Free Walking Tour Bariloche: Lake, Plaza and Cathedral

The Bariloche Walking Tour, One Stop After Another

1. 1

   Centro Cívico

   

   You start on a stone plaza that was designed to put Bariloche on the map. The buildings of the Centro Cívico wrap around three sides of the square, while the fourth side, to the north, stays open and gives you a wide view of Lake Nahuel Huapi, some 50 metres lower. The whole plaza is paved with flagstone, and in its centre stands an equestrian monument to General Julio A. Roca.

   The ensemble is the work of architect Ernesto de Estrada and was inaugurated on 17 March 1940. It was never meant to be purely functional. Beyond housing the town's institutions, it was conceived as an architectural attraction in its own right, a showpiece that would help launch Bariloche as a tourist destination of the first rank. In 1987 it was declared a national historic monument.

   Take a slow lap of the plaza before you set off. Look at how the buildings frame the open side toward the water: the lake view is part of the design, not an accident. One of the buildings in this complex houses the Museo de la Patagonia, which you will come back to later in the walk.

   From here it is the longest leg of the tour: 3730 m, about 50 minutes, out to the Costanera on the shore of the lake you have just been looking at.

   Hours

   24/7

   Price

   Free (open-air public plaza)

   Website

   barilocheturismo.gob.ar ↗

   Location

   Centro Cívico on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Lago Nahuel Huapi (Costanera)

   

   Now you stand at the water you saw from the plaza. Lake Nahuel Huapi is of glacial origin and fed by meltwater, which helps explain the intense blue that has made it one of the great draws of southern Argentina. It covers 557 km², lies at 764 metres above sea level and reaches a maximum depth of 464 metres.

   What you see from the shore is only a fraction of it. The lake branches into eight arms with names worth saying out loud: Campanario, de la Tristeza, Blest, Machete, del Rincón, Última Esperanza, Angostura and Huemul. It is shared by two provinces, with about 80 percent in Neuquén and 20 percent in Río Negro, and is surrounded mostly by the national park that carries its name. Smaller lakes connect to it, among them the Gutiérrez, the Moreno, the Espejo and the Correntoso, and it is the source of the Río Limay.

   The lake also has several islands. The largest and the most important for visitors is Isla Victoria, at 31 km². The beauty of the landscape has drawn steady growth to the towns along its shores, and that growth has its price: the lake has seen pollution problems as a result. Keep that in mind as you look out over the water.

   Take your time here; it is the one stop that is purely about the landscape. Then head back toward town: 3820 m, about 52 minutes, to the Museo de la Patagonia in the Centro Cívico complex.

   Hours

   24/7

   Price

   Free (natural lake, public access)

   Location

   Lago Nahuel Huapi (Costanera) on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Museo de la Patagonia

   

   Back at the Centro Cívico, step inside the Museo de la Patagonia Francisco P. Moreno. It is a museum of natural sciences and cultural anthropology covering the whole Patagonian region, so after the walk along the lake it gives you the bigger picture: the nature of this land and the people who have lived in it.

   The museum is run by the conservation and environmental education department of Nahuel Huapi National Park, part of Argentina's National Parks Administration. That connection matters: this is the same park that surrounds most of the lake you have just seen.

   Is it worth going in? If you want to understand the place rather than just look at it, yes. Entry is free, though a voluntary contribution is welcome.

   From the museum it is only 720 m, about 10 minutes, to the cathedral, the shortest leg of the tour.

   Local name

   Museo de la Patagonia Francisco P. Moreno

   Hours

   Mon–Fri 10:00–12:30, 14:00–17:00; Sat–Sun & holidays closed

   Price

   Free admission (voluntary contribution welcome)

   Website

   museodelapatagonia.nahuelhuapi.gov.ar ↗

   Location

   Museo de la Patagonia on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Nahuel Huapi

   

   The walk ends at Bariloche's main Catholic church, at the corner of Almirante O'Connor and Beschtedt, set between two plazas with gardens. Look up first: the black slate roof carries a needle spire 69 metres high. The walls are built of "piedra blanca", white stone, which makes the play of light and shadow on the sober exterior stand out.

   The architect Alejandro Bustillo offered his design for free. He chose a neo-Gothic style with French echoes, and some see in the project traces of the hermetic sciences of the Middle Ages, intended or not. The church is laid out as a Latin cross with restrained forms, and its head points exactly east, so the morning sun lights it from the very start of the day and its changing light softens as it passes through the stained glass windows.

   Go inside if you have even a few minutes. Some parishioners describe the effect of the white stone as drawing you into a world of quiet austerity, and link it to the caves where the first Christians gathered. Entry is free. It is the seat of the Diocese of Bariloche, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca.

   This is the end of the route. If you want to return to the Centro Cívico, the GPS navigation in your browser can guide you back.

   Local name

   Catedral de Bariloche

   Hours

   Mon–Sun 10:00–13:00, 16:00–21:00 (Mass Mon–Sun 11:00 & 20:00; Confessions daily 18:00–19:30)

   Price

   Free

   Website

   iglesiacatedralbariloche.com ↗

   Location

   Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Nahuel Huapi on Google Maps ↗

Shorter Ways to Walk Bariloche

The lakeshore leg is what makes this route long. If your time is short, split the walk into its two halves.

Town centre only

Stops: 1, 3, 4

For a short morning or afternoon in town. The Museo de la Patagonia belongs to the Centro Cívico complex, so you see the plaza and the museum in one go, then walk 720 m (10 min) to the cathedral. No entry fees anywhere; if the museum is closed on your day, this version shrinks to plaza and cathedral.

Plaza and lakeshore

Stops: 1, 2

For anyone who came for the scenery rather than buildings. From the Centro Cívico it is 3730 m (50 min) out to the Costanera of Lake Nahuel Huapi. Everything is free and outdoors, so this one works on any day. Plan the same distance again if you walk back.

How Long Does the Bariloche Walk Take with the Lake Detour?

The pure walking time is 1 h 53 min over 8.3 km, and almost all of it is the out and back to the lakeshore: 50 min there, 52 min back to the museum. The last leg to the cathedral takes just 10 min.

With about 15 min on the plaza, 20 min at the lake, 45 min in the museum and 30 min in the cathedral, the full route takes about 3 h 40 min. An afternoon works neatly: start on the Centro Cívico at 13:00, reach the lake at 14:05, leave at 14:25, arrive at the museum at 15:17, and walk to the cathedral at 16:00 to arrive at 16:10. You are done at about 16:40.

The town centre version takes about 1 h 30 min with visits; plaza and lakeshore one way takes about 1 h 30 min including the 50 min walk.

Before You Start Walking in Bariloche

• Start and finish: The recommended start is the Centro Cívico, and the walk ends at the cathedral. You can join at any stop; the order here is the one that works best. From the cathedral, the GPS navigation in your browser can guide you back to the start if you like.
• Best day and time: Pick a day when the Museo de la Patagonia is open. An early afternoon start works well for the whole route.
• Costs: All four stops are free. The museum welcomes a voluntary contribution.

Common Questions About Walking Bariloche