Best laid plans don’t always work out, even when you are a planner! We started the day thinking we would visit a few waterfalls along Rt 231, close to the Chilean border. Turns out that about 13km before that trailhead there is a passport control office where you have to take a ticket, park and go into an office to show your passport, etc to get across the border. We arrived a little after 11am and the line was massive, so we bailed and headed back to toward VLA. We read the reviews later and apparently it can take hours to get across! It’s a bummer we didn’t notice this ahead of time as we would have tried an earlier start. Especially weird as the falls are officially on the Argentinian side.
Instead, we did a 1km hike to Playa La Aguada del Burro which had some fantastic views and a small waterfall a short way in from the beach.
Next we stopped at the viewpoint for Río Correntoso, supposedly the shortest river in the world, connecting Lake Correntoso to Lake Nahuel Huapi. The smaller pedestrian bridge was inaccessible during our trip but we did get to walk on the rocky beach and get some decent views.
There was a police traffic stop set up when we came back toward town and for the first time in my life I was told to blow into a breathalyzer. Turns out, the legal limit of blood alcohol while driving in Argentina is 0.0 so any plans we had of driving someplace for dinner and getting a beer or wine went out the window for the remainder of our trip.
We continued through town to the large Villa la Angostura sign and took some photos.
That afternoon we decided to explore town on foot, checking out dinner options and surveying chocolate shops. Along the way we spotted a van with an ATM inside!
On our last full day in town we decided to hike to Cascada Inacayal. From town it is a short drive to the parking area, but it was a little tricky due to a washed out road that didn’t match Google maps. Once we figured out the correct road the drive was bumpy with a small creek crossing on the way. A woman was collecting payment of $3k to park. Seems to be the going rate!
Wow, this hike was way harder than the reviews stated! It took us 3 hours to do the circuit from Mirador Belvedere to the main falls and on to the overlook, with about 5 miles of steep up and down on uneven, powdery ground.
Most people turned around after the small cascade, but we wanted to see the full falls, so we continued ever upward to an overlook about 25 minutes further on the trail.
Some of the trees along this trail are massive, and we saw some cool flowers and birds as well!
Ultimately we were pleased with the views but it’s a challenging hike, so bring lots of water and rest often!
The fee to access the Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes was $20K pp and did not seem worth it from reviews so we decided to head to the beach area to see what we could see. At 5pm we found free street parking and were able to hike to the Mirador Bahía Mansa overlook which was (uncharacteristically) free. There is a sign after the spur trail to the overlooks that says you have to have a paid ticket to continue. This area boasts several cinnamon-colored Arrayán trees, which gives the park it’s name.
Of course, the overlook was an 1km uphill climb. but the views were stunning!
