El Bolsón is a small hippy town just south of Bariloche and closeish to the Argentinian Chilean border. It was a great place for me to stop for a few days before continuing onwards to Bariloche.
I’m losing count of how many times I’ve crossed between Chile and Argentina. My passport feels like it’s got endless entry and exit stamps I’m border hopping that much!
I spent two and a bit days in El Bolsón. You could spend longer as there are lots of walks to do and it’s a nice place to relax and take things slow. Here’s what I got up to during my stay there:
Cajón del Azul
On my first full day I visited the Cajón del Azul. I had planned to have a chill day first, however I didn’t realise that you needed to get a bus to Wharton where the trail starts. As it happened these buses only ran at 7.30am and 12pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I quickly changed my plans.
I quickly dashed to the supermarket for lunch supplies, booked a different (and cool eco hostel) for my second night (as I wasn’t a fan of my current one which smelt of smoke).
I got to the bus stop (at the far corner of Plaza Pagano) at 7.20am and could see other people doing the same thing. Guess what – no bus showed!!! We waited for an hour till a local said the bus was now coming at 12.30!
By this point I’d got chatting to a group also waiting so we all got a taxi together. A taxi to Wharton costs $360ARG (£6 approx) which is decent especially when there’s 4 of you! I’ve heard in high season there’s a bus everyday so you might have more luck.
At the entrance, we registered and then started the walk. I’d been told the walk was hard, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it easier than expected. There are uphills and downhills through the trees along the Rio Azul. It takes about 3hrs. We did it in around 4hrs with lots of long stops and breaks; we were in no rush.
It is a lovely walk, although I would go with careful expectations. When I went the water wasn’t very high and the viewpoint on MapsMe isn’t a viewpoint as it’s too far from the river. It’s hard to know when you’ve got there as there is no sign.
We followed the loop around till we reached a rickety wooden log bridge with a sign saying ‘Danger, don’t cross’. I reckon it was the original path but I didn’t fancy taking undue risks, especially when told not to.
Instead, we followed a small path to the right along the canyon edge. We found a path to the bottom where we ate lunch and had the whole place to ourselves. It was pretty nice!
We then returned the way we’d came and stopped off at a good cool off spot. I’d forgotten my swim stuff so didn’t go in. The others jumped in and all surfaced yelling how cold it was!
The walk back took 2.5hrs and again we weren’t fast, stopping on the way. We were going to wait for the 7pm/7.30pm bus back which we really hoped showed. We got lucky and I was able to ask a car for a lift back to El Bolsón which was great and much faster.
It was a really good day trip! There’s also the option to stay in some refugios if you’d like to explore the area more.
Lago Puelo
I didn’t know what to do on my second day. There were plenty of walks, I just couldn’t decide. I wanted something easy that didn’t involve unreliable transport! Speaking to a guy volunteering at the hostel, he recommended Lago Puelo so I thought why not.
Lago Puelo is 12km from El Bolsón. Buses run every hour on the hour from the bus stop outside La Anonima supermarket (near Plaza Pagano), and cost $30ARG. I didn’t know this beforehand but luckily I turned up at the right time.
You do have to change buses, but you don’t have to anything aside from get off one bus and then get on the next waiting bus. The journey takes about 50 minutes.
In the Lago Puelo area there are several walks to do. I did the simplest which was to the Mirador del Lago. It’s about a 15min walk up to the viewpoint from the trailhead and I did some berry picking on the way.
The views were yet again gorgeous and I stayed up there eating lunch, relaxing and chatting to the other Chilean guy up there. It’s a beautiful place to disconnect and there were quite a few people chilling on the lake’s shoreline.
I got the 4pm bus back to El Bolsón. Since the bus to Wharton never showed, I did worry slightly that this one wouldn’t either. It did and I got back to El Bolsón by 5pm and treated myself to ice cream from Jauja. I seem to naturally gravitate to the banana and Andean chocolate flavours!
Tip: For the bus back to El Bolsón, I walked to the penultimate stop before the park entrance. It turns out that tickets from one stop before are $26ARG instead of $30ARG. It’s not a massive difference but good to know!
Feria Artesanal
Every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am there is the Feria Artesanal. Before getting the bus to Bariloche I went for a quick nosy around. It was a great little market and well worth a short wander.
I’d go after 12pm or later as some of the stalls are still setting up. I had a yummy raspberry milkshake and veggie tart for lunch.
Where I stayed
I don’t normally write about where I stayed. This time though my hostel experience really did impact my opinion of El Bolsón. When looking at hostels in El Bolsón, I’d taken note of the eco hostel, Earthship Patagonia. It looked really cool!
For my first night it was booked up so I stayed somewhere else. Despite it being clean, having hot showers and decent beds, I wasn’t keen. I think this was mainly due to the smell of smoke inside and that I felt I paid more than I should have.
I went out to explore the area and headed to Earthship Patagonia to see if they had space for the next night. They did so I quickly booked!
Honestly it’s such a great hostel! The showers are hot, the decor and design are unique, there’s homemade granola for breakfast and wifi is good. Plus for some reason cheaper than my previous one (a bed in the dorm costs $450ARG – £8 approx).
I should have booked it for two nights, but I only did one. I went to book another night and it was sadly fully booked. I asked the next morning if anyone had cancelled. No one had but they then offered me the teepee for the same price. I loved it!
They did say it got cold as there was no heating etc. I went to bed wearing my thermals and several layers. I guessed right cause I didn’t get cold!!
Other things to do:
Cerro Amigo: It is a cross on a hill above El Bolsón. It’s about a 40minute walk up from town and you could go for sunset. We went on our last morning but found out it costs $80ARG. It’s not much but we decided we didn’t need to do it.
Activities: you can have a go at horseriding or paragliding.
Cerro Piltriquitrón: a day hike with great panoramic vistas. I’ve heard it’s steep towards the end.
Pasarela del Rio Azul: a 15km walk along Rio Azul.
Visit the local waterfalls:Cascada Escondida is nice and apparently only a half an hour walk from town.
How to get to El Bolsón
You can get to El Bolsón by bus from several places. If you’re heading South, then Bariloche will most likely be where you’re coming from. Via Bariloche have buses that run every couple of hours, cost $250ARG and take 2 hours.
I came from the South and Chile, from Futaleufú. First you need to cross the border. There is a 9am minivan outside Los Abuelos in Futaleufú that takes you to the border. It runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, costs $2500CLP (£3) and takes 10/15mins. You could try to hitchhike or I guess walk.
At the border, we got our exit stamp and walked the few hundred metres to the Argentinian side. I had my first piece of food taken off me (an onion) on entering Argentina which was a bit odd as Chile is generally stricter food wise.
There is a bus on the Argentinian side which coordinates with the Chilean one. It arrived at 10am and goes to Esquel. It costs $255ARG (£5) and takes approx 1hr45mins.
From Esquel we got the bus to El Bolsón. We took the 4pm bus with Via Bariloche which takes 3hrs and costs $356ARG (£6). Marga Tasqua also run this route with a bus at 4.50pm which costs $560ARG (£10). I think their one is an hour faster.
If you’re heading north, you can also skip the Chilean Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Futaleufú section and go straight from El Chaltén or Los Antiguos. They have buses going to Bariloche which stop at El Bolsón.
Final thoughts
I very much enjoyed my short visit to El Bolsón. My stay at Earthship Patagonia made my experience even more enjoyable. I would really recommend!
Cajón del Azul and Lago Puelo are also great day trips to do if you enjoy walking and nature.
I’m now continuing to Bariloche where I might stay a week (if I like it!). It’s got chocolate, lots of hikes and beautiful views – so what’s not to like!!
