7-day Andes crossing: Vuriloche Pass

We will meet in Bariloche (the day before we will have a meeting and the equipment check) and we will take the transfer to Pampa Linda, where we’ll start to walk. It is an amazing place to admire the Cerro Tronador and its imposing glaciers, while we are approaching the Vuriloche Pass.

We will do the paperwork in the Custom House of Gendarmery so we can cross to Chile and start the real hike. We will pass the Rio Manso and after a while we can appreciate a waterfall known as El Saltillo De Las Nalcas. The trail continues going up by The Rio Cauquenes, which we will cross many times during the way.

We will get to a detour that allows us to visit the boundary landmark of Argentina and Chile. Once in this last country we will border the Mallin Chileno and we’ll get to the first camp next to the Police Post so we can rest after such an intensive day.

After breakfast we’ll start the hike, walking among the Lengas Forest and bordering many mallines. The further we advance, the lusher forest we will find. Then, we’ll reach an open field area (product of a fire) where we can admire one of the best sights of the Cerro Tronador and its “ventisquero blanco”.

On the way we can also see old post as signs of the first settlements of the place. Then, we will cross the Rio Blanco and there we will divert towards the natural hot springs where we will take a rest. After that, we will return to our trail, crossing a gangway until we are in the Oyarso Post.

We will wake up with the amazing view of the Cerro Tronador. We will leave the Andean Forest behind to enter into the Valdiviana Jungle, a denser one with an attractive and varied flora. We will keep crossing posts and ranches that remind us to the history of the place. The valley turns into a encased one so we can hear the roar of the Rio Blanco strongly.

We will continue downstream until we will get to La Junta. Its name comes from the confluence of the Blanco and the Esperanza Rivers. Here we are in the Leticia’s and Enrique’s Ranch, very kind people with whom we can talk, learn and taste tortas fritas. We will rest there and enjoy the hot springs again.

We will enjoy a homemade breakfast that can include pancakes made with farm eggs and more tortas fritas, accompanied by a hot drink. We will start then a new hike, enjoying the Valdiviana Jungle. After bordering the Rio Alerces, we can distinguish different rock formations eroded by glaciers and the passage of the rivers. We will pass across a gangway above the crispy Rio Blanco until we reach to the Tito Velazquez Post.

We will walk towards the south, leaving behind the Rio Blanco and starting to walk on an flatter terrain, under an open air. We will cross more “pampitas” and abandoned posts, ideal places to take some rustic pictures. We will get to Laguna de los Palos and continue to the riverbed of Rio Quitacalzones, which joins a stream called Hueñu Hueñu. Both form the Rio Conchas, placed next to the Cayutué Lake, which ends in another arm of the Lago Todos Los Santos.

We will leave the pampas and the Valdiviana Jungle in order to walk around the Rio Conchas until we get to Lago Cayuté. It will be a perfect day to enjoy the forest, remember the experiences of our trekking days and take advantage of the silence of nature before we return to the city. We can also rest next to the lake, admire the viewpoint of the Puntiagudo Volcano and talk and laugh around a fire.

After a complete breakfast, we will climb to the Portezuelo Cabeza de Vaca. Then, we will walk towards the vehicle that will take us to Puerto Varas, where this great program ends.