Horseback Riding There are several horseback riding options, ranging from a short ride of a couple hours, to a few days (if you want to ride from Bariloche to San Martin de Los Andes), to a few weeks if you want to cross the Andes from Bariloche to Osorno in Chile. Day trips with a barbecue are the most commonly sought after. Golf Bariloche has two world-class golf courses. The most well-recognized one belongs to Hotel Llao Llao. The hotel and its surrounding greens are situated some 25km out of town between the Nahual Huapi Lake and Lake Moreno. The rolling greens and fairways are set against the majestic backdrop of the hotel and Mt. Tronador directly behind it. On the whole, it’s a well balanced and interesting 18 hole golf course. The other golf course is part of the Arelauquen Country Club – one of the most exclusive in Argentina, with international Polo tournaments held there during the summer season. It’s new and well maintained and has nice views over Lake Gutierrez. Fly Fishing Although it’s not terribly common, we have seen backpackers travel with telescopic fishing-rods attached to the outside of their backpacks. If you’re one of those backpackers on a tight budget, but love fishing, you could just go to the supermarket and buy some fishing line or, if you have P$100 to spare, buy a fishing-rod and some tackle. Then all you have to do is pay around P$30 for full season licence and head off to one of the beautiful camping spots next to a lake that we talked about on other pages, set up camp, and start fishing. On the other hand, if you’re a lake fisherman or a fly-fishing fanatic, you could always pay up for a tour. This way you’re guaranteed to have super gear and a guide that knows where the fish are hiding. Most of these trips are not cheap, but there are more and more of these tours being offered so prices are dropping. In the end, however, you get what you pay for! With a good guide alongside you, you won’t have the excuse that it was an 11kg trout… that got away. Then again, if he’s an experienced guide he’ll always back you up in the bar in the evening with any tall tale you care to spin. The fishing season goes until the end of April.

The Guru Team