I am filled with privilege to visit Argentinian Patagonia, starting in Bariloche and then heading 2 hours north to El Bolson, each charming and peaceful in their own way. Patagonia for me felt like heaven on earth, probably a place where I felt the most peaceful and life completely slowed down.
As you walk to the town square in Bariloche named the Civic Centre it feels like a Disney movie, or you’re in a mini Switzerland ski resort yet in Argentina. There happened to be a small festival on while we visited, where schools from all over the country would compete in dance and singing competitions. It was fun to see and join in with the locals while singing to Michael Jackson.
If you aren’t a big hiker even the centre of Bariloche is scenic, it is surrounded by lake Nahuel Huapi. You can walk all around it and the views were my highlight of the trip so far. It didn’t feel busy but you would see people sat drinking their matè or meditating overlooking the mountain views or playing in the park with the lake right in front. Not forgetting the skatepark, even if you didn’t care for skating it’s still the coolest skatepark I had ever seen.
Of course in Patagonia you visit for the nature, so we took the number 20 bus out of the city and headed to Cerrito Llao Llao (pronounced Chao Chao, we learned the hard way). There are treks for any ability, we would walk for an hour and then stop and relax by a lake with our packed lunch. It was bliss. There are a lot of hikes in Bariloche and the most famous are the national park called Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, Cerro Campanario and Circuito Chico. We happened to be here in the spring which was perfect timing, you could still see snow on the mountain peaks and it got colder in the evenings but we were lucky to be able to be in little layers and even sunbathe around the lakes. There were beaches like Playa Bonita but there were so many patches of beach to yourself that I would favour discovering your own beach instead.
As for restaurants there were plenty of places to eat a good milinasa, trout or of course steak. But we’re sticking to a budget and have got into the routine of hostel cooking, which I just admit is new for me. We would buy food for around £10 (20,000 pesos) which could last 2 meals each. It’s really the hero in our budget so far as Argentina is more expensive than we thought but that’s mostly due to the flights you have to take to get around. We had a steak at El Boliche de Alberto, we didn’t realise it was the most famous steak restaurant in Bariloche. So much that they had to open another restaurant just around the corner. Our steak was great as expected but nothing could ever top our ribeye steak, ceaser salad, fries and of course a bottle of Malbec in Buenos Aires, maybe my favourite meal ever. We also rewarded ourselves with ice cream and chocolate, it’s what the town is known for. Along with my first good coffee I had been waiting for in Argentina from my favourite small cafe called ‘Tony’s’.
More ways to save money is we have got used to taking the buses everywhere, you can tap with your phone and it costs about 60 pence to get around the city. As I write this now on a 2 hour bus further south to El Bolson, with a ticket only costing £3!
We stayed in Moving Hostel, the private room was cheaper for 2 people than a bunk room. There was free breakfast, the best showers we had yet and a decent kitchen. Most people there didn’t speak English which we were fine with, we met 2 Scottish girls in Iguazu who joined us a day later Dervla and Cat, in the evenings we would have drinks at our favourite bar Berkana Bar de Lago. It had a good DJ and a mix of locals and backpackers the bar felt similar to small bars I had been to in Colombia and Thailand.
Bariloche is easy to access from Buenos Aires via aeroplane, I discovered quickly in Argentina that flying is not only cheaper than buses (although worse for the environment, I know and I’m sorry) but it’s the easiest way to access the huge country. I’m so glad to visit these magical places and if you ever get the chance I would highly reccomend this beautiful part of the world.
Bevs Backpacking📍 