The Finest of Wintertime in Bariloche
May 31st, 2010
San Carlos de Bariloche is a beautiful Argentine city, placed between the big Andes and the plains of Patagonia. This region is typically called an Argentine or a South-American Switzerland thanks to astonishing beauty of its lakes and forests, purity and transparency of air, architecture and tasty chocolate produced right here. It is simply hard to define the charm of the Andes: silent thousand-year-old woods, mirror lakes with greenery coming down to them, granite mountain peaks and blue glacier glades… And in the south, Fire Land and Ushuaia open the doors to immense and sensational Antarctic.
Bariloche is one of the most well-known cities in this region. In 1931in order to invite more travelers it was decided to construct one of the country’s major national parks here. The plan worked out: for six months every year, Bariloche is converted into a lively resort with a unique Alpine atmosphere.
Summer attracts crowds of vacationers here, who love trekking along lush forests, observing spectacular glaciers and mountains. In wintertime, well-off lovers of mountain sports come to the city from all over South America, ride on the Andes’ slopes and fill local restaurants in the evenings. However, other seasons which are normally considered to be dull, might turn out to be even more colourful ones: in spring the valleys next to the lake are full of vegetation and greenery while in autumn the color of the forests changes into red, orange, hazel and yellow.
The city is found on the picturesque shore of the Nahuel Huapi lake and is surrounded with notched brown mountains. Look into the distance, and you will see Tronador mountain- the biggest peak in the region (3 554 meters high).
Active tourism and sports are not the only options to do here as there are also numerous service providers found on this land. Among the options that might involve you are: Templo Mayor and El Centro Civico complex (made of cypress, larch and tuff stone), Capilla de San Eduardo, national monument and a cathedral Catedral de Bariloche, a monument to Julio A. Roca (the individual who was in the leader of forces for the duration of the desert war that almost lead to extirpation of the Indian tribes), Post Office building which is now an exhibition hall, municipality building with huge tower clock, City tourist centre, rich Patagonia Museum and Sarmiento library, Nahuel Huapi Estancia where a residence of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s hideout is found. The other attractions are Nahuel Huapi National Park, Los Arrayanes National Park, arrayana forest and El Boliche Viejo where general store was placed.
Patagonia Museum will present you to the history of this area from the days when Indians lived here, smeared with fat from head to food not to feel cold, and up to the arrival of the white explorers and military expeditions.
The very “salt” of each stay is a go to arrayana forest – the myrtle grove. Areas where these trees grow could be counted on the fingers of one’s hand: Spain, Chile, Columbis. But even there they are unique to see, while in Bariloche they occupy 12 hectares of land.
