Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes — Attraction in Municipio de Villa La Angostura

I am not sure where all these five star reviews are coming from. This trip was not what we were led to believe. Let me start with something no one is mentioning (I suspect because most of these reviews are from “Local Guides”) - the majority of the special trees in the Arrayanes Forest looks dead (see photos). The trees were apparently shocked by a heatwave ten years ago and have not yet recovered, meaning their trunks are gray, not the orange you see in most the promotional photos. This was a massive disappointment, particularly having seen extensive crepe myrtle and madrone forests in the US. The boardwalk tour is fine but lasts about 20 minutes with not much in the form of information along the way. Everyone we encountered at the end of the boardwalk had a “Really? That’s it?” look on their face.

We opted for the bike ride out. It is not a leisurely affair as some have mentioned. If you are an experienced mountain biker, this would be great for you. Not for the novice. The first 2 kilometers are very steep up, then down, so you are pushing your bike most of the time (or even carrying it). This repeats several more times until you get to the famed forest, though there are long stretches of a gentle downhill. The return would be a continuous gradual climb back to the steep parts, which would have been really tough for that distance.

The trail is well maintained and the flora is nice enough but it would be hard to say this is a better choice than the other hikes in the area. There is only one bay overlook that I recall. The rest is deep forest.

We took the boat back (8000 pesos) along the Patagonia east side (instead of the bay) and that was actually quite stunning and the boat guide gave a nice talk.

I grew up in the National Park system in the US and I don’t like to besmirch anywhere people are trying to care for nature, but it seems, given the prices being charged by those enabling folks to visit this location, this is a conundrum - the parque needs the money to survive, locals need money to survive, but I guess I am just telling folks to not always believe what you...

“What A Trip And What A Long Walk That We Did! Wow! Amazing!”

Back on Monday, May 15, 2017, I decided to walk about 12 kilometers (approximately 6 miles) to visit the Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes out in Neuquen, Argentina just outside of Villa La Angostura.

I was very lucky to also meet Facundo Ragonese and Elizabeth Algarin who were a Very Big Help to ME since I hate walking, hiking or trekking alone.

They were so much fun to be with and they made the four (4) hours of walking time More Enjoyable and Inspiring.

We saw lots of trees, birds, mushrooms, flowers and even a Lake during our very long walk.

At the very end of the walk we took a small motor boat back to the Puerto.

If You like to walk or hike or trek, then please come and visit this park and Yes, there is a fee to enter the park which I believe is 250 pesos ($16.00 U.S. dollars).

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Howard Paul Shore Visitor Executive, Volunteer Writer For Google And Tripadvisor Websites

/HPS

PS: I also briefly visited the exact same place, but just at the very beginning back on Sunday, May 14,...

We recommend NOT going here. Below our rationale for this recommendation.

Within this park there is a single trail to the south and back. There are 2 places during the 24 km walk (total distance, so to and back) that are truly worth a visit, being the most northern panoramic viewing point and the beach near the second lake. The rest of the trail is a forest of which the unique feat is the arrayana tree, but offers not much else over other forests within the area.

If access was free or only required a small fee, we would have given 3 to 4 stars. However, due to the steep access fee of 15000 pesos per person (for foreigners), this walk is simply not worth the costs. In particular because other trails near here offer better panoramic views and are more rewarding physically.

In summary, for those who enjoy hiking, we strongly recommend going elsewhere...