One of the places you can visit during your trip to Bariloche and the Lakes District is the Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes (Arrayanes National Park).
Los Arrayanes National Park was created in 1971 as a separate protected area from Nahuel Huapi National Park. It conserves specimens of myrtles with more than 650 years of age and a height greater than 15 meters.
Concentrated on the Quetrihué peninsula – “where there are myrtle trees” in the Mapuche language-, this dense forest takes us on a dream walk in a natural setting with a cinnamon-colored atmosphere, where sometimes the sun’s rays barely filter through.
Los Arrayanes National Park: General Facts
The Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes is located in the province of Neuquén.
Ecoregion: Patagonian Forests Surface: 1,796 ha Creation: 1971
Los Arrayanes National Park preserves a magnificent sample of an old southern myrtle forest, possibly one of the best known in Argentina. In addition, forests of coihues and ñires flank the Quetrihué peninsula, which enters like a giant tongue at the northern end of Lake Nahuel Huapi. In the lagoons in the center of the peninsula, called Hua Huan and Patagua, the huillín, an otter at risk of extinction, has been recorded. Among the birds, the Pythian woodpecker, the Araucanian whirlpool and the Cachaña stand out, the only parrot in the Patagonian forest and the one with the most southern distribution in the world. On islands close to the Park is the imperial cormorant subspecies that lives near lakes.
Los Arrayanes National Park
The Arrayan, or Quetri
Also called quetri (Luma apiculata), the southern myrtle is a tree or shrub that lives in very humid soils. It is slow growing and can reach between 8 and 15 meters in height. Its trunk is quite twisted and its bark, of cinnamon color, comes off leaving white spots. Its flowers are small, white and perfumed.
Los Arrayanes National Park: Weather
Wet cold. Average temperatures range from 3 ° C in winter to 14 ° C in summer. There is 1,300 mm of rain per year concentrated in the winter season and snowfalls between the end of July and September. The ideal time to visit is late spring and early fall.
Los Arrayanes National Park: Flora
In its modest dimensions it preserves a magnificent sample of southern myrtles (Luma apiculata) that make up a large and aged forest with particular characteristics. In a few places in Chile and Argentina it is repeated in a similar way. In addition, forests of coihues and ñires flank the Quetrihué peninsula, which enters like a giant tongue at the northern end of Lake Nahuel Huapi.
Los Arrayanes National Park: Fauna
In the center of the peninsula, two lagoons are formed, called Hua Huan and Patagua, in which the huillín, a species of native otter that is at risk of extinction, has been recorded. Among the birds, the Pythian woodpecker, the cachaña parrot and the Araucanian whirlpool stand out. In addition, on islands near Los Arrayanes National Park, the freshwater subspecies of the imperial cormorant is found.
Los Arrayanes National Park: location
The Arrayanes Forest, in the Quetrihué Peninsula, at the northern end of Lake Nahuel Huapi, Neuquén province.
Los Arrayanes National Park: How to arrive?
Due to the exceptional natural characteristics, and to ensure its maximum protection, preventing any possibility of alteration or destruction, the area was declared a National Park in 1971, despite being included within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. The distance from Villa La Angostura is 12 km and from S.C. from Bariloche – by lake – is 20 km. You have to different access: By lake, it is reached through Lake Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Arrayanes. The Futaleufú catamaran departs daily from Puerto La Angostura located in Bahía Mansa. You also can take an excursion from Bariloche, from Puerto Pañuelo Pier in the Bariloche surrounding to Arrayanes National Park and Isla Victoria. Or you can access by land, just few meters from Puerto Angostura, you will find a pedestrian path of approximately 12 kilometers opens up that leads to the Arrayanes Forest.
Los Arrayanes National Park: Map
The path begins at the Information Center located on the isthmus of Quetrihué. Entrance to the National Park must be paid and it is a shared path between pedestrians and cyclists; remember that the priority is the pedestrian. The distance of the one-way trip is 11.8 km. You can combine the return or departure by catamaran, check the schedules according to navigation in the Information Center.
Duration of the walk one way: 3 hours.
Duration of the one-way bike tour: 2 hours.
How to visit the Arrayanes National Park?
You can take the visit from Villa La Angostura, walking from the pedestrian entrance, or take a boat navigation from Puerto Angostura. From Bariloche, you can take an excursion to Arrayanes National Park and Victoria Island.
Visiting Los Arrayanes National Park and the Lakes District in Argentina and Chile
We have different options to visit the northern portion of Patagonia. Check the following list of Patagonia Tours
Suggested Tours including visit to Los Arrayanes National Park in Bariloche
We have a complete list of tours including Patagonia. Take a look to our complete list of tours to visit Argentina and Chile and enjoy the incredible region of Patagonia!
