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Adventure Resources - adventure related news, books and web resources.
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Lilinquen 328 Te: 02944-461564
info@OverlandPatagonia.comr |
The Manso River runs through beautiful natural landscapes and the following information will help those who want to know what rafting is all about.
This excursion presents no resrtictions of any kind, that is why we highly recommend it for everybody.
The day excursion begins in Bariloche, from where we take route 258 going towards the south, and arrive at Lake Steffen, our final destination.
During the ride we'll drive by Gutierrez, Mascardi and Guillelmo Lakes, and when we reach the Pampa del Toro depression, we will turn off 10 km away from the main route. We will drive around Huala-hue Lagoon and once we get to Steffen's lakeshore, we will prepare the equipment.
Prior to getting into the raft to begin this wonderful rafting experience, each individual will be handed their personal equipment, and the guide/s will give an instructive talk about the techniques of this sport, ensuring everybody's safety and comfort.
As soon as everyone is in the raft, we will practice the different strokes and techniques, and later row into the Manso River from Lake Steffen.
The first stretch contains calm waters, therefore it allows us to take pictures of the spectacular surroundings offered in this National Park. We'll be able to view and learn about local species of plants and animals.
This brings us to lunchtime, when we'll enjoy a light meal rich in energy, with delicious cold cuts and a variety of fruits.
Once again in the river, action begins!. Team effort and spirit will be needed to ride over the rapids (Class II, according to Uvasal) that the waters present.
Near the end of the afternoon, we arrive at the old wood factory, where we set foot on solid ground again, and enjoy refreshments, tea/coffee and goodies. We then get in the van that's waiting and drive back to Bariloche.
Information submitted by Ismael Paez Britos.
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Patagonia Rafting Te: 02944-462118 pataraft@bariloche.com.ar www.visitBariloche.com/rafting |
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Aguas Blancas Te: 02944-432799 aguablancas@infovia.com.ar |
In the first stretch the river flows calmly, permitting us to appreciate the beautiful surroundings, enjoy the white sandy beaches and observe the waterfalls falling from high above into the river. Then the Manso River becomes more impetuous and the action begins! In our raft we ride over breathtaking rapids between narrow gorges covered with exuberant vegetation: "Velvet gorge", "Ozone hole", "And turn left", "The slide", "Deep throat", "Extasis", "Canine tooth", and "International". The narrow passages accompany our trip until we get to the border with Chile in the midst of the Andes Mountain Range.
Our navegation ends at the border with Chile. We have lunch at the river's bank: delicious cold cuts, with creams prepared from a base of tuna, roquefort and egg, and enjoy fruits, jams and juices. After lunch, we walk up to the border, aprox. 100 metres. We load the equipment on horses, and walk through a beautiful old cattle path leading us to the John's farm, and leaving behind the imposing Bastion Mountain. During this hike that takes about an hour and a half, presenting no major difficulty, we will walk alongside streams through picturesque ravines.
We get to the John's farm around 17hs, where an exquisite typical country tea awaits us: a variety of cakes, fried goodies, breads, home-made jams, hot and cold beverages prepared by the ladies of the ranch.
After saying good-bye to the Johns, we head back to Bariloche.
Information
submitted by Alejandro Rosales.
In our van, we take route 237 going towards the East and drive to Fortín Chacabuco Farm. This is a historical place as it was the last military settlement in the Desert Campaign.
At the farm we are greeted by the native guides (baqueanos), who have our horses ready to ride around the arid and desolate Patagonian esteppa. We first ride along the Fortín Mountain slopes, and once we leave behind the ranch, we can observe some of the local fauna: Red Deer, Guanacos, Grey Fox, and maybe, the "King of Heights", the Condor.
The path leads us back to the ranch, where we enjoy a delicious barbecue (asado criollo) so typical of our country.
In the afternoon, we walk around the establishment, getting to know the shed where sheep-shearing takes place, the horse stables, and where "mate"( Argentinian typical hot beverage) is drunk. As well, outside, we can learn about and enjoy another of the farm's typical activity : the rodeo, with prizes for the lucky one who gets to tumble the calf.
At the "matera", we enjopy mate and fried cakes.
Later we return to Bariloche.
Duration: 8:00 to 19:30
After a beautiful drive witnessing the unique charm of the Andes landscapes, we get to the beginning of the River Manso. There we will be greeted by the Montes family, who will have our horses ready. Our adventure will take us through mountain paths, river crossings, riding along small canyons, and enjoying the silence of the forests. Once we get to the Maniu Forest (Valdivian Jungle) by the Seco Spring, we will have a stop and enjoy a delicious Patagonian lamb (cordero) at a rustic mountain ranch.
