Nahuel Huapi means "Isle of the Jaguar" in the Araucan language.
Story
The first Europeans appeared at the lake in 1670. These were Jesuit monks who came to this region to carry the word of God. They founded a mission on the island of Huemul and lived there until 1718, when, after the murder of five brothers by local Indians, they were forced to flee. This region was re-opened to Europeans in 1876, during the Patagonian expedition of Francisco Moreno.
Legend of the Nahuelito
Interestingly, the local Indian tribes have long been talking 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. He was immediately named Nahuelito. A scientific expedition was urgently called from Buenos Aires, but no traces of the unknown animal were found.
A resurgence of interest occurred in the 1960s. of the last century, when the first photographs of Nahuelito appeared (however, they were recognized as a fake). Since then, people have appeared quite regularly claiming to have seen a giant beast similar to a plesiosaur, but there is still no evidence of this.
Project "Uemul"
Another mystery associated with Nahuel Huapi is the Huemul project. It began back in 1948, when the then president of Argentina, 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 thermonuclear fusion reaction. What does it mean? This means that Argentina will have inexhaustible source energy, the USA, Great Britain and the USSR will be left far behind, and Argentina will already dictate its will to the whole world. On the island of Huemul, in the middle of Nahuel Huapi, buildings of a new secret nuclear center are being built at an accelerated pace.
February 16, 1951 Richter announces the first industrial controlled thermonuclear reaction. Perron is delighted, the whole world is in shock ... Despite this, the President of Argentina still has enough sanity 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 the buildings of his laboratory on the island of Huemul were blown up. Now these ruins are included in the program of excursions organized on Nahuel Huapi.
Kayaking is extremely popular on the lake, as well as walks on small steamboats. One of them, "Modesta Victoria", is known for the fact that it was on its board in 1952 that the then young Ernesto Che Guevara and Alberto Granado crossed the lake. The veteran ship still regularly rides tourists - perhaps it will give you a ride if you decide to climb into these places.
Nahuel Huapi National Park
Around the lake is the Argentine National Park Nahuel Huapi with an area of 7,098.9 km². It was founded in 1934. The park stretches for 130 km along the Argentine-Chilean border. Its territory is dominated by high mountains, many lakes and extensive forests. In the north, it is joined by the Lanin National Park.
Nahuel Huapi is the oldest and largest national park in Argentina, and is not limited to one lake of the same name. It has other lakes - Gutierez, Traful, Mascardi, Correntoso.
The park also contains a majestic dormant volcano Cerro Tronador (3491 m.), which got its name "Thunder Mountain" because of the booming sounds that its eight glaciers make, losing huge blocks of ice.
Tourists
If you are not afraid of long hiking, then be sure to visit the Black Glacier. The color of its ice is indeed quite close to dark gray due to the mineral deposits it "licks off" as it slides off the Cerro Tronador.
For trekking in Nahuel Huapi, the possibilities are fantastic. picturesque panoramas mountains, lakes, wooded plains, meadows... You will have a chance to see a very rare pudu deer, only 30-35 cm high, with tiny antlers. Guanacos, vicuñas, chinchillas and tiny mouse opossums also live here.
Kayaking is extremely popular on the lake, as well as walks on small steamboats. One of them, "Modesta Victoria", is known for the fact that it was on its board in 1952 that the then young Ernesto Che Guevara and Alberto Granado crossed the lake. The veteran ship still regularly rides tourists - perhaps it will give you a ride if you decide to climb into these places.
Nahuel Huapi(Spanish: Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi) - the oldest and largest national park c, founded in 1934. The country's first state nature reserve is spread over the provinces Neuquen(Spanish: Neuquen) and Rio Negro(Spanish Río Negro), in the very south of the country, in the north (Spanish Patagonia). Today protected area extends for 130 km along the Argentine-Chilean border in length and covers an area of about 7050 km².
In the north, Nahuel Huapi joins (Spanish: El Parque Nacional Lanin).
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Flora and fauna
The national park, located on the border of the Valdivian forests and the Patagonian steppes, contains rather heterogeneous areas within its boundaries. natural areas: mountainous and flat areas, forest, steppe and swampy areas adjoin here, there are many glacial lakes. Such zonal diversity is due to the richness of the flora and fauna of the reserve.
One of the priority goals of the foundation national park is the protection of natural areas of evergreen forests of cedar and southern beech. The age of individual representatives of these tree species in the reserve reaches 500 years; the size of the beeches is also impressive, some of which reach a height of up to 40 m and a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. Patagonian larches are also found here, reaching a height of 30-35 m with a trunk diameter of up to 2-3 m. Significant areas of the park area are occupied by thickets of ferns and bamboo.
Rich animal world reserve, quite typical for Argentina, extremely diverse for the South American continent and completely unique within the globe. Interesting animals like Llama Guanaco(lat. Lama guanicoe), outwardly similar to ordinary deer; local endemic - andean deer(lat. Hippocamelus); unique dwarf deer pudu(lat. Pudu; height approx. 30 cm). Rodents are also widespread in the park, including coypu, viscach, armadillo and mouse opossum. European deer and fallow deer brought from the Old World are well acclimatized in these parts.
