Why visit Villa La Angostura?

Because it is the loveliest and most relaxed of the Argentine lake-district towns — a small, forested village on Lake Nahuel Huapi with the rare myrtle woods of Los Arrayanes National Park on its doorstep. It offers lake beaches and kayaking, the southern start of the famous Seven Lakes Route, skiing at Cerro Bayo, alpine charm and chocolate-shop streets, all in a gentler, prettier setting than its bigger neighbour Bariloche.

What is the Bosque de Arrayanes?

It is the myrtle forest that made Villa La Angostura famous — a dense, rare wood of arrayán trees on the Quetrihué Peninsula in Los Arrayanes National Park, their smooth bark a striking cinnamon-orange and cool to the touch, some trees centuries old. It is reached by a twelve-kilometre trail on foot or by bike, or by catamaran from the village port, and is widely said to have inspired the forest in Disney's Bambi.

Is Villa La Angostura or Bariloche better?

They suit different trips, and many travellers see both. Villa La Angostura is smaller, quieter and prettier — a forested village for calm, nature and charm; Bariloche is a proper town, busier and better connected, with more restaurants, nightlife and the bigger ski scene. For peace, scenery and the myrtle forest, choose La Angostura; for range, transport and livelier days, Bariloche — they sit an hour apart on the same lake.

When is the best time to visit Villa La Angostura?

Summer, December to March, is best for the lake, the Seven Lakes drive, hiking and kayaking, with January the busiest; winter, June to August, brings the ski season at Cerro Bayo. The shoulder seasons are quietly lovely — spring, October and November, for wildflowers and fishing, and autumn, March to April, for golden forests and fewer people. For the lake and the forest at their finest, come in summer or early autumn.

Boutique Hotels in Villa La Angostura, Argentina Lakes

Where to go in Villa La Angostura

The headline is the Los Arrayanes National Park, on the slender Quetrihué Peninsula reaching into Nahuel Huapi south of town. Its prize is the arrayán forest: a dense stand of myrtle trees with smooth, cinnamon-coloured bark — cool to the touch, some of them three to six hundred years old — laced with wooden walkways, and so storybook-pretty it is popularly said to have inspired the woods of Disney's Bambi. You reach it the active way, by the twelve-kilometre trail along the peninsula on foot or by bike, or the easy way, by catamaran from the village port, with lake viewpoints along the route.

The town itself is a pleasure to potter in: La Villa, the older lakeside quarter by the port, and El Cruce, the lively centre on Avenida Arrayanes — which is, in fact, Route 40 — strung with chocolatiers, cafés and craft shops. Around it, the draws are the lake and the mountains. Cerro Bayo, the local ski hill, runs lifts for skiing in winter and views and walking in summer; the Río Correntoso, among the shortest rivers in the world, draws fly-fishers; the Cascada Santa Ana waterfall hides in forest towards the Chilean border; and the Seven Lakes Route to San Martín de los Andes begins right here.

The lake, the seasons and where to stay

Villa La Angostura is a place to be outdoors and to eat well between adventures. The lake is the playground — kayaking among the rock walls and islands of Nahuel Huapi, boating and swimming from quiet beaches, fishing the Correntoso and the lake itself — while the forests fill with walkers, cyclists and, in winter, skiers bound for Cerro Bayo. Off the trails, the village does Patagonian comfort food beautifully: lamb and trout, smoked meats and cheeses, craft beer, and the famous chocolate shops along the main avenue, a temptation few resist.

For where to stay, the club's choice sits right on the water: Don El Faro, a contemporary lakefront boutique of around fifteen rooms on the shore of Nahuel Huapi, with a private dock and beach, a spa, and a lighthouse tower to climb for the view. With the Seven Lakes drive beginning at the door and Los Arrayanes a short hop across the water, it makes a calm, scenic base for the village and the lake district around it.