Wednesday, April 30, 2014

El BOLSON AND LAGO PUELO





Road 40 down South – Lake Gutierrez – Lake Mascardi – Lake Guillelmo – visit to local brewery – trout farm - Lago Puelo National Park – craft market – fine fruit farm and jam factory.

El Bolson is a famous town due to its big Hippie community that once settled there. It is located 130 km far from Bariloche down south through Famous National road 40.
This road, totally paved skirts the lakes Gutiérrez, Mascardi and Guillelmo. Also crosses  Rívers Villegas,  Foyel y  Quemquentreu to get right into the city Once you get there, it’s impossible not visiting the famous craft market, besides all the other attractions included in the tour. You will enjoy a tour full of local productions and cultural value, combined with nature and the beauty of the Lago Puelo National Park, located in the Province of Chubut.

Famous craft market in Bolson.

Fruit farm. One of many in the valley.

Bolson's Central Park.

"Chochos" during the summer.

"Three Peaks" Mt. at Lago Puelo

Nature with a human "touch".

Where nature dies, magical art expressions take place in Bolson.

El Bolson Beer, the most famous local beer.

Some of the craft made productions at the market.

Lago Puelo National Park in summer.

A great option for a good beer!

Mt. Tronador, visible from every corner in town.

Bolson is also famouse due to it's fruits and jams
.

Outings: Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday
Pick up time: 08.30am to 06.00pm
Important: You must pay $80.00 pesos for Lago Puelo Park Fee. This is not included in the tour price, such as lunch. You can take you own lunch box or eat at a restaurant there.


What are you waiting for? Get in contact with me right away to hire this and many other tour options to enjoy your visit to Bariloche! E-mail me to ventas@barilocheselect.com.ar or visit me at Bariloche Select Travel, located on Villegas St. 237 (downtown).

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

MT. TRONADOR AND BLACK GLACIER


The highest peak in the National Park

Road 40 to South – Lake Gutierrez – Lake Mascardi – Vuriloches valley – Pampa Linda and Black Glacier

This tour offers you the chance to see one of the most wonderful areas of the National Park Nahuel Huapi. You will be in contact with nature, visiting rain forest vegetation zones, lakes, beaches, mountains and incredible waterfalls. You can also make a short hike to Garganta del Diablo, one of the biggest Waterfalls. In this excursion, you will get to the base of the Mount Tronador, the highest peak in the Park, with 3.478 mts. above the sea level. This volcano is a natural limit between Argentina and Chile.
Besides these outstanding landscapes, you will also contemplate natural and uncommon events, such as hanging glaciers falling down and producing important noises similar to thunders (truenos), reason why the volcano is called Tronador. You will also see the Black Glacier, composed by ice mixed with volcanic ash and sediments, giving it its grayish colour.

View from Pampa Linda valley.

Black Glacier.

Some of the many waterfalls.

Castaño Overa Glaciaer.



Heart Island. I wonder why the named it like that...


Outings: Daily
Pick up time: 09.00am to 06.00 pm
Important: You must pay $80.00 pesos for Park Fee. This is not included in the tour price, such as lunch. You can take you own lunch box or eat at a restaurant there.


What are you waiting for? Get in contact with me right away to hire this and many other tour options to enjoy your visit to Bariloche! E-mail me to ventas@barilocheselect.com.ar or visit me at Bariloche Select Travel, located on Villegas St. 237 (downtown).


CIRCUITO CHICO "small circuit tour"

An introduction to Bariloche...

Campanario Hill viewing point -  Punto Panoramico – Llao Llao forest – San Eduardo Chapel – Pañuelo Port – Playa Bonita



The Circuito Chico (Small Circuit) Tour is that one tour you can’t miss doing. This half day trip you will get to know  the most wonderful points of Bariloche and its surroundings. The beauty of the landscapes is at every corner of the trip. Many natural viewing points and stops at the road are just great to take some amazing pictures and will give you time to admire all this beauty.
The Campanario Hill, located at km 17 of Bustillo Avenue, has a nice restaurant on its summit. A stop at this point gives you the chance (optional) to take the chair lift service to the top, taking you high enough to be amazed by the views!!
Also, Right in front of Pañuelo port, the Llao Llao (famous luxury Hotel) and the San Eduardo Chapel, are considered as unique architectural heritage of Bariloche,  with lots of history to be told.
To sum up, this tour reflects and combines the history of Bariloche with the natural beauties of the area.

Picture from "Punto Panoramico" one of the stops on the tour

View from Campanario Hill summit
View from Lake Moreno
One of the best panoramic views from Campanario
Llao-Llao Hotel
Houses in the outskirts of Bariloche
San Eduardo Chapel
Charlift up to Campanario summit

Outings: Daily
Pick up time: 09.00am to 01.00pm / 03.00 pm to 07.00 pm
Important: The Chair Lift to Campanario summit is not included in tour price. ($90.00 pesos each)


What are you waiting for? Get in contact with me right away to hire this and many other tour options to enjoy your visit to Bariloche! E-mail me to ventas@barilocheselect.com.ar or visit me at Bariloche Select Travel, located on Villegas St. 237 (downtown).

Saturday, April 12, 2014

A BIT OF HISTORY...



Bariloche Through Time



Bariloche nowadays is a non stopping growing city. With more than 30kms wide (from East to West) and more than 5kms long (from North to South) in some areas, with more than 130.000 inhabitants. However, it once used to be a small group of houses and farms.


Founded in 1902, “San Carlos de Bariloche” (Bariloche, for short) was named for its first general store owner in the area, Carlos Wiederhold, a German-Chilean pioneer, which name got confussed when writting it down on letters (sent to him), mixing San Carlos(Saint) insted of Don Carlos (Mr.) from Bariloche (de Bariloche), giving as a ruslt, the long name of San Carlos de Bariloche.
However, the Mapuches (aborigins from Chile) already called this area as “vuriloche”, which means “ people behind the mountains.” In the 1930’s, the city center was built around Wiederhold’s general store and the buildings were generaly made of wood.


"La Alemana" first general store, owned by Carlos Wiederhold.



Some old wooden houses still remain as architectural heritage of the city.

After the creation of the First National Park in Argentina, "Nahuel Huapi National Park", the city went trough a dramatical change of live style and started focusing on the high level tourism that satrted visiting this main atraction.
Buildings also started to be constructed with different materials, using rocks and wood, resembling a European alpine town style. Therefore, Bariloche started to be known as the Argentine Swiss.

Bariloche's Civic Center under construction in 1938. Use of rocks and some wood.

Bariloche's Cathedral during its construction in 1945

One of the first pictures of the Cathedral as Bariloche's main postals.


Throughout the early 1900’s Bariloche was dependent on Chilean commerce until the railroad connected the city to Argentina’s commercial centers in the 1940’s. Since the late 1950’s Bariloche has quickly grown in popularity as both a summer and winter retreat for locals and foreigners alike. Today, it remains one of Argentina’s top travel destinations, as it offers some of the best outdoor experiences and the is proudly to have the biggest skiing resort in South America.


Old picture of Bariloche's train station. Main connexion with Buenos Aires in the past.

(Pictures obtained from Archivo Visual Patagonico)