Villa Traful

Villa Traful is a scatter of wooden houses along the shore of Lago Traful, a long, deep lake of unusually intense blue enclosed by steep forested mountains in Nahuel Huapi national park. It is reached by a side road off the Seven Lakes route, which keeps it quieter than the towns at either end. Its curiosity lies underwater: a landslide in the last century carried a stand of cypress trees into the lake, where they came to rest upright and, preserved by cold water, still stand as a submerged forest that divers visit at around thirty metres. Above water, trails lead to the Arroyo Coa Có and Blanco waterfalls, to viewpoints over the lake, and to the Cascada del Arroyo Cataratas.

What you actually see

• The blue lake - deep water between steep forested slopes.
• The submerged forest - upright drowned cypresses seen by divers.
• The waterfalls - Coa Có and Blanco falls on short forest walks.
• The viewpoints - miradors above the lake on the approach roads.

When to go

December to March, when the roads are reliable and services open; the village largely shuts in winter and the gravel approach can be difficult with snow. Trout fishing runs through the warm months under permit.

Honest expectations

The village is very small with few shops and limited accommodation, so supplies and bookings matter. The submerged forest requires diving qualification and cold-water experience; there is nothing to see from the surface. Access roads are partly gravel.

Nearby

The Seven Lakes road passes north; Villa La Angostura lies west.