourself away from the chocolate shops for just a moment, you'll find plenty of places with main courses worthy of your attention. Most famous of all is El Boliche de Alberto (347 Villegas), a classic parilla grill-house with (most reckon) the best steaks in Bariloche. They're certainly the biggest, with German-sized portions the norm here. We actually prefer Los Tehuelches (281 Beschtedt), though - the steaks are great and it's much more of a local place.

Vegetarians are also very well-catered for in Bariloche, with no fewer than five vegetarian restaurants in town: trust us, for Argentina that's incredible. Our pick is Covita (511 O'Connor) which really is very good, even for non-veggies. It does a great line in Asian/fusion dishes, and everything is fresh and delicious so even if you just fancy a change, seek it out - it's just across the street from the Cathedral.