Western Neuquén

The northern half of the Lake District falls into the province of Neuquén, encompassing an enormous

region from just north of Bariloche to beyond Copahue and Caviahue, and ending at the border

with Mendoza. The provincial capital is the pleasant modern city of Neuquén, centre of an important

fruit-growing area, providing most of Argentina's apples, pears and grapes. You're likely to stop off only briefly here on the way to greater adventures in the mountains further west, but it's worth making time for a brief encounter with dinosaurs at several sites easily reached from Neuquén city. There are incredibly huge dinosaur footprints at Villa El Chocón, and you'll want to see the skeleton in the museum there as proof that the largest carnivores ever known actually stomped around these lands 100 million years ago. You could also try a spot of excavation yourself at Valle Cretacico, and not only dinosaur fans will be impressed by the skeleton of the largest herbivorous dinosaur on earth in Plaza Huincul. For more information, see www.neuquen.com.