Between the soaring glacial peaks of the Andes that loom above Bariloche all around, the deep blue swaths of Nahuel Huapi Lake, the curiously Germanic downtown architecture, the neo-gothic spires of San Carlos, and the thick fir forests that hug the banks of the lakes Gutierrez and Mascardi and Moreno, first timers to this city in the Patagonian hills could easily be mistaken in thinking that they’d been transported from Latin Argentina to the towns of Alpine Europe.
Of course, in such a dramatic setting it’s the great outdoors that take centre stage for visitors here, with locals and travellers alike flocking to Bariloche for the ski centres at Cerro Catedral and Campanario. In the summer the crowds continue to flow in, with Bariloche tour guides offering fishing and kayaking on the lakes, hiking through the forests and mountain trekking to the Andean peaks.
But the fun doesn’t stop there either, because Bariloche is also famed for its mastery of chocolate making, boasting wide varieties of flavours and often laden with potent Patagonian boozes or local fruit fillings. And then there’s the Argentinian ‘Spring Break’, when thousands of students from Buenos Aires descend on the clubs and pubs of happening Moreno strip.