Volcanoes and Lakes of Patagonia (Argentina/Chile)

Thirteen nights between Argentina and Chile on a Royal Enfield, crossing the Andes twice, following the Route of the Seven Lakes and passing three active volcanoes. It is the operator’s first Patagonian route.

San Carlos de Bariloche opens it on Lake Nahuel Huapi, a town of chalets and chocolate shops that looks startlingly Swiss, then San Martin de los Andes on the Seven Lakes stretch of Ruta 40, through Andean lakes and old-growth forest. Junin de los Andes follows through cypress with Lanin on the skyline, a 3,776 metre cone standing on the border.

Villa Pehuenia comes next on Ruta 23 among araucaria, the monkey puzzle trees that grow wild nowhere else and live for a thousand years, in Mapuche country. The crossing into Chile follows to Curacautin and Conguillio National Park, below Llaima, one of the most active volcanoes in the country.

Pucon is next in the Chilean Lake District, with Huerquehue National Park and Villarrica, which smokes continuously and is sacred to the Mapuche. Licanray follows on Lake Calafquen, then Valdivia on the Pacific at the estuary of four rivers, and Futrono on a coastal track below Puyehue, with a rest day for hiking, kayaking or the craft workshops. Huilo Huilo comes next below Mocho Choshuenco, in a private forest reserve, then the re-crossing into Argentina at Villa Traful. Bike rental is included and the price is quoted per person. Patagonian weather is its own argument for riding this with a guide rather than alone: the wind off the Andes is relentless, the forecast changes hourly, and a border crossing in the middle of it rewards someone else holding the paperwork.