Route of the Lakes (Ruta de Los Lagos)

A Morning on the Ruta de Los Lagos

When Sarah from our BugBitten team rolled out of Bariloche just after seven on a November morning, the lake was still flat and grey, the kind of grey that holds light rather than blocks it. She had a loaded touring bike, a bag that was about three kilograms too heavy, and a rough plan to reach Puerto Montt in twelve days. What she didn't have was any real idea of how completely this route would rewrite her understanding of what a long-distance cycling trip could feel like.

The first few kilometres out of Bariloche are deceptively gentle. The road runs along the southern shore of Nahuel Huapi, the water on one side and the Andes starting to gather themselves on the other. There are other cyclists, a few cars, and the odd tourist van. It feels manageable. Then the terrain shifts, the traffic thins, and the full scale of what lies ahead begins to reveal itself — not dramatically, not all at once, but the way a big landscape usually does: through accumulation.

Over the next eleven days, Sarah would cross two countries, ride a mix of smooth tarmac and bone-rattling ripio, take three short ferry legs across lakes so blue they look artificially coloured, and pass through forests of lenga beech and arrayán that smell like something between eucalyptus and rain. She would also push her bike up two hills that she will probably still be complaining about in five years. This is the Ruta de Los Lagos — roughly a thousand kilometres of Patagonian lake district connecting Bariloche in Argentina to Puerto Montt in Chile. It is one of the most demanding and most rewarding cycling routes on the continent.

What Makes This Route Worth Your Time

The Ruta de Los Lagos is not simply a series of nice views strung together by a road. It is a coherent landscape experience — one where the scale, the sequence, and the specific character of each section builds on what came before. That coherence is what separates it from a lot of other long-distance rides, which can feel like a collection of highlights separated by unremarkable connective tissue.

Here, the connective tissue is half the point. The forests between the lakes are dense and alive in a way that Patagonian vegetation often isn't — this is the wet side of the Andes, and the difference in biomass compared to the Argentine steppe is astonishing. Coihue trees, their trunks wrapped in moss, grow right down to the shoreline in places. You ride through light that changes every twenty minutes, filtered first through native beech, then opening suddenly onto a lake view, then closing back into forest canopy.

The lakes themselves — Nahuel Huapi, Espejo, Correntoso, Todos los Santos, Llanquihue — are genuinely distinct in character. Nahuel Huapi, where the route begins, is vast and somewhat domesticated by the presence of Bariloche. By the time you reach Todos los Santos on the Chilean side, with Volcán Osorno reflected in the water, you're in a different world entirely. The progression feels earned.

The Andean crossing, which involves short ferry rides between lakes rather than a single dramatic mountain pass, is a genuine slow-travel experience. You're moving through geography at a pace that lets the geography register. That said, it is worth noting that this crossing is only available seasonally — more on timing below.

For cyclists in particular, there is something satisfying about the way the route scales to the effort. Easier sections around Villa La Angostura and Ensenada let you recover between harder climbs. The wind, which is the great wild card of Patagonian travel, is broadly in your favour if you ride north to south — correction, south to north, Bariloche to Puerto Montt — because the prevailing westerlies push you forward on the exposed lake shores rather than pinning you in place.

How the Area Feels

Patagonia has a reputation for drama, and the southern sections of this route certainly deliver on that front. But the Ruta de Los Lagos is Patagonia at its most vegetated and, in relative terms, its most gentle. You're in the lake district here, not on the wind-blasted steppe further south, and the landscape has a softness to it that catches some people by surprise.

The towns along the route are small and functional, with the notable exception of Bariloche itself. Villa La Angostura, about eighty kilometres into the ride, is a resort town with good coffee and expensive accommodation. San Martín de los Andes, which you can include via a detour on the Ruta de los Siete Lagos, is larger and more characterful. The Chilean settlements — Ensenada, Puerto Varas — are tidy and well-organised in the manner of the Chilean lake district generally.

Between towns, the human presence drops away considerably. Estancias sit back from the road behind their gates. The occasional campground appears at a lake shore. Petrol stations are infrequent enough that you should carry more water and food than you think you need, particularly on the gravel sections west of San Martín.

