1. The geographical region of Patagonia.


Can you imagine sailing through lakes and crossing mountains seeing the snow-capped peaks of their volcanoes? You can do it through the Andes mountain range between Chile and Argentina in the so-called Northern Patagonia. What sounds good?


First of all we have to say that Patagonia is a geographical region that extends through the south of Chile and Argentina. The Chilean and Argentine parts are divided by the mountain range, and at the same time, this extensive region is divided into two, the Patagonia of the lakes (to the north) and the Patagonia of the ice (to the south). As you can imagine, in the northern part (both in Argentina and in Chile) is where the abundant lakes are found and in the southern part: the famous glaciers. And what is the difference between the Chilean and the Argentine part? because the Chilean is more humid because it is influenced by the Pacific Ocean, which makes it have more vegetation in its northern part and the Argentine is more arid due to the barrier effect of the Andean mountain range. But I explain this to you in more detail in the Chile article.


Lago Patagonia Chile
Todos los Santos Lake (Chile)



2. The Andean crossing.


Well, as we are going to cross several lakes and also by road, it is best to do a tour. This means that in any travel agency in the city from which you depart you can hire a guided tour that includes a trip by bus-boat-bus-boat-bus-boat-bus. Yes, you read that right! We are going to navigate through three lakes and do the rest of the journey by road (the orography indicates this). You can also do the sections by road on your own by bike, paying the tickets in each port to cross the lakes by boat. Remember there are three ships!

I can assure you that the complete tour is not expensive, and the route is so worth it that it will even seem cheap. The tour will take you a whole day because it is not done quickly, note that you travel by boats and buses through narrow roads, but it is worth doing it slowly to enjoy this unique landscape.


Lago FrΓ­as
FrΓ­as Lake (Argentina)


We depart from the beautiful town of Puerto Varas in Chile and will arrive at the famous Bariloche in Argentina. Puerto Varas is a small but very touristy town on the shores of Lake Llanquihue and guarded by the impressive Osorno volcano (imagine the views this town has!).

From here, we start the tour on the bus that takes us bordering the Llanquihue until we reach PetrohuΓ©, where we will get on the first of the boats (the Andean Crossing begins here) to enter the Todos los Santos Lake. As you cross this lake, you can see the incredible mountain landscape, with snow-capped peaks of spectacular volcanoes such as Tronador or Puntiagudo.

Of course, make sure that the day of your travel is clear, I know this is a matter of luck, but I recommend that you have more chances of this traveling in Spring or Summer (from September to March, since we are in the southern hemisphere) . Since if the day is cloudy you will miss a large part of this wonderful landscape and you will be able to take much fewer photographs.


Puerto Varas - Chile
Llanqueue Lake (Puerto Varas, Chile)



Upon reaching land, the next bus takes you from Peulla to Puerto FrΓ­as to catch the next boat on Lake FrΓ­as to Puerto Alegre. This lake is the smallest but it is paradisiacal as it is embedded in the lush vegetation and the colors of its waters have a very characteristic greenish tone. In these towns that you will pass through, you will be able to stop and enjoy its landscape, there are places to eat, to rest and there is also a hotel in case you decide to stay longer.





From Puerto Alegre you have to go by road to Puerto Blest, to take the third and last boat that takes us to Puerto PaΓ±uelos sailing through Lake Nahuel Huapi and finally a last bus to Bariloche. It must be said that throughout the tour you will be traveling through two national parks to which this landscape belongs. The Vicente Rosales National Park in Chile, and the Nahuel Huapi National Reserve in Argentina. So... what more can you ask for? Ah, sure... you can order dessert when you arrive in Bariloche, its famous chocolate!!


Bariloche-Patagonia
Nahuel-Huapi Lake (Bariloche, Argentina)



3. The route of the 7 lakes.


Now it seems that we finished the trip well, visiting the chocolate shops of this Argentine town, San Carlos de Bariloche, also known for its ski resort among Argentines.

But since we are in Argentina, and although we can return to Chile doing the same route because we loved it... there is another better option, the next day you can go from San Carlos de Bariloche to Villa La Angostura, from there do the Route of the 7 Lakes and continue to San MartΓ­n de los Andes.

You can do the route by bike or by renting a car. Thus, by staying here, you also take the opportunity to go to a famous Argentine steakhouse, you cannot leave these lands without trying their excellent meat. By the way, if you don't eat meat, on the Chilean side I recommend you try their excellent fish.

"Balanced" diet, fish, meat... and chocolate for dessert. After this gastronomic advice I say goodbye... until the next trip!



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