Southwest of Bariloche

Cerro Otto

At Km 5 on Avenida de los Pioneros, a cable car (known as teleférico) goes up to Cerro Otto, (1405 m) with its revolving restaurant and really wonderful views over the lakes and mountains all around. Alternatively, 20 minutes-walk away on the summit at Refugio Berghofis a confiteríabelonging to Club Andino Bariloche. Highly recommended.

Cerro Catedral

Cerro Catedral (2338 m), 21 km southwest of Bariloche, is one of the major ski resorts in Argentina; extremely well organized with a great range of slopes for all abilities. There are 70 km of slopes of all grades, allowing a total drop of 1010 m, starting at 2000 m, and 52 km of cross-country skiing routes, all with utterly spectacular views. There are also snowboarding areas and a well equipped base with hotels, restaurants, equipment hire, ski schools and nursery care for children. As a summer resort, there's a cable car to take you further into the hills, useful for starting walks to Refugio Lynch (from where you can walk on to Laguna Jakob) and Refugio Frey, or for cycling down to Lago Gutiérriez. There is also superb cross-country skiing (called Nordic skiing here) around the wonderful Refugio Neumeyer, where you can also try out snowshoe walking, and stay the night or have dinner.

Mount Tronador and Pampa Linda

The highest peak around is the mighty mountain of Tronador ('The Thunderer', 3478 m), which overshadows the peaceful hamlet of Pampa Linda- the base for climbing the mountain itself or a number of other good walks. You can visit Pampa Linda on a day tour from Bariloche, which takes in the beautiful Lagos Gutiérrez and Mascardi, and stops to appreciate the tranquillity of the place but offers little time for walking. Althought it's better to take the bus from outside Club Andino and spend a few days at Pampa Linda, exploring. Usually included in the day tour, and fascinating, are the eerie, murky glacier Ventisquero Negroand the awesome falls at Garganta del Diablo, one of the natural amphitheatres in Tronador's slopes, where several waterfalls drop straight from the glacial shelf. It's well worth the trip to walk up through the coihueand lengaforests to the falls themselves. Also superb is the hike from Pampa Linda to Refugio Otto Meiling, where you can hire crampons and walk on the glacier. The lower sections of these paths are great for mountain biking in the forest, and there are more spectacular walks to Lago Blest along the Paso de los Nubes, and Laguna Ilon.