Local Area

Lake Nahuel Huapi

Lake Nahuel Huapi is a large and very deep lake formed in the Ice Ages by glaciers. Nahuel Huapi is a cold lake being fed by the melting snows of the Andes, but never freezes in the winter! The lake is entirely contained within the Nahuel Huapi National Park.

Here is a good detailed map of Lake Nahuel Huapi and the surrounding area. Be aware that this file is large (about 1MB).

There are a several species of trout here, among them are the brown (salmo fario), rainbow (salmo gairdneri), and brook (salvelinus fontinalis). There are some species of fish that are forbidden to kill and if caught must be released, these are salmón encerrado (salmo salar sebago) and perch (percichthyidae).

In Bariloche, the "Club de caza y pesca", has on exhibition a world record brown trout of 35 lb. (16 Kg), caught in this lake many years ago! The largest that we have caught is 20 lb. (9 Kg)!

Puyehue, Chile

Just across the border, only 50 miles (80Km) away from the hotel you can find the Puyehue resort. Situated on a natural hot spring of 158ºF (70ºC), with one covered pool, another pool in the open, massages, thermal mud treatments. An ideal place to spend the day.

Road of the 7 Lakes

National Route 234 from San Martin de los Andes to Villa la Angostura is known as the "Ruta de los 7 lagos" (route of the 7 lakes). It is a road that passes 7 lakes with beautiful vistas. The lakes are (from the north) Machónico, Hermoso, Villarino, Falkner, Correntoso, Espejo and Nahuel Huapi. In addition to the lake there are several points of interest along the way that are worth a stop. These include Vullinanco Waterfall, Ruca Malen, Rio Correntoso, etc...

Arrayanes Forest

The arrayán tree (luma apiculata) has perennial foliage, beautiful white flowers (in January and February) and smooth, cinnamon colored bark. It forms dense woods, unique in their kind, only on Victoria Island, and the Quetrihué Peninsula. While the former is in a protected area closed to tourism, the latter is visited yearly by thousands of tourists from all over the world. The bark of the trees peel off giving different shades that go from white to reddish-brown, creating, with the sun's rays that filter through the branches, a magical atmosphere.

The Quetrihué Peninsula receives its name from the "mapuche" culture, the indigenous community which inhabited the area before it was colonized. "Quetri" means arrayán; "hué", place. It is joined to the mainland by a very narrow isthmus which gave its name to the village (Villa La Angostura means literally "Village of the narrowness or isthmus"). The main attraction of the peninsula is the Arrayanes Forest, situated on the southern point. It has three means of access: by boat, on foot or on a bike, along a 7.5 mile (12Km) trail.

Cerro Bayo

A mountain that overlooks the village and is a ski center for the area that has many ski trails of varying difficulty and several chairlifts, operates year round (for sightseers in the summer). It is about 6 miles (10km) to the south of the village.

Cascada del Rio Bonito - A very beautiful waterfall in a secluded spot in the forest off the road to the ski center.

El Cruce

Villa La Angostura was born as a village on the isthmus, but for urbanistic and social reasons El Cruce, situated 3Km away from the hotel, became the administrative and commercial center.

National Parks

Most of the surrounding area has been designated National Park. Villa la Angostura is located in the center of the Nahual Huapi National Park and to the north is the Lanin National Park. To the south are the Lago Puelo National Park and Los Alerces National Park.