The ultimate city guide to Bariloche, Argentina
San Carlos de Bariloche, also called Bariloche only, is a city of almost 100,000 inhabitants in the province of Riò Negro, in north-western Patagonia in Argentina. The origin of the name is to be found in the term “Mapuche Vuriloche”, literally “people who live behind the mountain”, as the settlement rises almost 1000 meters high at the foot of the Andes.
The foundation was made by Germans, Austrians and above all Italians, coming from the Venetian province of Belluno, who left for the American continent in 1895, who is just 7 years, in May 1902, saw their efforts crowned with the issue of a decree of the National Government that formalized the birth of the town of San Carlos de Bariloche. Until 1934 the size of the settlement remained small and the services minimal, then with the advent of the railway and with the construction of urban planning works promoted by the National Parks Board, the city began to populate and take on its characteristic beauty.
The fame of Bariloche is linked to its modern ski facilities, a rare commodity in all of South America, characterized by efficient ski lifts serving kilometers and kilometers of slopes, such as to give the city the nickname of “San Moritz of Argentina”, and above all, a very precious economic resource for the municipal coffers. The average economic level among the inhabitants is quite high, there is widespread well-being not found in a large part of Argentina, thanks to the careful choice of the city administrators, who since the foundation based the economy on tourism, always obtaining answers profitable from activities such as hunting, allowed by rather soft local laws, and fishing, absolutely unregulated, today flanked by the organization of photographic safaris and nature tours, for which tourists are willing to pay handsomely.
For those who do not like this kind of pastime, the advice is to head towards the city center, always very active and full of history and shops. The architecture that characterizes most of the buildings is the colonial one, slightly customized and adapted to the climatic conditions of the area, with very sloping pitched roofs to let the snow slide and coatings that have the use of stone to complete the classic structure. Wood. The major buildings date back to the early 1930s, such as the Civic Center, which houses a theater, a library, a museum, a customs and police station, the Cathedral and the famous Llao Llao hotel. The main street is Avenida Bustillo, drawn parallel to the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, surrounded by very high mountains with snow-capped peaks that are reflected on the blue waters, painting a paradisiacal scenario.
Other prominent naturalistic landscapes that are easy to reach are the Nahuel Huapi National Park, Huemul, a lake island off the coast of the city famous for fishing, and the Gutierrez and Mascardi lakes, surrounded by very dense vegetation and therefore open to visitors. only if accompanied by a guide, while the most important ski resorts are located at the Cerro Catedral. In the summer season, the beaches are very popular, the main ones being Playa Bonita and Villa Tacul, where some brave even decide to soak in the water of the lake that hardly exceeds 14 degrees in temperature.
The city has a modern airport also served by international routes, especially Argentine or Chilean routes, which increase the number of daily flights in correspondence with the opening of the ski season, while there is only the embarrassment of choice to move to land, seen a large number of shuttles and buses that run between the center and the mountains.
The climate is temperate and presents quite different situations between the summer months and the winter season, as well as sensitive temperature changes between day and night. Leaving aside the situation at the top of Cerro Catedral, an exclusively winter ski resort, therefore with always rather low temperatures, and going down to the city, the climate changes according to the seasons, to be able to satisfy more desires depending on the period of visit: lovers of skiing will have to leave between May and September when it is winter here and the lifts are open, while the advice for those who prefer walking and love nature in the middle of life is to book for January or February when the temperatures reach at 30 degrees and rainfall becomes less frequent.
