San Carlos de Bariloche is a city in the province of Río Negro, situated in the foothills of the Andes. It is surrounded by Lago de Nahuel Huapi, Lago Gutiérrez, Lago Moreno and Lago Mascardi, and the Tronador, Cerro Catedral and Cerro López mountains. It is a very popluar ski resort but it's also great for sight-seeing, water sports, trekking and climbing.

Tourist Offices
The Municipal information centre is in the Centro Cívico, it's open daily from 8am - 9pm.

Around and closeby
El Bosque de Arrayanes is a forest of rare, orange trees that only grow on a local island here, (and one in Japan). There are several cruise boats. Take the circuit bus out of Bariloche and catch a boat from near the Hotel Llao Llao. Have lunch, hike or bike, and enjoy the afternoon in the forest. El Alto is a shanty town full of Mapuche Indians and Mestizos. To get there, take a taxi. Cerro Catedral holds the biggest ski centre in South America, with a skiable area of 2 km², over 100km of ski runs and a lift capacity of 22,200 skiers per hour. It is located 18km from Bariloche. El Bolsón, a small hippie town founded in the 70s, is in a mountainous valley about 120km south of Bariloche. There's an outdoor flea market but be sure to get there in the morning, it closes down around 3pm.

Getting there
There are flights here from Buenos Aires and Santiago in Chile. You can arrive or depart Bariloche by taking a series of ferries that wind through several lakes and connect by short bus rides from the Pacific at Puerto Montt, Chile. It's a one day trip unless you opt to stay overnight at a hotel near the pass.