Lake Nahuel Huapi

Nahuel Huapi is a lake in Argentina on the border between the provinces of Neuquén and Rio Negro in northern Patagonia. The lake has an area of 531 km² and its maximum depth is 460 m. Nahuel Huapi has an oblong shape with many fjord-like branches.

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There are several islands on the lake, the most important being Victoria and Ouemul.

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The largest tourist center on the shores of Nahuel Huapi is the town of San Carlos de Bariloche, the second largest is Villa la Angostura.

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Name of the lake

In the Araucan language, Nahuel Huapi means “Island of the Jaguar.”

History

The first Europeans appeared at the lake in 1670. They were Jesuit monks who came to this region to spread the word of God. They established a mission on the island of Uemul and lived there until 1718, when they were forced to flee after the local Indians killed five brothers. The region was rediscovered by Europeans in 1876, during Francisco Moreno’s Patagonian expedition.

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The Legend of Nahuelito

Interestingly, local Indian tribes have long talked about the spirit of the lake, some kind of fantastic creature. These rumors developed in 1922, when several people saw a huge creature with a barrel-shaped body and a long neck on the water surface. It was immediately named Nahuelito. A scientific expedition was urgently called from Buenos Aires, but no trace of the unknown animal was found.

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A renewed surge of interest occurred in the 1960s, when the first photographs of Nauelito appeared (however, they were recognized as fakes). Since then, there have been fairly regular sightings of people claiming to have seen a giant plesiosaur-like beast, but no evidence has yet been found.

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Project Uemul

Another mystery associated with Nahuel-Ouapi is Project Uemul. It began back in 1948, when then Argentine President Juan Perron created a secret group of physicists led by a little-known German specialist, Ronald Richter. Richter promised Perron that within 3-5 years he would be able to obtain a controlled fusion reaction. What does that mean? It means that Argentina will have an inexhaustible source of energy, the USA, Great Britain and the USSR will be left far behind, and Argentina will dictate its will to the whole world. On the island of Uemul, which is in the middle of Nahuel Huapi, the buildings of the new secret nuclear center are being built at a rapid pace.

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On February 16, 1951, Richter announces the first industrial controlled thermonuclear reaction. Perron is delighted, the whole world is shocked… Despite this, the president of Argentina still has the good sense to appoint an independent examination to confirm the result. The conclusions of the commission literally kill him – the results are fabricated, there was no thermonuclear fusion. In November 1952, Richter was suspended from work, and a year later were blown up the buildings of his laboratory on the island of Uemul. These ruins are now part of the excursions organized on Nahuel Ouapi.

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Kayaking is extremely popular on the lake, as well as trips on small steamboats. One of them, the Modesta Victoria, is famous for being the vessel on which the then young Ernesto Che Guevara and Alberto Granado crossed the lake in 1952. The veteran vessel still gives tourists a good ride – perhaps it will give you a ride too, if you decide to get into these places.

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Nahuel Huapi National Park

Surrounding the lake is Argentina’s 7,098.9 km² Nahuel Huapi National Park. It was founded in 1934. The park stretches 130 km long along the Argentine-Chilean border. It is dominated by high mountains, many lakes and extensive forests. It is joined in the north by the Lanin National Park.

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Nahuel Huapi is Argentina’s oldest and largest national park, and is not limited to the lake of the same name. It has other lakes such as Gutierrez, Traful, Mascardi, and Correntoso.

The park is also home to the majestic extinct volcano Cerro Tranador (3491 meters), which got its name “Thunder Mountain” because of the rumbling sounds made by its eight glaciers as they lose huge blocks of ice.

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Tourists

If you’re not afraid of long hikes, you should definitely visit the Black Glacier. The color of its ice is really quite close to dark gray due to the mineral deposits it “licks” as it slides down from Cerro Tranador.

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For trekking in Nahuel Huapi, the opportunities are fantastic. Picturesque panoramas of mountains, lakes, wooded plains, meadows… You will have the chance to see a very rare pudu deer, only 30-35 cm tall, with tiny antlers. There are also guanacos, vicuñas, chinchillas and tiny mouse possums.

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Kayaking is extremely popular on the lake, as well as small steamboat rides. One of them, the Modesta Victoria, is famous because it was aboard it that the then young Ernesto Che Guevara and Alberto Granado crossed the lake in 1952. The veteran vessel still gives tourists a ride – perhaps it will give you a ride if you decide to come to these places.

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