Valle Encantado is one of the most recent editions to excursions in and around Bariloche.With a landscape a little bit like Utah, Valle Encantado has stunning rock formations and caves.According to Barilochense, tour guides now have family-friendly tour packages to the area that include cave tours with geological experts, boating on the Río Limay, horseback riding, a picnic lunch with artisanal beer, and of course, an asado to finish off the day.60 km from the city center of Bariloche, the tours begin in the morning and return their guests to the city by around 7.This tour is just one more adventure to have in and around Bariloche, which is known for its skiing in the winter, its trekking in the summer, and its always beautiful landscape, no matter what season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Figures from the municipality of Bariloche reveal that tourism in the city during the two weeks considered to be “high-high” season for skiing, when the schools are all out and people are vacationing, went down by 4.2 percent.Bad news?Of course everyone wants to see growth, but having 44,950 visitors is pretty good, especially since it seems that those who do come are staying longer.According to the Diario Rio Negro, the minister of tourism in the province, Omar Contreras, said that the winter had been as good as, or perhaps even better, than winters past.Considering the problems with Volcano Chaiten, the farmer strike, and the lack of snow, it was a good tourist season for Bariloche.

Read the rest of this entry »

As the ski season draws to a close, business people in Bariloche are considering how they can increase Brazilian tourism in the future.Snow, a commodity that Bariloche has in spades and Brazil lacks entirely, is a huge tourism draw, and with a new flight connecting Bariloche to Sao Paulo, the tourism industry wants to know how they can tap that market winter and summer.According to ANBariloche, the travel agency Barlan Travel organized a series of meetings between important groups in the tourism industry to discuss freeing Bariloche from season stereotyping.They suggest the possibility of golf tourism, gourmet dining, adventure tourism, and corporate event/retreat tourism.All of these could bring Bariloche big business, and they would keep Bariloche on the map no matter what time of year.

Read the rest of this entry »

While the parks in Buenos Aires are getting green and porteños take a mate outside to celebrate spring, the landscape of Bariloche is still covered in snow.According to La Nacion, after the strong storms of late August that brought a lot of snow to the region, visitors to Bariloche have been enjoying lots of snow and nice weather for skiing and snow boarding.Though Bariloche is still in the winter season, crowds are not what they were in August, when there were 12,000 visitors a day.For those who want to ski without the crowds and don’t mind that a few of the highest slopes are beginning to close, a white spring in Bariloche could be just the ticket.

Read the rest of this entry »

In recent weeks, the popular ski resort Cerro Catedral, near the town of Bariloche has had several avalanches.While happily no one has been killed, the importance of skiers being informed about avalanche safety has been brought to the fore.According to Living in Patagonia, two local mountain guide instructors will be offering a class in Spanish on avalanche awareness and snow safety.Topics to be covered include snowpack assessment, route selection, and recognizing signs in mountain weather.The class begins Friday, August 22, in Los Coihues, which is 15 minutes from downtown Bariloche, and will continue for three more Fridays after that.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the last day of July, Cerro Catedral, Bariloche’s major ski slope, registered a record number of skiers in a single day: 13,023.These skiers are being heralded as the “true” start of the winter ski season, a refrain we have heard several times now as the snows keep coming and then not lasting.However, according to Diario Rio Negro, people in Bariloche are optimistic that the average number of skiers a day last year, 11,000, will begin to be met this year too.Another ski resort that is seeing its numbers improve is Chapelco, at San Martín de los Andes.Over the past weekend, number of skiers there exceeded the number they had last year by five percent.Skiing is a popular way for families to spend their winter vacations, and ski resorts can only hope that these excellent numbers continue throughout the month of August.

Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, much of Argentina experienced a cold snap that brought low temperatures and snow to some southern parts of the country.According to the Clarín,in Buenos Aires on Sunday morning, temperatures were recorded at as low as 1.5 degrees Celsius.In Jujuy in the north, temperatures reached a low of negative 8.2 degrees Celsius; this was the coldest temperature recorded in the country during this cold snap.In the southern parts of the country, low temperatures brought snow with them as well, which is good news for skiers and snowboarders. It also snowed in cities in the Province of Buenos Aires, including Bahía Blanca and Coronel Dorrego.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since the ski season began, people have been flocking to Bariloche to enjoy the beautiful mountains and delicious chocolate.In response to the large number of tourists and the long lines they create at the ski slopes, the city of Bariloche has asked CAPSA, the company running the ski lifts and ticket offices, to open one hour earlier and close one and a half hours later.According to AN Bariloche, the problem is being caused in part by the lack of snow, making it so that only the highest ski slopes are really ideal for skiing.This is causing longer than usual lines and difficult traffic flow problems.Later today, the Bariloche government will meet with CAPSA to discuss these plans and reach some kind of agreement that will hopefully benefit the business and skiers alike.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday alone, 23 flights arrived in Bariloche’s airport, and another 15 were expected to arrive on Sunday, all full of tourists ready to hit the ski slopes.These visitors represent the first strong wave of tourism to Bariloche for the 2008 ski season and show “faith” that the weather will be with them and that the threat of volcanic interruption from Chaiten is minimal.According to ANBariloche, of the 3,300 visitors who arrived, 2,600 were foreigners, mostly Brazilian.The total number of tourists who arrived in this one weekend equals the number of tourists who arrived in all of May.Based on an estimate from Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the total number of tourists expected to arrive in July via air is 60,000.

Read the rest of this entry »