Bariloche & the Lake District - Argentina - page 755

Residencial Codihue ( 02948-495543; [e-mail]; Velez s/n; s/d AR$320/
480) is the best budget option in town, with simple rooms just down the road from the
thermal baths complex. Full board is available.
Parrillada Nito (Zambo Jara s/n; mains AR$80-150;

12-11:30pm) is the most frequently

recommended parrilla in town.
In summer, one bus runs on a daily basis to Neuquén (AR$187, seven hours) via Zap-
ala (AR$117, four hours). There are no scheduled departures to Neuquén for the re-
mainder of the year.

WORTH A TRIP
LAGUNA TERMAL TREK

This day trip, which should be possible in around eight hours, is easy enough to do
on your own, leaving from Copahue. Due to snow conditions, it's only possible from
December to April unless you bring special equipment. If you'd like to take the side
route to the peak of Volcán Copahue, it's recommended that you go with an experi-
enced guide. Caviahue Tours is among the many tour operators offering guides on
this route.
From the Hotel Valle del Volcán at the upper (southwest) edge of the village,
cross the little footbridge and climb briefly past a life-size statue of the Virgin. The
well-worn foot track leads across a sparsely vegetated plain towards the exploded
cone of Volcán Copahue, dipping down to lush, green lawns by the northern shore
of the Lagunas Las Mellizas' western 'twin.' Follow a path along the lake's north
side past little black-sand beaches and gushing springs on its opposite shore, to
reach the start of a steam pipeline, one to 1¼ hours from the village. The roaring of
steam from the subterranean Copahue Geothermal Field entering the vapoducto
and irregular explosive blasts of discharging steam can be heard along much of the
trek. Cross the lake outlet - further downstream is a wide, easy ford - then cut up
southwest over snowdrifts past a tarn to meet a 4WD track at the edge of a small
waterlogged meadow. Turn right and follow this rough road up around left (or take
a vague trail marked with white paint splashes to its right until you come back to
the road on a rocky ridge below a wooden cross). The 4WD track continues west-
ward up through a barren volcanic moonscape to end under a tiny glacier on the
east flank of Volcán Copahue, 1¼ to 1½ hours from the pipeline.
Ascend southwest over bouldery ridges, crossing several small mineral-and-
meltwater streams. To the northwest, in Chile, the ice-smothered Sierra Velluda
and the near-perfect snowy cone of Volcán Antuco rise up majestically. From the
third streamlet (with yellowy, sulfur-encrusted sides), cut along the slope below a
hot spring then climb to the top of a prominent gray-pumice spur that lies on the
international border. Ascend the spur until it becomes impossibly steep, then tra-