Cerro Tronador Day Trip from Bariloche

Reaching an elevation of approximately 11,500 feet (3,500 meters), Cerro Tronador is the highest mountain in the Lake District, located near Bariloche on the border between Argentina and Chile. An extinct volcano in the southern Andes, Tronador was named 'thunderer' for the frequent sound produced by the ice tumbling from its seven glaciers.

Start your day trip to Cerro Tronador upon pickup from your hotel in Bariloche, and enjoy the scenic drive aboard the coach, crossing the Pampa de Huenuleo en route. Travel alongside Pilmayen and Melgarejo creeks until you arrive at Gutierrez Lake, where you’ll stop at a lodge with its own private beach, including two wharves and a boat ramp.

Back aboard the coach, continue along the east side of Mascardi Lake, crossing the Manso River – one of the region’s top white-water rafting rivers – to reach the base of Cerro Tronador. After a stop in the village of Pampa Linda for lunch (own expense), cross part of the Vuriloches Valley past a forest of coihues and lengas until your coach arrives at the glacier called Ventisquero Negro (Black Snowdrift). Here, see where the Manso River begins its journey all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Just a bit further ahead, arrive at the foot of Cerro Tronador and gaze up at its three characteristic peaks – Pico Argentino, Pico Internacional and Pico Chileno – before embarking on a short, guided walk to the glaciers. Listen to the thunderous sound of ice calving off the glaciers as you approach, and look for mountaineers on three-day expeditions to the summit of Tronador before returning by coach to your Bariloche hotel.