There is wildlife if you're patient and quiet. Huemul deer, the elusive Andean deer and an emblem of Chilean national identity, have been spotted in the forests near the border. Condors ride the thermals above the main climbs with a casual disdain for the cyclists struggling below them. Kingfishers work the lake margins. In November and December, the lenga beech is coming into new leaf and the light has a quality that photographers tend to chase obsessively.

The cross-cultural dimension of the route is easy to underestimate. Moving from Argentina into Chile is not just a border crossing — it is a noticeable shift in architectural style, food culture, and the general atmosphere of the towns. Chilean empanadas taste different from Argentine ones. The roads feel different under the wheels. Even the light seems to change when you descend from the border zone toward the Chilean lakes.

What to Actually Do Here

Ride the Ruta de Los Lagos end to end

The full route, Bariloche to Puerto Montt, is the obvious objective. Most cyclists take ten to fourteen days, covering between sixty and ninety kilometres daily depending on the terrain and how long they spend stopped. The BugBitten recommendation is to build in at least two rest days — one in Villa La Angostura or San Martín, and one on the Chilean side near Puerto Varas. You will not regret the slower pace.

Sample a section from Bariloche

If a full crossing is out of reach logistically or physically, the section within Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is a self-contained ride of considerable quality. The Circuito Chico, a roughly sixty-kilometre loop west of Bariloche, passes through old-growth arrayán forest, past the Llao Llao hotel (worth seeing even if you're not staying there), and along lake shores that justify every photograph. Bike hire is straightforward to arrange in Bariloche.

Do the ferry crossings properly

The three ferry legs that punctuate the Andean crossing are not incidental transfers — they are part of the experience. The crossing of Lago Todos los Santos in Chile, with Volcán Osorno and Volcán Calbuco visible on clear days, is genuinely extraordinary. Allow time to sit on the deck rather than retreating below. If you want to understand why some sections of the southern Andes are being considered for expanded protection under the UNESCO World Heritage Centre's framework for outstanding natural landscapes, this is the crossing that will make the case for you.

Eat and drink your way between lakes

The food culture along this route is underrated. Trucha (trout) farmed in the lakes appears on menus throughout the Argentine section and is usually excellent. The smoked meats in the Chilean lake district, influenced by the German immigrant communities who settled around Llanquihue in the nineteenth century, are worth seeking out. There are bakeries in Villa La Angostura that produce proper sourdough. Cerveza artesanal has arrived with enthusiasm in most towns of any size.

When to Go (and When Not To)

The window for riding the Ruta de Los Lagos is November through March, with November to February being the most reliable. This is the southern hemisphere summer, and while stable weather is never guaranteed in Patagonia, these months give you the best odds of consecutive rideable days.

November is arguably the finest month. The tourist crowds that descend in January and February are largely absent, the vegetation is at its most vivid, and accommodation is easier to arrange without advance booking. Temperatures are cool to mild — expect ten to eighteen degrees Celsius during the day, with colder nights, particularly at altitude.

January and February are peak season. Accommodation books out weeks in advance, particularly around the ferries and in Villa La Angostura. Traffic increases noticeably. The upside is longer daylight hours and generally warmer temperatures.

March can work well for experienced tourers willing to accept some weather risk. Autumn colour begins in the lenga beech forests — the oranges and reds are spectacular — but the window between the end of summer and the onset of serious Patagonian autumn weather is narrow and unpredictable.

Avoid April through October. The ferry services that enable the Andean crossing operate on a severely reduced schedule outside the main season, several campgrounds close entirely, and the weather can shift from merely difficult to genuinely dangerous for unsupported cycling.

Regardless of when you go, pack full waterproofs. A lightweight rain jacket is not sufficient. Patagonian rain comes sideways, often at volume, and often without the courtesy of appearing on a forecast until it's already happening.

