LivingInPatagonia.com

5 Great Bariloche Half Day Hikes

Written by Shanie

We have talked enough about how much we love the trails around Bariloche. And we have given some beta on the longer treks…but I thought it might be good to offer some information on shorter day hikes as well.

Here are five of my favorite quicky hour to four hour hikes:

Roca Negra: Roca Negra is located on the same single track trail that leads to Refugio Lopez, but only an hour or so into the steep uphill climb. You will find the sometimes-operating restaurant open in the busy summer season. The welcoming, rustic log cabin structure is open to parties and groups, ask for information from the owners of Canopy.

Parque Llao Llao loop: The Parque Llao Llao is a series of trails that can either be connected together for a three to four hour loop or can be done individually for a nice hour or two stroll.

When coming into the park from the Hotel Llao Llao side, the first trail head that you will find will be to your left and will be marked by a statue of a green Jesus on the cross. This trail is either your beginning or ending point if doing the entire loop in one hike. The single track passes a beautiful grove of Arrayanes trees and then further along Lago Moreno. It will eventually spill out on the Circuito Chico/Ruta 77 pavement. To continue on the loop walk to your left, passing the park ranger information building. Across the street from the info booth you can enter the Lago Escondido trail in the middle (we will discuss in further detail this section of trail in a moment), you can also continue walking on the road for about ten minutes to find the true beginning of Lago Escondido.

Driving past the green Jesus, the next trail head you will come to is Cerrito Llao Llao/Tacul, the other option for starting the circuit. If doing the hiking loop starting from the Jesus statue, you will be coming to this point from Villa Tacul, so keep in mind that the following directions would then be opposite. If not hiking the full loop, the winding and hilly trail will take you past the turn off to Cerrito Llao Llao (info coming up), and will continue straight, ending at the small village of Villa Tacul. Here the trail will meet a dirt road. To continue on the entire loop turn left, walking for about another five minutes, at which you will come upon a T, take a right, heading towards the lake. Immediately after, you will find a picnic area located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, take a left following the dirt road. After about ten minutes of walking you will come to a small, insignificant trail head marked Mirador Tacul. Follow this beautiful trail for about fifteen minutes, at which it will meet with the Lago Escondido/Mirador Tacul trail (the mirador is about a two minute walk to the right at this T intersection and is well worth the effort).

So, this brings us back to the trail I mentioned before, Lago Escondido. Taking a left at the T ends up being about an hour walk that will lead to the beginning point of the trail head, which is marked by a small mountain lake, Lago Escondido and is the connecting point from the green Jesus trail head, as spoken about previously.

Cerrito Llao Llao: Located off the Llao Llao circuit, the trail head for Cerrito Llao Llao is the second parking zone that you will come to after the green Jesus. The hike is around one to two hours round trip. The trail starts out mellow, increasingly becoming hilly as you go deeper in the forest. About twenty minutes in you will come to a Y in the trail; to the right continues to Villa Tacul, to the left goes up a moderately steep 30 minute-or-so walk that leads to an impressive rock lookout point.

Playa Muñoz

Playa Muñoz is approached using the trail head located at Lago Gutierrez. Parking at the ranger station, the trail winds around old growth forests and a crystal-clear, green river. About ten minutes into the hike you will pass an option to your left that will take you to a waterfall; a nice place to stop and take in the surroundings. Continuing on, remain on the trail marked Refugio Frey/Nuñez. Eventually — around an hour into the hike — you will come to a Y. Continuing on to the left will eventually take you a T intersection, where turning left takes you to a steep downhill that leads to the sandy beaches of Playa Nuñez of Lago Gutierrez (going right will take you to Refugio Frey).

Brazo Tristeza: still considered a part of the Parque Llao Llao, the Brazo Tristeza trail head is located about five kilometers past the Lago Escondido trail head. After passing the bridge separating Lago Moreno Oeste from Lago Nahuel Huapi, you will see a large hotel to your right, Hotel Alun Nehuen. Turn into the parking lot of the hotel and park on the far left. The trail starts out along the beach, quickly turning into a trail. The excursion takes around 30 minutes to reach the Brazo Tristeza look out. This is the only area in the park that you can look up this section of Lago Nahuel Huapi, providing exceptional viewing of Cerro Tronador.