We later get back on our horses and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
Duration: 8:00 to 19:30
Once we get to the River Manso Inferior (Beginning), we are greeted by the Montes family who have the horses ready to start our adventure. We will ride in a Northwest direction passing by the John's Farm, going along the Manso River, and finally taking challenging paths that will lead us to the border with Chile.
After 3 hours of riding, and passing through various settlements, we arrive at the border. We will observe the boundary post located right in the middle of one of the ancient settlers' dwelling, and later enjoy a delicious barbecue (asado) in the kind company of the Bahamonde family. After lunch we will go around the river and its surroundings, from where we'll be able to view the town Paseo Leon (Chile).
We will saddle our horses again, and ride back to the point of departure where we can enjoy tea and regional products.
MOONLIGHT HORSEBACK RIDES
Duration: All night long
We'll get to the meeting place at dusk, when the full moon starts rising and illuminating the Pampas. We will ride along the Manso River and later through the forest. After an hour and a half of adventurous and exciting horseback riding, we arrive at the barbecue place of the establishment, where a fire and a delicious Patagonian lamb (cordero al asador) wait for us. We will enjoy our late dinner in a candle light atmosphere, and later share guitar tunes and songs by the peasants around the fire.
We awake the following morning in the midst of a beautiful forest where we'll have breakfast, and later saddle our horses and ride back. We will encounter a lovely waterfall named "Eagle Waterfall" (Cascada del Aguila) on our way.
Duration: 5 Days
This adventure consists of 5 horseback riding days along inhospitable places in the Andes mountain range. We depart from Bariloche towards the inferior portion of the River Manso, where the Montes family will meet us at their Bastion del Manso coffee shop. They'll have our horses ready, and after an instructive and informative talk, we'll accomodate our group and personal equipment and set off.
We start our adventure riding towards the Northwest that will take us to the border with Chile. There we'll go through customs, filling out migration forms. Once in Chile, we ride to the small town of Paseo Leon, where a barbecue lamb dinner awaits us. We'll camp there and a Chilean guide will join the group.
Day 2: After breakfast and saddling our horses (we'll do this every day), we'll ride to a settler's home where we'll enjoy a quick yet consistent lunch. From there on we'll ride along difficult paths until we get to a rocky cliff from where we can see Tronador Mountain. We'll continue until we get to Bravo Lake, where we'll set camp by the lakeshore and enjoy the Lenga forest surrounding us.
Day 3: This portion of our riding trip takes us through spectacular, rich and leafy vegetation, and it is of difficult access. We ride along narrow paths that are only used to take the livestock in the summer months. Once we get to the west end of Lake Vidal, we'll set camp and then go fishing. We'll be able to fish big ones, such as Pacific Salmon and enjoy the exquisiteness that the place offers.
Day 4: We'll start our return trip where we'll ride along paths by the left side of the lake until we get to the east end of Lake Vidal. There we'll have lunch, and later ride southward until we get to Paseo Leon. A delicious barbecue will be waiting for us, and later we'll have freedom to choose where we want to spend the night: in a tent by the Manso River, under the stars in open air, or in a grain bin.
Day 5: Back in Argentina, we'll ride to "El Tuco" establishment where we'll spend the night in a mountain ranch, where we'll be able to enjoy a hot bath to relax.
The whole excursion takes us through inhospitable places where each of us experiences a sensation that takes us back in time, where we can see and be part of nature that Man has not yet tampered with.
We'll return exhausted, with a mountain range experience to remember.
Duration:
3 Days
Day 1: As we arrive at the Bastion Coffee Shop we'll be met with our horses ready to go. Once we accomodate our personal stuff we'll start our adventure towards the East riding through the Nahuel Huapi National Park. We will follow and cross Manso River, and keep riding until we get to the settler Belmar's place where we'll spend the night.
Day 2: After having breakfast and saddling our horses, we'll head towards the North. We'll ride through the Santa Helena's mountain range valley (Huenuleo path), and follow cattle paths until we get to Lake Steffen.
Day 3: At Lake Steffen we will have the option of going fishing and/or prepare ourselves to go rafting.
Return to our starting point.
For those who want to take the sky in their hands, experience the freedom of flying.
Bariloche is the ideal place to initiate oneself into paraglyding. Our changing weather conditions are a constant challenge for the ones who engage into paraglyiding. Good footwear is needed, as well as choosing days in which the wind factor is less than 30 km per hour.
Mount Otto and Mount Catedral are ideal places to practice this sport. Mount Otto is only 5 km away from downtown Bariloche and due to its means of elevation, possesses a quick and easy access to the top. Mount Catedral, also offers these ideal conditions as well as a beautiful view, and is about 10 km away from downtown.
