EL BOLSON

The long roads of Argentine Patagonia offer a thousand habitats that surprise the traveler defying his mind with new images, colours and shapes at every step he takes. This is bound to happen during the fall in El Bolsón and especially when going through the Fogel canyon.

As a preface to a picturesque and strong community, the access road is wide and smooth, forging through the rainbow-hued surrounding hillsides. Only the gentle and welcoming town of El Bolsón could contain the joy the traveller experiences when confronted with this outpouring of beauty.

El Bolsón owes its name to its cupped shape, surrounded by mountains and ancient glaciers that protect it under the aegis of the high mountain tops. The village is located at the foot of Mt Piltriquitrón and on the banks of Quemquemtreu River, totally surrounded by snowcapped peaks, venerable forests, and unpolluted River and Lake waters.

Its first settlers came from Chile. In 1902 the valley was declared to be part of Argentine and in 1933 the city was founded at 128 km from Bariloche and 20 from Lake Puelo.

To get there you have to skirt Lakes Gutiérrez, Mascardi and Guillelmo along NR Nº 258, and after crossing Pampa del Toro, Cañadón de la Mosca and El Foyel, you get to El Bolsón, on a one day trip.

Most of its buildings are of stone, with cypress wood tiles forming the roof. It has good hotels and campsites, as well as good bus services to Bariloche and Chile through the Cardenal Samoré Pass.

It is an charming town in the middle of the fertile Valle Nuevo, enclosed by the Nevado range on the west and Mt Piltriquitrón Mountain on the east, the latter being a favorite skiing spot in winter.

Further on, across farms and orchards growing hops, wheat, corn, sweet and sour cherries, raspberries, blackcurrants and apples, one arrives to Lake Puelo to enjoy its very special light blue-turquoise colouring.

El Bolsón, geographically, historically and ecologically is related to Lake Puelo, El Hoyo, Epuyén, Cholila, El Manso and El Maitén Valleys. All of these districts have begun to methodically develop eco-tourism .

In 1984 El Bolsón was named a "nuclear free area". Thus an attempt is being made to keep this area free of radioactive stain for generations to come. This defense of the environment is a steady local concern, showing in the Municipal Constitutional Charter, that names it an Ecological Municipality.

Its varied community is formed by generations of immigrants who came from all the provinces in the country, as well as an important wave of European immigration attracted by the magnetism of its exuberant landscape and the quiet mountain village life.

El Bolsón is a site that can be liked all year round. In winter, its countyside is rounded off with ski practice on Mt Perito Moreno, 25 kms away, and well furbished with all the necessary facilities.

The rest of the year many open air activities are carried out in close touch with nature. Spring and fall, with their multiple colors and shades, invite one to enjoy diving into a multicoloured havoc of red, ocher and yellow.

The community is just beginning to develop certain level of agricultural activity by growing hops as a aromatic ingredient of the beer industry (a good source of income), with harvesting in March, and by producing fine fruit preserves from strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, sweet and sour cherries, boysenberries, Corinth grapes, elderberries, maqui, calafate (local araucano names), and cassis.

In the area goats and sheep are also raised for the manufacture of dairy products such as milk, cheeses and yogurts, there are trout nurseries; regional chocolates and ice cream are made.

Among the mainstays of the regional economy there are a wide variety of woolen fabrics, treatment of dry flowers and plants and crafts made with these products. Forestry and tourism, and craftworks in a wide variety of materials. The National Hop Festival is celebrated here from February 17 to 20 each year.

"HIPPIE" CRAFTS
REGIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the foot of Mt Piltriquitrón at Pagano Square, a big number of artisans gather to sell a wide range of popular craft products.

This is the "Feria Regional de El Bolsón" (El Bolsón Regional Fair), in which multiple cultural expressions constitute an authentic reflection of the people who work every day to create this veritable art gallery of colours, music and scents that characterize this world-famous crafts fair.

Formed by a group of 70's "hippies", the Fair currently has more than 250 stands inviting tourists to explore, sample and examine the whole range of original and delicious regional products, such as: ceramics, wool products, woodwork, leather work, metalwork, dry flower crafts, jams and preserves, fresh vegetables, just-picked flowers, hand crafted knives, handmade candles, clothes, cheeses, food of all kinds, musical instruments, and every conceivable object that is produced by the local artisans, making the Fair one of the most important ones in South America.

On your trip to El Bolsón, you cannot miss visiting this perfect reflection of the number and variety of local craftsmen, including some who work at their trade in full view of visiting tourists, who may admire their skillful and truly typical workmanship.