One of the world’s best drives? Running for 180 km north from Bariloche, Argentina, the Seven Lakes Drive has stunning scenery with some charming villages en route: I would certainly put it in my Top Ten.
Bariloche does not look anything like a Swiss alpine village. It is a largely modern town with hellish parking and too many bad chocolate shops.
However, it does have the most superb location on Lake Naheul Huapi, which if you follow the famous Seven Lakes Drive, will be the first of the seven.
It is also the largest lake, with over 300 km of shoreline and up to 462 m deep. On a good day it is stunningly beautiful, and Bariloche looks quite small on the side of its blue expanse, a chain of snow capped mountains above.
This wonderful road trip heads north for 180 km to San Martin de los Andes. This is a charming town to end your drive., with big wooden shop fronts and great shopping and restaurants.
The road is fully paved and initially swings north round Lago Naheul Huapi to the little town of Villa Angostura. This is another pleasant little town and a great place to spend a couple of days with good walks in the area, including one to see the cinnamon barked Arrayan tree forest on a nearby peninsula – get a boat to the end and walk back.
The lakes then follow in quick succession:Correntoso, Espejo, Villarino, Falkner, Machonico, Lacar with its little beach, and San Martin to its East.
A worthwhile detour, on a good dirt road, leads to Villa Trufel, tucked away in a lush forest of tall trees . On the shores of another serene lake, it is an idyllic spot, though there seems to be a large amount of building in progress, so things may change.
The road dips and swoops along, from open plains and hills to the more usual wooded slopes. Only in a couple of places can you find beaches: at Falkner and the sheltered Playa Catrite, just before San Martin, with a nice decked restaurant.
But that is really the charm of the drive: unspoilt, beautiful lakes where you can easily imagine otters swimming and undisturbed nature.
Having said that, there is plenty of accommodation options of all sorts en route. Camping, we enjoyed superb views on the Villa Trufel road at ‘Puerto Arrayan’ on the western lower arm of the lake. On the upper arm, ‘Pichi Trufel’ had an equally stunning location.
Nearer San Martin, the free camping at Rio Villarino was beautiful and had heaps of bird life.
Car hire is easy in Bariloche, so grab some wheels and get away from it all in the lakes on this fabulous drive – you won’t regret it.
Exchange Rate £1 = AR$24