Two hours north of Villa La Angostura lies San Martin de los Andes and the end point of the seven lakes route. It’s a lovely town on the shore of Lake Lácar and a great place to relax for a couple of days.
There are plenty of places to visit and activities to do. A car would really help to explore the area better and go further afield. That said, I was still able to see some beautiful places without a car!
Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita – Day 1
I headed to Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita, which I’d read about in a blog, on my first day. I loved how accessible they were from town. Yes I needed to walk but no car was necessary!
The walk to La Islita from town is around 5km and takes around an hour. I highly recommend stopping off at Mirador Bandurrias on route; the views over Lake Lácar are stunning! I would factor in an extra half an hour to your walk time if you go to the viewpoint. I ended up sat there for a while!
As you are leaving town, the first part of the walk (to the viewpoint) is uphill on a dusty trail. There are quite a few smaller trails which run off from the main one making it a bit confusing as to which one to follow.
From my experience they all tend to lead back to the main one. I used MapsMe to keep me on track. I discovered later that I should have been using the green and white signs painted on trees as trail markers. I hadn’t noticed them until the guy I was with pointed them out. They were useful for the walk back.
When I first got to the Mirador Bandurrias it was just me there enjoying the view. It’s one of the few times there hasn’t been anyone to ask for a photo. As I sat there more people did arrive.
One was a guy called Franco from Buenos Aires. I approached him and asked if he’d like a photo. He did and we ended up taking photos of each other. It turned out we were both going to La Islita so off we went together. From the Mirador to La Islita most of the walk is along a dusty road so you can get there by car.
I loved La Islita!! A small rocky beach with a tiny island just off shore – it’s a small peaceful haven!!
I sat there for most of the day relaxing with my feet in the water. Seriously don’t miss it! It’s around the headland so you can’t see it from San Martin. If you don’t fancy walking, you can rent a kayak for the day and paddle over.
Lake Lolog – Day Two
I’d originally planned to spend my second day in San Martin chilling in town and mapping out my Northern Chile and Argentina route further. Instead I joined Franco, the guy from yesterday, and went to Lake Lolog for the afternoon.
We met at the bus station just after 11am to then find out the bus was at 1.30pm! Do check the bus timetables, they really don’t run very frequently!
Lake Lolog was a lovely place to spend the afternoon. In full sunshine it got pretty hot and paddling in the refreshing water was so nice. At around 5pm when the temperature started cooling lots of families with young children came down to the beach to play in the calm waters. It seemed to be a popular place with locals and fellow Argentineans on holiday.
To get to Lake Lolog we took the 1.30pm local bus to Villa La Lolog. It took around 50mins and cost $27.45ARG (50p approx) with a SUBE card.
If you’re coming from Bariloche, hang on to your SUBE card if you want to use local buses in San Martin. We got the bus back at 7.10pm which just gave us time to see the sun dip behind the hill from the lake’s pier.
How to get to San Martin de los Andes
I arrived to San Martin de los Andes from Villa La Angostura. There are two buses a day, at 2.45pm and 8pm respectively, which cost $335ARG (under £6) and take 2 hours. I took the 8pm bus after spending the day walking through Arrayanes National Park and losing my purse. If you haven’t already done the seven lakes route, you might want to get the afternoon bus so you can appreciate the views in daylight.
If you didn’t stop off at Villa La Angostura, you can also get a bus from Bariloche.
You might also be coming from Pucón in Chile. There is a daily bus run by Igillaima that costs $14,000CLP (£16 approx) and leaves at 10.15am. On Sundays it leaves at 12.15pm. The journey is around 5hrs but crossing the border can take longer than expected.
Final thoughts
I really liked San Martin de los Andes. It’s a lovely place to disconnect from everything. I can easily see why San Martin (and the entire Bariloche area) is so popular with Argentineans.
I loved loved loved the Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita – my highlights!!
Next up is Chile! I’m going to Pucón for two days before I head to the capital, Santiago.
I also have my first fixed point of my trip so far. I fly to Ayacucho in Peru on the 3rd May as I’m then meeting my mum in Cusco for a few days on the 10th May!
I’m excited to show her around Cusco and hopefully Machu Picchu! That gives me about a month to see Northern Chile and Argentina. Fingers crossed I’ve given myself enough time!!!! So far I’ve been going slow so it’s looking likely I’ll need to up my pace a bit!
