San Carlos de Bariloche

A city with natural beauties and diverse cultures

Perhaps in few places in the world the four stations are so are marked by colors as in Bariloche, located at the feet of the Andes of Patagonia.

Here nature expresses the passage of time with colors. In summer, the blue of the lake Nahuel Huapi, the ample range of green of the forests, and the multicolor tones of the wild flowers shines in the warm afternoons. When autumn arrives however, the poplars acquire the tonality of the sun, and The lenga blushes intermingle with the intense colors of the native trees.

Then in winter, white unfolds its immense power and the quiet snow transforms the landscape. With the proximity of the spring red tulips and yellows retamas announce the arrival of all the flowers with their symphony of scents that invade the senses.

But Bariloche is not just panoramic views and a constant encounter with the beauty of nature, it is a crucible of races and dfferent cultures. Even its name combines the native and German influences. The first settlers were the natives Nasario Lefipán and his wife. And where the Civic Center is located today there used to be a store in 1895 called "La Alemana" owned by Carlos Wiederhold. They say that by an error in the correspondence of this German retailer, somebody instead of "Don Carlos" wrote San Carlos and Bariloche comes from the native word Vuriloche, denomination of one of the tribes of this area.

The civic center: typical postcard of Bariloche

In the beginning, this was a zone dedicated to agriculture until it began to be visited by tourists attracted by the landscapes and the ski, and all the town changed the course of its economic development. Sometimes when walk down main street I try to imagine it when it was a dirt road and people skiing from the Otto Hill continued into town, as Otto Meiling recalls.

Because this town began as a region of mountain dwellers. And most of its one hundred thousand present inhabitants descend from foreign pioneers. Swiss, Germans, Austrians, Italian came from Europe to settle in these earth. And here they remained transferring its customs and giving origin to the regional products that characterize the region.

Such is the case of the Goyes that arrived from Switzerland and they settled near Lake Moreno conforming the "Swiss Colony". And within the many Germans who arrived, also some Nazis came who with changed identities tried to hide their past. Thus they lived for years, until little by little international organizations discovered them. In the book "El pintor de la Suiza argentina" about the painter Tom Maes, his author, Esteban Buch offers indications that reveal the presence of Nazis in the city.

But without a doubt, the most relevant case was that of Eric Priebke, discovered by the BBC of London in 1994. The reaction of a part of Bariloches society that pronounced itself in favor of the "good neighbor" of the German colony, made Bariloche to be thought of like a

pro-Nazi town by the rest of the country and the world. An image that was created from the attitude of a minority but that nevertheless served to show the fragility of a society when it is divided.

The city is located on the shore of lake Nahuel Huapi.

At the moment, Bariloche is a very active city of 110 thousand people, incredible natural beauty and obsessive respect for conservation. One of the tourist centers of greater importance within the Argentine Republic, visited by locals and foreigners. Its economy is based on tourism and all the activities that relate to it, for example, the chocolate manufacture exquisite that is commercialized anywhere in the world and acts as a distinguishing sign of this city.

Bariloche has become one of the main cities of Patagonia but with the idiosyncrasy of a mountain town. Pure air, nature and the lake which is vissible from any point of the city. Walking in forests continues to be a wonderful experience to be in harmony with the nature, far from the stress and the contamination of the big cities.

See Also
A city of beauty and culture		Forest of Arrayanes and Victoria Island
Cerro Tronador and Los Alerces Falls		Big Circuit and the Seven Lakes
Cerro Catedral		A trip though lakes and forests
Colonia Suiza (Swiss Colony)		El Bolson and Lago Puelo
The imposing Llao Llao Hotel		How to mountain bike in Bariloche
High-mountain activities		Chocolate: trademark of the city