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All Routes

Walk overview

General Argentinian route information

Rio Villegas to the waterfall

  1. Buses and Rio Villegas
  2. Hiking along the Rio Manso road
  3. Suspension bridge across the manso
  4. Meadows and flatlands along the Rio Manso
  5. Fences to avoid on the Rio Manso
  6. Rio Manso - easy camping
  7. The waterfall marked on the map

The waterfall to the Argentine - Chilean border

  1. El Manso: Rafting campsite, restaurant and minimart
  2. Argentinian customs - Gendarmeria Nacional
  3. The case of the missing refugio
  4. Crossing the Argentina-Chile border

General Chilean route information

Paso El Leon to Torrentoso

  1. Chilean Carabineros, border crossing and the hamlet of El Leon
  2. A rangers' forest camp
  3. Conditions along the route
  4. The turn towards Torrentoso

Torrentoso to end of Lago Vidal Gormaz

  1. Torrentoso turning
  2. Camping at the south end of Lago Vidal Gormaz
  3. Along Lago Vidal Gormaz
  4. Food supplies at the north end of the lake
  5. Route to virgin rainforest

Lago Vidal Gormaz to La Junta

  1. Lakes in the rainforest
  2. Junction of two rivers and two paths
  3. El Arco refugio and natural bridge
  4. La Junta refugio

La Junta to Cochamo

  1. Granite cliffs and La Junta campground
  2. Trail conditions along the last leg of the path
  3. End of the path from Argentina
  4. Main road to Cochamo and Campo Aventura
  5. Cochamo and civilization
Map of the section 1 route, all contained image map links are available from the textual links on this page Buses and Rio Villegas Hiking along the Rio Manso road Suspension bridge across the manso Meadows and flatlands along the Rio Manso Fences to avoid on the Rio Manso Easy camping on the Rio Manso The waterfall marked on the map
  Section 1: Click on the "i"s above for information and photos of the route. part b

a. Leaving Bariloche, starting the walk from Rio Villegas

Buses from Bariloche to Rio Villegas leave every hour, on the half hour, costing 6 pesos one way. Tickets can be bought from the "Via Bariloche" boleterias inside the bus station, there are 3 spread down the main concourse. The bus itself will be a minibus marked "El Valle" in white and blue livery with a small "Via Bariloche" emblem on the side, it is well worth asking the number of your bus when buying your ticket, otherwise they won't tell you! The journey to Rio Villegas takes 1½ hrs and goes through some beautiful lake and mountain scenery, along with the less well off end of Bariloche. Make sure you catch the bus, missing it costs 30% of the price of the ticket when you re-book.

This picture shows the start of the gravel and dirt road, down the El Manso valley, going to the left as you look at the image. There is no need to check in with the Gendarmeria Nacional at the bus stop when walking this route, only if you are traveling by vehicle.