Bariloche is Argentina's premier mountain town, set on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi in the northern Patagonian Andes. It is famous as a ski resort, but that barely scratches the surface — the surrounding national park offers hiking, mountain biking, rafting, and kayaking through scenery that rivals the Swiss Alps, with dark-blue lakes, snow-capped peaks, and forests of ancient arrayanes.
Every season brings something different. Winter means skiing at Cerro Catedral, South America's largest ski area, plus the hordes of Argentine school graduation trips that descend in May and June. Summer opens up endless hiking trails and long, warm days on the lakeshore. Spring brings fly fishing, and autumn turns the forests gold and red. At Easter, the town's famous chocolate shops go into overdrive.
The tourist hub is the Centro Civico, a handsome 1940s civic centre of local stone and cypress wood, declared a National Monument. Mitre street and the surrounding blocks are packed with chocolate factories, smoked-meat shops, outdoor gear stores, and restaurants. The town has a distinctly Alpine feel — unsurprising, given that many of its founders were Swiss and German immigrants — but the steaks and Malbec are unmistakably Argentine.
Beyond the centre, the road winds west along the lakeshore to the iconic Llao Llao Hotel, the looping Circuito Chico, and the Swiss settlement of Colonia Suiza. Further out, the great extinct volcano Cerro Tronador and the boat trip to Isla Victoria and the Arrayanes Forest make up the standard Bariloche full-day excursions.