Puelo Lake is an idyllic Andean village surrounded by rivers and streams that flow down from the mountains and flow into a clear lake. In addition to enjoying the scenery, kayak excursions and walks around to the top of a hill where the Huemul.

Located in the northwest province of Chubut, almost at the edge of Black River to the north and Chile to the west, the village of Lake Puelo and surrounding areas contain some of Patagonia’s most natural and best preserved while the country.

While this mountainous village of 5500 inhabitants live from tourism and fine fruit plantations, still remains outside of the massiveness of other places and allows you to maintain a pleasant charm for those who want to enjoy the landscape whose beauty accentuated the silence. The daily life of the privileged inhabitants of Lake Puelo runs almost doubled in that mirror of blue-green waters. That is living facing the lake and the nearby hillside Currumahuida, in a large valley that looks like a natural amphitheater.

Tour by Kayak:

In kayak on the dock of Lake Puelo (inside the national park of the same name), the place itself offers ideal for kayak tours for travelers with or without experience in this sport. Usually comes with touring kayaks, and if someone in the group is very experienced can apply for a single kayak. The touring kayaks are longer than common and have two posts, one for the guide and one for the rower. They are more stable than canoes, using a simple single oar per person and inside are two that serve as rudder pedals.

After a 15-minute class begins the tour of the area of the cells, where a set of turquoise bays is the framework for leisurely paddle through a glass of water to be ripping the passage of the boat. On the waterfront lake traverse the western arm of the lake to the Chilean border, passing through the mouth of Blue River. Near the shore are the dense forests surrounding Lake cordilleranos Puelo, with abundant coihues, myrtle, cypress and Pitra. The waters are so transparent that the bottom is clearly full of rocks, driftwood and many trout.

The return to the dock can be straight across the middle of the lake (if the group insurance shown) or along the shore. In general it is very difficult for the kayak is turned into a lake so calm, but if this occurs the entire process of accommodating the kayak and get back on it takes between 7 and 10 minutes, always under the direction of the guide. The total distance of this trip is about 4 kilometers and takes approximately an hour and fifteen without ever getting off the boat. There is also the possibility of a longer tour that reaches the mouth of the brook Tears. There is landed after about an hour and a half of rowing, for a picnic with sandwiches and mate along the shore. If it’s warm almost all bathe in the lake and then makes a 500 meters walk along a path that goes to a landmark border with Chile.

For the more adventurous paddlers there is a choice of 2 days and one night to get to the head rowing south of the lake (in the Andean hamlet of El Turbio), home to 20 families. This tour travels 50 km round trip and includes a barbecue in the woods.

The scenery surrounding the village of Lake Puelo are crisscrossed by countless paths for the simple pleasure of walking. One of the trek that holds the most varied landscapes is what reaches the Huemul combining a demanding media with incredible vistas of beauty, reaching the top of a hill.

Trekking excursion:

The trek begins the Huemul crossing the Blue River in a small boat rowed the foot of a hill. First passed by a garden planted with raspberries for immediate internal Valdivian forest characteristic of the Chilean Patagonia. The uniqueness of Puelo Lake Valley is that it was carved by glaciers, opening a mountain pass where slip from Chile’s flora and fauna of the jungle valdiviana. Some species of this forest are Guevin, also called wild hazel, the ticket, recognizable by a kind of «scales» of stem rust in color, the ulmo of white flowers and white voqui lianas.

The walk passes many virtually uninhabited. By gaining a little height on the hillside is a forest of radales and then another giant ñires reaching 40 meters. The forest is divided into distinct zones depending on the species, as shown below beech forest. At the highest point of the hill you come to a rocky ledge that forms a natural balcony overlooking the lagoon Huemul, half-hidden in the great amphitheater formed by the hills stocky, Needle north and south and the Massif Motoco all covered snow the year round.

In total, 10 km walk to the top, in about three hours leisurely pace with some stops on the banks of clear streams that invite you to swim. At the top, make a picnic overlooking the lake. The complete circuit (return to the people) is done in about 8 or 9 hours. So ended our trip and we expect the rest comforting.

Good luck!