West of Neuquén

To the southwest of Neuquén lies the huge lake Embalse Ezequiel Ramos Mexíain an area which has become famous in recent years for the wealth of dinosaur fossils found here from the Cretacic period (100 million years ago). There are a number of places where you can see the finds, and even walk close to the footsteps of dinosaurs, and although the towns themselves are not appealing, they could make convenient stopping points along the road from Neuquén to the lakes, with a good museum at Villa El Chocón. You can even take part in dinosaur excavation at the Centro Paleontológico at Lago Barreales www.proyectodino.com.ar.

Villa El Chocón and around

For information on reaching the footprints, and how they were formed, see www.inter patagonia.com/paseos/huellas, and also www.interpatagonia.com/paseos/ernestobachmann (both in English).

Your only reason to visit Villa El Chocón at the northern end of Lago Ezequiel Ramos Mexía, is to see the remains of dinosaurs. It's a neat, rather uninspiring town, a strictly functional place built for workers on the hydroelectric dam, but worth a stop for the amazing evidence of dinosaurs. Red sedimentary rocks have preserved, in relatively good condition, bones and even footprints of the creatures which lived in this region during the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago. Some of the fossils can be seen in the Museo Paleontológico Ernesto Bachmann where guides give very good tours. Exhibits include fossils of the mighty 10-ton, 15-m long Gigantosaurus carolinii, a carnivorous dinosaur larger than the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. There's a well laid-out and informative display with information on these quite mind- boggling finds. Alejandro París of Aventura Jurásica offers guided two- to three-hour visits to the museum and surroundings.

Excavation at Valle Cretacico

www.interpatagonia.com/paesos/valle.cretacico2 has information in English.

The lunar landscape around Villa El Chocón is rather amazing and contains a surprising amount of dinosaur remains. So much so that an area has been named 'Cretacious Valley'. The valley lies 18 km south of Villa El Chocón, near the Dique and has improbably shaped pedestals of eroded pink rock coming out of the blue water. There are two walks beside the lake to see the dinosaur footprints, which are amazingly well preserved.

If you're really into dinosaurs, you should consider visiting the Centro Paleontológico, www.proyectodino.com.ar, where you can even take part in dinosaur excavation. A team of palaeontologists is currently working on a large site, where some 30 fossils of dinosaur vertebrates have already been found, some of them belonging to a small dinosaur so far unnamed.

Plaza Huincul

There are more dinosaur remains at a quite impressive little museum in the otherwise rather dull town of Plaza Huincul. Plaza Huincul was the site of the country's first oil find in 1918. The Museo Municipal Carmen Funes on the way into Plaza Huicul includes the vertebrae of Argentinossaurus huinclulensis, believed to have weighed over 100 tons and to have been one of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs ever to have lived on earth, as well as a nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs. It's mainly a centre for research, and you can see the results of the fieldwork in fossils, photographs and videos, as well as the skeletons themselves.

Zapala

Zapala (1012 m) lies in a vast dry plain with views of snow-capped mountains to the west. It's a modern and rather unappealing place, but you'll need to stop here if you want to take buses to Pehuenia, Copahue and Caviahue, or to cross the border into Chile at the Icalma Pass.

The Museo Mineralógico Dr Juan Olsacher is one of the best fossil museums in South America; it contains over 2000 types of mineral and has the finest collection of fossils of marine reptiles and marine fauna in the country. On display is the largest turtle shell from the Jurassic period ever found and an ophthalmosaur, as well as photos of an extensive cave system being excavated nearby.

Parque Nacional Laguna Blanca

Covering 11,250 ha at altitudes of between 1200 m and 1800 m, this park is one of only two reserves in the Americas created to protect swans and is 35 km southwest of Zapala. This is a rare example of high arid steppe, and its 1700-ha lagoon is one of the most important nesting areas of the black-necked swan in Argentina. Other bird life includes several duck species, plovers, sandpipers, grebes and Chilean flamingos, with birds of prey such as the red-backed hawk and the peregrine falcon nesting on the steep slopes of the laguna. It's best visited in spring, when young can be watched at many sites around the laguna. The landscape is indeed very dry, and rather bleak, with fierce winds, encouraging only the lowest and most tenacious plant life. A rough track runs round the lake, suitable for 4WD vehicles only. Nearby the Arroyo Ñirecohas eroded the volcanic rock to form a deep gorge, and it's worth seeking out a small cave, inhabited in prehistoric times, with cave paintings.  www.parquesnacionales.gov.ar.