The avifauna of Nahuel Huapi has more than 100 species of birds, the most notable of which are Nandu(lat. Rheidae), Chilean hummingbird(lat. Eulidia yarrellii), Magellanic woodpecker(lat. Campephilus magellanicus), black-necked swan(lat. Cygnus melancoryphus), Magellanic shelduck(lat. Tadorna tadorna) and wedge-tailed pygmy parrot(lat. Psittaculirostris desmarestii).
natural attractions
main decoration nature reserve is a large one that gave the name to the National Park. The area of a picturesque reservoir with amazingly clear water, located at the eastern foot of the Patagonian, is approaching 530 km². But the lake attracts tourists not only with its bizarre shape, clear waters, picturesque shores and steep, wooded slopes. Nahuel Huapi is included in the list of the most mysterious lakes on the planet. Local Indians from generation to generation pass on legends that an unprecedented creature similar to the Loch Ness monster lives in the depths of the lake. Several expeditions undertaken by scientists to test the rumors have so far found nothing concrete. Nevertheless, a huge number of tourists flock to the lake, hoping to see a mystical inhabitant that looks like an ancient dinosaur. The trail of rumors that envelops Nahuel Huapi only benefits the tourism business.
The territory of another National Park adjoins the lake - Los Arrayanes(Spanish: El Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes), practically the twin brother of Nahuel Huapi.
The outstanding natural attractions of the National Park include the majestic extinct Cerro Tronador volcano(Spanish Volcan Cerro Tronador; 3554 m a.s.l.). Its name, which in Spanish means "loud, rumbling", the volcano got because of the resounding deafening sounds that glaciers make when they lose huge blocks of ice. Tronador rises above the forest zone of the reserve, numerous blue Lakes glacial origin.
The main peak of the mountain El Principal(Spanish: El Principal), 8 glaciers slide into deep gorges, giving life to the local river frias(Spanish Río Frías), which is famous for its green waters.
Nahuel Huapi Park: Note to the tourist
national reserve— a paradise for those who are fond of fishing and hunting, who love to ride skiing, conquer Mountain peaks, play golf and just relax, enjoying the wonderful mountain scenery. Professional sportsmen - skaters, skiers, lugers and bobsledders will especially enjoy the well-equipped tracks.
You can visit the Nahuel Huapi National Park all year round, but two periods are considered the best tourist seasons here: summer (December - March) and winter (June - September). It should be noted that national skiing competitions are held here at the beginning and at the end of each season.
An excellent solution would be to go on boat trips, allowing you to get to the most remote places of the park and discover the amazing thickets of arrayans (a kind of myrtle trees), picturesque waterfalls and several islands. Car walks are also possible on the territory of the National Park. Special tourist routes are laid here and many car excursions are offered, the most popular of which is considered to be the so-called. "round the world" with a length of 280 km, with the beginning and end in
Between the provinces of Rio Negro and Neuquen, the northern part of Patagonia, lies the oldest park in Argentina - Nahuel Huapi. The national reserve occupies about 7050 thousand hectares and is named after the lake of the same name, which is the main attraction of the park.
The name "Nahuel Huapi", translated from the Araucan language, sounds like "Jaguar Island". Tourists from all over the world, coming on an excursion to the National Park, first of all want to see the famous lake, where the terrible monster Nahuelito is found. According to the Indian tribes living on the shores of the lake, the monster lives at the very depths of the lake. Although numerous studies of the bottom have not confirmed numerous stories, the number of tourists wishing to visit Nahuel Huapi has not decreased. However, this is not the last glory of the reservoir. Unidentified objects are constantly noticed here (the last time such cases were recorded in 1999 and 2000).
Quite a lot has been laid in the National Park tourist routes. The most popular - "Lake Crossing" or Bariloche (Argentina) - Puerto Montt (Chile) - runs along Lake Nahuel Huapi. The ship “Modesta Victoria” also sails here, on which the legendary Che Guevara and his friend sailed to the Chilean border (1952).
It is around the lake that the National Reserve of Argentina is located with many lakes, mountains and impenetrable forests. Going on a trip, you can visit Isla Victoria, which, by the way, is located within Nahuel Huapi. On the Península de Quetrihué peninsula there is a primeval forest - Bosque de Arrayanes (Los Arrayanes) The bark of trees growing in the park has an unusual reddish color. For tourists, this is an inaccessible place.
The nature of these places inspired Walt Disney to create his famous work "Bambi".
Mount Tronador, or rather, an extinct volcano, is also a landmark of the park. From a height of 3554 m above sea level, it is at this height that the volcano is located, you can see the numerous lakes of the park area. The eight glaciers of Tronador, its main peak, El Principal, gave life to the Frias River. The glacier, going down the slope, pulls the volcanic soil along with it, while acquiring a dirty gray color. For this color, the glacier was nicknamed "black".
Initially, the park covered an area of only 800 km2 between Lake Frias and Puerto Blest. Thanks to the perseverance of Dr. Francisco Perito Moreno, in 1907 the park significantly expanded its territory - up to 4300 km2. The official date of the creation of the National Park is 1934.
The protection of evergreen beech and cedar forests is the main goal of the reserve.
Here you can find trees that are about 500 years old! The height of some beeches is 40 m, and the diameter is about 2 m. Patagonian larch, which grows in these forests, is a little lower - 30-35 m. Lianas gently intertwine huge larch trunks. Thickets of fern, bamboo, occupy a significant area of the park.
Guanaco, pudu dwarf deer (only 30 cm high), Andean deer - these animals can only be found here, in the forests of Argentina. But, fallow deer and European deer brought from Europe took root well. Chilean hummingbirds, rhea, Magellanic woodpeckers, wedge-tailed parrots also feel comfortable in the park area.
The best time to travel to Argentina, in particular to visit the Nahuel Huapi National Park, is during the periods: July - September or - January - March. Tourists can also take part in national skiing competitions, which are held at the beginning and end of the seasons.
