El Bolsón sits in a green valley at the southern end of the Lakes District, 120 kilometres south of Bariloche, under the jagged ridge of Cerro Piltriquitrón. It became a refuge for hippies and back-to-the-land settlers in the 1970s and never quite shed the reputation — in 1984 it declared itself Argentina's first nuclear-free municipality — and it remains the most relaxed, least polished town in the region.
The Feria Regional on the main plaza is the heart of the place: craftspeople, jam-makers and brewers selling what they make, several days a week. The valley grows most of Argentina's hops and a great deal of soft fruit, so the craft beer is local and the berries in summer are extraordinary.
The mountains around the town are the real reason to stay. The trek to the Cajón del Azul, a narrow gorge of intensely blue water, is the classic walk, and a network of mountain refugios lets you string together several days in the high valleys without carrying a tent. Cerro Piltriquitrón itself has a sculpture park in the woods on its flank and views over the whole valley.
El Bolsón is on Ruta 40, the road south to Esquel and the Welsh valleys, and it makes a good stopping point between the lakes and Patagonia proper.