A Slice of Switzerland

Landing in the Lake District (Picasa link) one could be excused for thinking they were in Switzerland. Clear alpine lakes, snow-capped peaks, green rolling meadows, and fat cows complete the picture. Throw in the German architecture and chocolate and cake shops and its easy to see the cause for confusion. The Lake District forms a part of northern Patagonia, stretching across a section of the Andes in both Chile and Argentina, and we had decided to spend some time exploring both sides.

Oliver's pad

First off was Puerto Varas. We headed over to Oliver's place, which was a 150 year old wooden house of German design set among 50 acres of rolling farmland, a couple of feet from Lago (lake) Llanhiquin and with a stunning view of Volcan Osorno. The history of German settlements in this part of the world makes for an interesting read. Early in the 19th century, the Chilean government realized that the best way to establish a permanent claim on the land, which was then in dispute with Argentina, was to settle it. Finding no Chileans willing, they threw open the doors and invited people from all over. The policy caught the eye of an enterprising German businessman in Santiago, who promptly sold this idea to a few of his gullible countrymen, and convinced them to make the trip across the Atlantic and then the Andes. Initially, the going was tough, but before long the Germans established numerous villages dotting the lakes in this region. One such typical German town that we visited was Frutillar. Other than the architecture and cows, they did keep another German tradition going - küchen or cakes. The Lake District on the Chilean side especially, has some of the best cakes we've had on our trip so far and we plowed our way through many a cake, putting back on all the pounds we'd lost in the southern Patagonias.

Spot the Refugio!

From Puerto Varas we took a bus over the Andes to Bariloche in Argentina. Encountering bad weather there, we promptly decamped to El Bolson - Argentina's answer to all the hippies in South America. The town has a mellow vibe and at every turn you run into a dread-lock sporting, robe wearing hippie. They also have a famous market every alternate day, selling organic and healthy food. El Bolson is really small - just a couple of paved roads, and is surrounded by craggy mountain ranges on all sides. Always excited by mountains, we went for a really nice two day hike, staying at a refugio on the first night. The weather in Bariloche was showing promise by this point, and so we made our way back there. Bariloche is called Argentina's version of Switzerland and they waste no time in trading off that reputation. Every second shop sells artisinal chocolate, and later, having eaten all the chocolate you can put away, you can have your picture taken with a St. Bernard in the main square. Leaving behind the sweets, we again headed into the mountains of the Nahuel Huapi Nacional Parque. This time the target was Cerro Cathedral, a jagged peak not too far from Bariloche. The hike was stunning and the Refugio could not have been better placed - on an alpine lake right in the shadow of the peak. The next day we tackled a couple of passes, and one of the scariest descents ever, to make it back to civilization.

Paso Cardoba

It was onto our last few days in the Lake District and we picked up a car to do the Seven Lakes Loop, a dirt road drive that allows you to experience the best of the Lake District while still being a lazy tourist. We spread the drive across two days and spent the intermediary night at San Martin de los Andes - a long name for a small town. The setting however is hard to beat - San Martin is set on the shore of Lago Lacar at the end of a long valley and framed by high mountains. The next day we drove back via a different road which allowed us to experience a very different side of the Lake District. In place of verdant forests and snow peaks, we got to see crazy rock formations in an almost desert like setting. Having thoroughly enjoyed our drive, we returned our car and bid adieu to the Lake District.


Santiago is up next, and having not been in a big city in over a month, I am going to appear a country-bumpkin!

- Ashish