How to Get There and Nearby Stops

Getting to Bariloche: San Carlos de Bariloche has an international airport (BRC) with connections to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and other major Argentine cities. Overland buses from Buenos Aires take roughly twenty hours and are a comfortable overnight option if you want to arrive with your bike in one piece — bus cargo holds in Argentina are generally bike-friendly with adequate notice. Bike boxes are worth using regardless.

Starting the route: Most riders begin at the Bariloche waterfront and head west. The first day's riding to Villa La Angostura covers roughly eighty kilometres on sealed road and is a good shakedown for the rest of the route.

Ferry bookings: The ferry crossings on the Chilean side are managed by Cruce Andino and book out in January and February. Organise these in advance if you're travelling in peak season, and confirm that your bike can be accommodated — it generally can, but check.

Ending in Puerto Montt: Puerto Montt is a functional city rather than a beautiful one, but it has good transport connections. Flights to Santiago are frequent. Buses south to Chiloé or north toward the Lake District are straightforward to arrange.

Nearby stops worth considering: Argentina's Esteros del Iberá, the vast wetlands of Corrientes Province, offer a completely different Argentine landscape if you're extending your trip north — Esteros del Iberá is a rewarding contrast after the Andean intensity of the Ruta de Los Lagos.

For riders wanting to explore more of the region before committing to the full crossing, there are more places in the Bariloche area worth building into an extended itinerary, from the Circuito Chico to the more remote reaches of the national park.

The Not-So-Good Bits

Let's be direct about the parts of this route that the highlight reels tend to skip.

The ripio is real. Sections of compacted gravel on both sides of the border are rough enough to make a lightly-tyred road bike a genuinely miserable choice. The standard advice — tyres of 35mm or wider — is correct. If you're hiring a bike in Bariloche, confirm the tyre width before you hand over your deposit. Riding loaded on narrow tyres on Argentine ripio is the sort of experience that produces a very specific kind of grumpiness.

Wind. Patagonian wind is not like other wind. On the exposed lake shores — and there are several — it can stop you outright on a bad day. The south-to-north direction of travel is the conventional wisdom for a reason: it puts the prevailing westerlies at a useful angle rather than directly in your face. Even so, expect days where the wind is simply the dominant fact of your existence.

Cost creep on the Chilean side. Chile is considerably more expensive than Argentina for travellers, particularly in peak season. Accommodation in Puerto Varas and around Lago Llanquihue can surprise riders who've been budgeting on Argentine prices. Factor this in when planning your finances.

The ferries can run late. The lake crossings on the Andean section are scenically marvellous but logistically unhurried. Build buffer time around ferry schedules rather than trying to connect tightly to onward transport.

Altitude and exposure. The route doesn't reach extreme altitude, but the section around the actual border crossing involves sustained climbing that will test riders carrying significant loads. There is no shame in walking a hill. There is some shame in bonking badly because you underestimated the cumulative elevation gain.

Final Word from the BugBitten Team

The Ruta de Los Lagos rewards exactly the kind of travel that BugBitten exists to encourage: slow, attentive, and undertaken with enough flexibility to let the place set the pace. It is not an easy route, and it is certainly not a passive one. The ripio will rattle your fillings. The climbs will make you question your kit choices. The wind will, on at least one day, make you question your entire philosophy of leisure.

But the lakes are genuinely extraordinary. The forests smell like no forests elsewhere in the world. The ferry crossing at Todos los Santos, with the volcanoes reflected in still water, is the kind of thing that takes up permanent residence in your memory. And there is something about arriving in Puerto Montt after twelve days of propelling yourself and your luggage through one of the planet's more dramatic landscapes — something about the particular exhaustion of it, and the particular satisfaction — that is very difficult to replicate any other way.

The UNESCO World Heritage List contains plenty of places that visitors arrive at by car, photograph from a designated viewpoint, and leave without having felt the landscape in any physical sense. The Ruta de Los Lagos is the opposite of that. It puts the landscape through you, kilometre by kilometre, climb by climb, and the effect is cumulative in the best possible way.

Pack the waterproofs. Get the wider tyres. Ride south to north. Take more rest days than you think you need.

You will not regret a kilometre of it.