Argentina 2006 Cross Globe Reisverhalen / Travel stories

RUTA DE LOS 7 LAGOS (7 Lakes Road)

Ruta de los 7 Lagos is just gorgeous. You can do it in one day but we split it up in 2 days. We slept in Villa Traful, on a beautiful and quite campground next to the lake. Very relaxed. Nice people. Good food.
In the morning, we had breakfast on the stone beach at the lake. We had the beach to ourselves. Most other camping guests were not awake yet. I had said that I would swim or at least dip my tow in all the lakes we would pass on the Ruta de los 7 Lagos. The water of Lago Traful was so cold that Peter didn’t believe I would swim in it.
The water was ice-cold. It took me 20 minutes to get used to it and before I could get myself under water, but I did it. Since it took my breath, I decided not to go into deep water. “Too dangerous”, I thought.
The Ruta de los 7 Lagos lead us to San Martín de los Andes. On the way we passed and stopped at several beautiful lakes. The water was always crystal clear and ice-cold (melting water of the snow on top of the mountains). I didn’t swim anymore but waded several times through the water to cool down on that hot and sunny day.

SAN MARTIN DE LOS ANDES

We liked San Martin de los Andes but the lake water at the beach smelt really bad: as if all the sewers of the city ended up there. Disgusting. We were sorry we didn't stay longer on one of the beaches of the 7 Lakes Road we passed.

JUNIN DE LOS ANDES

Parque Lanín is a must-see for fanatics of volcanoes and waterfalls. You can easily spend several days in the park: there are lakes, lots of hiking possibilities, If you want to climb the volcano itself, you need 2 or 3 days and you need a guide.
We only spent there one day: we spent some time near the lakes and walked all the way up to Cascada El Saltillo, a waterfall that offers great views. You can see it from the right hand side, from the left hand side and you can walk behind it!
You can visit Parque Lanín as a day trip from San Martín de los Andes or from Junín de los Andes. Or, if you like camping and staying in desolated areas, the Junín National Park offers a lot of wild camping with splendid views on the lake.
We stayed in San Martín de los Andes but Junín de los Andes also looked like a nice place to us: all street name signs were in the form of a fish, and there was a beautiful river flowing at the edge of town, which offered swimming possibilities.
Also the Vía Cristi, a modern interpretation of the calvary of Jesus Christ, is worth a visit.