Isla Victoria

Isla Victoria lies along the middle of Lago Nahuel Huapi, about thirty kilometres long and narrow, entirely within the national park. Boats from Puerto Pañuelo land at Puerto Anchorena, where a network of short trails leads through native coihue forest and through something unusual: a plantation of exotic conifers, sequoias, cedars and pines among them, planted from the 1920s when the island held the nursery that supplied trees for parks across Argentina. Some of those sequoias are now tall enough to be startling in a Patagonian wood. A chairlift climbs to a viewpoint over the lake, and a short walk reaches a rock overhang with faint pre-Hispanic paintings. Most visits pair the island with the arrayán forest opposite.

What you actually see

• The exotic plantation - sequoias and cedars planted in the 1920s nursery.
• The native forest trails - coihue woodland and lakeside paths.
• The rock paintings - faint pre-Hispanic art under an overhang.
• The lake viewpoint - the chairlift lookout over Nahuel Huapi.

When to go

November to April for reliable sailings and warm weather; boats run year-round but wind cancels crossings in any season. Sailings are on fixed schedules and should be booked ahead in January and February.

Honest expectations

Time ashore is short and tightly scheduled, typically an hour or two on a guided route. The trip is expensive once boat, park fee and chairlift are counted. The cave paintings are faint and easily underwhelming, and the visit is more forest walk than wilderness.

Nearby

Península Quetrihué and the arrayán forest lie opposite; Bariloche is the departure base.