The Lake District, Chile and Argentina

This Lake District is famous for its innumerable lakes, some adorned with volcanoes, some known for their popular resort towns, and others for their isolation. We had less than a week to pack it all in. So what did we do? Sign up for a cruce de lagos that takes us through four bus rides, three cruises, and two countries, of course!

Our journey from Puerto Montt, Chile arriving into Bariloche, Argentina began at 8:00 am on a Cruz del Sur luxury coach. We crossed the gorgeous lakeside resort of Puerto Varas, where we kicked ourselves for not staying a night or two. The streets in this town are lined with roses, hence the name. From here we drove along gorgeous lakes where we had to imagine the Osorno volcano that was playing truant behind the clouds. Our next stop was the beautiful Petrohue falls, noteworthy for its black volcanic rocks spewing forth thick foamy white waters.



Our first cruise was aboard a smart catamaran across lago Todos los Santos to the mystical Peulla. This is a private property maintained by the cruise company that owns the rights to this entire trip. They pay the government to ferry tourists across routes not open to the public.



After lunch in Peulla and a ride through serpentine forest roads, we cleared immigration in Puerto Frias, Argentina. A ferry ride from there brought us to Puerto Alegre, followed by a bus ride to Puerto Blest. Our last crossing was across the incredibly gorgeous lake Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Pañuelo.



The sun had set almost completely by this time and a light drizzle had set in. Most passengers were pretty tired after this merry-go-round of buses, catamarans, and lakes. Not us. There we were at the helm of the catamaran, hand-in-hand, breeze against our faces, soaking in the wildly magical scenery around us. The fog made the lake seem infinite, the surrounding hills were mere silhouttes of grey, and here we were gypsies sans destination...