One of the main reasons we traveled to this part of Argentina was to explore the famous Seven Lakes route. We visited the Lakes Region in Chile in 2019 and loved it, so we thought we would like the Argentina side as well.
Two things we discovered on this drive:
- There is a lot of tree coverage along the road, making lake views more rare than expected. It also meant that many of the overlooks were crowded with people and buses.
- There was virtually no cell coverage along the route – only in Villa and San Martin – even with local Movistar access. So we were glad we had downloaded maps for offline access.
Memorable stops included:
Cascadas Ñivinco – a nice 3 mile RT hike, with some steep parts but mostly flat and very, very dusty. You do have to cross a narrow river up to your ankles in very chilly water so we chose to take our hikers and socks off for that part. A man was taking cash payment at the parking entrance, $3k per vehicle. When we returned from our hike there were several cars parked across the road, presumably to avoid this parking fee.
Lake Faulkner had a nice view, unobstructed!
Cascada Vuliñanco – good view from the overlook, helpful with a zoom lens. We stopped again on our way back with better light!
The route ends in San Martin de los Andes. We tried to find a waterfall we had marked north of town but the parking area looked like a trash collection place, so we gave up. Instead we headed back into town to walk around. We found a shady parking spot and were able to pay via a QR code on a parking sign. About $1.75 USD for 2 hours. Thankfully we had cell signal to do this, as there was no other obvious way to pay for parking.
Our first stop was the chocolate shop, Pata Negra, where the sales lady spoke English and was very helpful describing some of their unique flavors. We only bought one bar, milk chocolate and raspberry, as they were on the pricey side at $6K. Tasting it later we thought the quality of chocolate was in par with good European brands and it wound up being our favorite chocolate bar of the trip.
From there we walked through town down to the lakefront beach where lots of people were hanging out. The screeching caracaras were not super relaxing!
Facing a two hour drive back we needed a snack! Many places were closed between 4-6pm so after a Google search we landed on the Delicias de la Patagonia bakery where I accidentally ordered 3 empanadas (instead of two) and and an alfajor pastry. We took these items to go and enjoyed our lunch on a nearby bench (paired with a liter of lemonade from the nearby supermercato).
A quick search of viewpoints near town resulted in lots of reviews saying that locals were now charging for entry, so we decided to just head back.
Tried to visit Cascadas del Rio Hermoso for a quick photo, but while we found free parking near the campsite, there were signs stating that further entry was restricted and it just felt unwelcome. Even walking along the beach wasn’t permitted?!
We ended the day a bit underwhelmed and frustrated at the extra cost of things that were previously, and recently, free.