An Amazing Road Trip Along the Ruta de Siete Lagos, Argentina

By Becky Wandell

Traveling south into the Lakes District of Argentina was a momentous occasion. It meant I had crossed the 37th-degree south latitude and finally reached the land of my dreams, Patagonia.

For my welcome, the beautiful Lakes District opened itself to me immediately, and I fell in love.

The Lakes District straddles the border between Argentina and Chile for 900 miles from north to south. It comprises snowcapped volcanos, ancient forests, mountain villages, and an uncountable number of profoundly blue lakes.

I can’t even imagine the amount of glaciation and volcanic activity that occurred to create this amazing place. Luckily, there are a handful of National Parks, and hundreds of miles of roads and trails so visitors can really enjoy it all!

San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Bariloche is the largest city in the Lakes region and was the prominent place to start my adventures. Known for its Bavarian roots, Alps-like architecture, and oodles of chocolate shops, I whiled away an afternoon on its pedestrian-friendly Mitre Street, taking in the mountain views across Lake Nahuel Huapi (Na-wheel Wha-pi), a sprawling lake covering over 215 square miles.

Since Bariloche is almost surrounded by the national park of the same name, I was captivated by the views in all directions. A quick look at the map in the visitor center told me that there were so many more lakes to see, but I needed transportation to see them. I wondered how I would do that.

Just about then, I received a text from a woman I had met a few weeks earlier in my travels. I had given her my number in case she was coming to the Lakes District too. And here she was, in the same town, for the same weekend, looking for something to do.

It didn’t take us long to decide that splitting a car rental together would be a great way to see the sites! So, Selina from Switzerland and I met again the next morning at the car rental agency.

When we sat in front of the agent, Selina told me she would be more comfortable if I drove. No problem, I thought.

So, I handed over my credit card, signed my life away about 18 times, and the agent took us out to inspect the car. Then I sat in the driver’s seat.

“There are three pedals?” I said. “In my country, I don’t drive cars with three pedals! What are they for?”

The agent stammered, watching the horror on my face and the lightbulb. I had just rented a manual car. I hadn’t driven a manual in almost 30 years.

I hoped I wouldn’t have to pay for a new transmission at the end of the day! All I could do was laugh.

Luckily, our little car was incredibly smooth and forgiving in its gear changes, and we all – Selina, the car and I – had a great day together!

La Ruta de Siete Lagos

The Route of Seven Lakes, known locally as the “Ruta de Siete Lagos“, is part of the famous Route 40- an internationally beloved road trip from Argentina’s northern border, down the eastern flank of the Andes mountains to the very tip of South America.

This picturesque section is a breathtakingly beautiful mountain road that takes you across two different National Parks, Parque Nacional Lanín and Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, through two picturesque villages and along the shores of at least seven different lakes. We decided to take this route over two days and were anxious to begin! Our first stop was Villa la Angostura.

Villa la Angostura

Set a couple of hours north of Bariloche, Villa la Angostura is considered the most beautiful town in Argentina. The rustic stone and wooden shops line the main shopping street while the mountains hover closely around. Within Villa la Angostura, we quickly found a couple of gems.

At Puerto Angostura, we found a peninsula jutting out to form two quiet little bays, and a mountain trail heading up to a lookout within another national park, Parque National Los Arrayanes. We couldn’t stop taking pictures of the vibrant blues and greens of the lake water and the layers of snowcapped mountains, drawing our eyes across the border to Chile.

Then, as we were heading out the north side of town, we discovered the Rio Correntoso, a short river connecting Lake Nahuel Huapi with an equally dramatic Lake Correntoso, our second lake along the scenic drive.

We enjoyed a little of the beach and views with the locals, forever sharing a drink of mate. If we had had more time, I would have loved to stay and kayak in the picturesque bay. But northward we headed.

To our delight, the well-signed route was filled with several easy pull-offs with expansive views over the lakes and snow-capped mountains. Sometimes, the road dipped to the lakeshore where small beaches, forest walks, and campground picnic tables provided a great respite.

After the viewpoints of Lake Correntoso and then Lake Espejo Grande, we used our overland app to discover a side road to Lake Espejo Chico, a quiet little sliver with a campground on its shore.

Then we found the short trail to a waterfall named Cascada Ñivinco and had great fun crossing a cold mountain stream to get there.

Another side road took us to the large Lake Traful, where we munched on our bag lunch at the water’s edge, staring at the walls of rock framing the shore.

Back on the main route, we found the hidden Lake Escondido, soaking up the dramatic and wide valley showcasing Lake Villarino and Lake Falkner. Then came the sleepy beach and glass-like reflection of Lake Hermoso and more viewpoints over Lake Machónico and Lake Fria.

Because Patagonia is remote, and there’s not a lot of car traffic, animals take the right-of-way, mainly domesticated sheep and cattle. We had been warned to take the curves slowly as we never knew what we’d find in the middle of the road!

San Martín de los Andes

By day’s end, we found ourselves in the quaint little village of San Martín de los Andes, located 118 miles north of Bariloche. This little town stole my heart simply for the way it is nestled into a steep valley at the head of Lake Lacár, our twelfth lake for the day.

After all of our driving, we were ready to enjoy an Argentine pizza and a glass of wine, celebrating my driving skills and the beauty of Argentina’s Lakes Region.

Additional Roadtrip Tips:

Some people try to drive this out-and-back route in one day, but San Martín de los Andes is too cute to cut short. There are also two more nearby lakes worthy of a stop: Lake Lolog and Lake Meliquina, which we visited on the way back to Bariloche.

We used Hertz for our rental car, but rentalcars.com will also provide good price comparisons between local companies. Many tourist agencies in downtown Bariloche and San Martín de los Andes are eager to rent you a car.

We were glad we brought our food and drink, as this route is all about the scenery of the national parks, and food, drink and gas stations are not available along the way. We used the navigation app ioverland for exploring this area.

Becky Wandell is a teacher, writer, and curious explorer. In 2018, after quitting her job and selling all of her possessions, she moved to Ecuador and worked as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. This experience helped embed her passion for connecting with people, integrating into their cultures, and saying “yes” to every adventure!  https://onthewingadventures.com