Bariloche is one of the unexplored sites in this country to practice this sport. It is an ideal place to begin with and practice Scuba Diving.
There are infinite choices for diving presenting various characteristics due to the amount of water mirrors, the water's incredible transparency, and varied sub-aquatic views. As well, here we can enjoy the unique experience of letting us flow into the abundant and cristal clear mountain rivers.
Another option is to enjoy nightly diving where we can discover submerged forests. As well, it is possible to organize camping trips and diving beneath the ice.
It is possible to observe the trouts and fish in their natural habitat, as well as clams, fresh- water lobsters, and crabbs. These, together with the colourful stony depths, sand with green plant mantles, combined with rocky walls and lots of submerged trees, present beautiful and incredible sub-aquatic sceneries.
Once out of the water, and after the first dive, one can really feel, experience and share this unique bond with nature. Know the secrets and sensations that lie under the rivers, lakes and mountains.
Canyoning is an experience in which we are in full contact with nature. It offers the priviledge of discovering beautiful sceneries and the possibility to face obstacles and conquer challenges.
It involves descending the river's water flow through canyons and gorges, by using only our bodies.
This activity is a combination of various sport techniques, such as walking, swimming and descending with the aid of ropes.
It is specially fun to do due to its variety, and its practice requires special precautions and choosing appropriate sites with a siutable level.
During the trip we will walk between interesting rocky formations, swim in turbulent waters, scuba dive in natural swimming pools, and conquer vertical waterfalls.
The special characterisitics of our rivers and the beauty of the region offer the ideal setting to undertake this adventure.
From Bariloche we take Route 237 and drive to an ancient milking place at Colonia Suiza. We start our adventure with a short treck leading us to the rumble of cristal waters.
The specialized guide gives us an instructive talk and the equipment to enjoy the descent. Surrounded by exhuberant vegetation, the natural pools invite us to dive in and discover the river's secrets.
We let ourselves flow with the current through colourful rocky formations.The waters get rougher and faster, and our emotions leap out as we conquer waterfalls and cascades. A bit further down the river, an exciting water slide awaits. We dive, and walk through a chaos of fallen tree trunks until we reach our final destination.
The group shares their individual sensations of this wonderfull experience, while enjoying a snack.
These are some of the circuits we offer:
Mount Carbon: We take the Route towards El Bolson, and later take the dirt road leading to El Chalhuaco. After crossing the second wooden bridge, we turn left and keep cycling up a winding slope, find the Refuge and reach the top at 1500 metres over sea level.
Mount Otto: We cycle up the road leading to Piedras Blancas until we get to the rotating snack bar up the top. From there we can enjoy a spectacular view. We descend the same way.
Cerro López: Desde Colonia Suiza, comenzamos el acenso al cerro por el camino de los autos hasta llegar al estacionamiento, luego seguimos la huella que nos lleva hasta el refugio.
Mount Lopez: From Colonia Suiza we start cycling our way up taking the main car road until we get to the parking lot, and then following the path until we get to the refuge. We take the same road going back.
Llum Lagoon: It is a lagoon located at the Lake Mascardi Peninsula.
From Bariloche, we take Route 258. After 25 km on that route and 300 metres before Lake Mascardi, we take a dirt road on our right. We always stick to the main path, will cross 2 springs, get closer to the lake, cycle through a beautiful Coihue forest and reach the lakeshore. We will cross the beach and discover lots of great places for camping.
We go back the same way.
Lake Gutierrez Descent:
We start our bike ride from Mount Catedral's parkinglot at the base. We take a dirt road that leads us to Lake Gutierrez, after pedalling through forests and crossing a spring.
This region is almost plain, so you can go back the same way.
Arrayanes Forest: El camino es entre bosques de coihues, se cruza arroyos, se bordea la laguna Patágua, llegando a una zona de prados y arrayanes.El camino es tan hermoso que vale la pena hacerlo tranquilo sin ningún apuro.
The road takes through coihues forests, across water springs, around Patagua lagoon, until we get to some prairies and Arrayan trees. It is worth to take our time and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and sceneries.
Once we get to the Arrayan Forest, you can't miss going on a good walk, enjoying the surroundings.
Ensenada de los Perez Rosales: During this excursion we will navigate through spectacular ancient forests and by breathtaking lakes.
As well, you can enjoy a magnificent view of Mount Tronador's Glaciers. We will ride by the Petrohue River's waterfalls, and finally arrive at the chilean establishment Ensenada, at the foot of Osorno Volcano.
