ALL YEAR ROUND

On the shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake, in the centre of the National Park by the same name and in the middle of the Andes Mountains, San Carlos de Bariloche town welcomes people from all over the world and opens the gates to Argentine Patagonia.

Bariloche is located in the west of the province of Rio Negro (Black River). It is a place where time seems to have stopped so that visitors may enjoy its exceptional environment, a natural Andean scenario that provides warmth and sheltering attraction with its everlastingly ever-changing beauty.

Bariloche stands out for its architectural features and because it is bordered by hills, forests, and mountains covered with eternal snow, Lakes and Rivers. It offers the widest range of options for tourism, both conventional and adventure, and may be enjoyed in every season of the year.

You breathe fresh air in the Sts, and the vast Nahuel Huapi Lake can be seen from any part of the town. Walking along the woodland trails it is an amazing experience to be in blissful solitude and in harmony with nature, far away from the contamination and stress of large cities.

Compared with the crowded cosmopolitan city, Bariloche, with its hundred thousand or so residents, still lives the life of a mountain village. This place not only offers its inhabitants picturesque vistas and a constant contact with natural beauty, but also serves as a melting pot of different cultures and races aptly reflected in the indigenous origin of its name and in the German influence it has received.

San Carlos de Bariloche started out as a village settled by mountain people, most of whom descended from Swiss, German, Austrian and Italian pioneers. They came from Europe to settle this land bringing with them their own culture and lifestyle, and even originating a variety of regional products that still characterizes Bariloche.

The final settlement of the region began in 1881. Two years afterwards Chacabuco Fort was built, near the Stream estuary by the same name, on the Limay River. At first it consisted of only a couple of huts made of mud and straw, a "mangrullo" (watch tower) and a defensive moat.

In 1889 Jarred Augustus Jones settled next to the fort (which was) already abandoned) with 1500 cows, and in 1893, José Tauschek with his family settled next to the Lake.

However, the first European to settle in what is now the urban center of Bariloche was Carlos Wiederhold. The son of Germans arriving from Chile, he built his house and later his business premises close to the present "Centro Civico". He traded with wool and other goods and after a time his shop, called "La Alemana", and became a meeting place for the residents in the region.

It is believed that Wiederhold received a letter mistakenly directed to "San Carlos" instead of Mr. Carlos or "Don Carlos"; this was the origin of the name of the town, that was officially named on May 3, 1902, the date of its foundation.

To the name San Carlos, Bariloche was added; the word came from the Spanish distortion of the native name Vuriloche, a word from the "tehuelche" language meaning "different people, from the other side".

This was originally an agricultural area but, as time passed, it became a tourist attraction because of its landscapes and the possibility of practicing skiing. As a result, the whole town changed the direction of its economic growth.

Bariloche is the gate door to all Patagonian Lakes. Currently, it has been a tourist attraction for eighty years, and there is a wide range of services based on an important infrastructure of all-category hotels and an yearly movement of 650,000 tourists that visit the town.

There are few regions in the world where the seasons are so distinct as in Bariloche. The snow changes the landscape abruptly in winter; spring is full of colors, long and warm days in summer and fabulous color shades in the fall, and all these changes permanently accompanied by the welcoming friendliness of the people.

If you decide to visit Bariloche, don't forget to leave behind the frantic rush of the "big city". And above all, remember that a host of unforgettable experiences are awaiting you.