Located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, this hill reaches 1405 meters above the level of the sea and is located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi.
Its name is in honor of Otto Goedecke, one of the first pioneers who had his farm on the slope of the hill.
This hill offers a range of activities to carry out throughout the year:
In winter, everyone come to enjoy a ski season and other snow sports such as Nordic skiing, snowboarding, sledding and more.
During the rest of the year, the tracks they are reinvented for you to slide on rubber bands and trekking, zip lines and playgrounds make your visits an unforgettable experience.
Next, we leave you the most complete guide of what to do in Cerro Otto :
Ascend Cerro Otto by cable car
Just 5 kilometers from the center of Bariloche, is the base of the complex where it is located the main attraction: living the experience ofascending through the historic cable car.
This lift has 42 gondolas, each with a capacity for 4 people, that go from the lower station to the upper station.
The cable car reaches a height of 2,100 meters which allows you to have luxurious panoramic views .
Visit the Art Gallery
Who said you can't appreciate culture and art in the mountains?
This gallery is located on Avenida Los Pioneros, on kilometer 5000 and permanently exhibits exact and life-size tracings, the 3 most important works of Miguel Angel Buonarroti and famous in the world: Mercy, David and Moses.
Although they were made of 80% marble dust and 20% acrylic resin, those who visit it say that it is incredible how identical they are to the originals.
Eat in the Rotating Confectionery with panoramic views
It is located on Cerro Otto and is unique in the country.
Who wouldn't want to enjoy a good hot chocolate after having fun in the snow while observing the landscape from all its angles? This same allows it thanks to the fact that it rotates 360 ° (40 minutes) and has a glass structure in all its circumference!The confectionery rotates at a comfortable and pleasant speed, it is fully glazed a and heated by a hot air system that allows you to relax after each activity. It has a capacity of 250 seated people and in it you can enjoy delicious smoked foods such as deer, wild boar, trout or salmon, as well as sweet delicacies in the morning accompanied by coffees, original teas and the inevitable hot chocolate to recharge your batteries.
To get to the coffee shop on the hill, you have to get to the base (5 kilometers from the center) at kilometer 5 along the Faldeo route and take the cable cars ( or "la manzanita"). After 12 minutes and 1,405 meters above sea level, there is the revolving confectionery that is open every day from 10 am to 8 pm .
During the summer it can be reached through a 10-kilometer trek from the city, approximately 3 hours of walking on trails of medium difficulty. The tour begins on Avenida Belgrano until the access to Cerro Otto (gravel road) on Avenida de los Pioneros. Once at the access to Cerro Otto, there are 6.5 kilometers to the confectionery.
Winter activities in Piedras Blancas
It is the cradle of skiing in Argentina. Its slopes were used by the first sportsmen of the white sport. The chronicles say that in those years you could ascend walking and you could descend skiing to the very center of the city of Bariloche.
The chairlifts take you to the beginning of the slopes ( a space of 3000 meters of exclusive slopes, and then descend from there using sleds (better known as “culipatin”) or the Zipline, a novel activity in which you are going to fly over the forests. One of the most fun! There are also ski and snowboard classes for beginners, a confectionery and majestic views of the Nahuel Huapi and Gutiérrez lakes.
In addition, you can take a photographic safari to discover incredible landscapes, an ideal activity to share with the family. The transfer from the city center can be done renting a car or in bus. There are approximately 15 kilometers in total leaving from the city center along Exequiel Bustillo Avenue to the intersection with the Access to Cerro Otto, travel it for 5.5 kilometers until arriving at the ski center parking lot.
Piedras Blancas It is open all year round, the winter sports season runs from June to August. During spring-summer (September to March) different activities are also offered such as trekking, hiking, zip-lining, climbing and slides to slide on rubber bands (Raftubing).
Games in height and zip line in EUCA
This is a playground in the height, located within the Piedras Blancas Complex ( 15 kilometers from the city). It has 5 levels and 60 games. Among them you will find zip lines, suspension bridges, nets, steel circles, wooden tubes and more! Without a doubt, a special place to go with family or friends and go back to your childhood while playing and climbing trees.
Euca has maximum security for those who play it and is built under the strictest European standards required for this activity. To be able to play in this park the following minimum heights are required:
- Level 1, minimum 1.25 meters of height or 6 years of age.
- Levels 2 and 3, minimum 1.40 meters of height or 9 years of age.
- Levels 4 and 5, minimum 1.60 meters tall or 14 years old.
The Park also offers an experience unique for the little ones, The Euca Mini. In a miniature area so that children can go through the different challenges autonomously and safely, putting their ability and mobility at stake.
During January, February and holidays Winter Ions, is open every day from 10 am to 8 pm. On the other hand, in low season, it opens from Thursday to Sunday (including holidays) from 10 am to 5:30 pm.
Otto Kart
When the snow retreats in the Cable Car Complex, Otto Kart is the one who comes into action: with his tracks ta slats on vinyl material and controlled by trained personnel. They offer you the experience of descending the slope of the mountain in large inflatable rubber bands. A great adrenaline experience !
These rubber bands are large Canadian-style inflatables, used for go down fun slides. As with sleds, it is an activity where speed is acquired without risks and always guarded by staff. You go down a track of 300 meters with banked curves.
Once a At the end of the slopes, the ascent takes place on the summit funicular, the only means of transport at the top of the mountain. This activity is only carried out outside the winter season from October to March.
To get to the Otto Kart track, it is very simple. You have to go to the intersection of Av. De los Pioneros and Av. Sara María Furman (just 5 km from the city of Bariloche). The Cerro Otto Cable Car Tourist Complex is located there, where the Lower Station is located with 42 gondolas (each with capacity for four people seated) to arrive at the Upper Station at 1,405 meters above sea level. They cover a distance of 2,100 meters at a constant speed of 3 meters per second. Once you get to the top you will see the recreation area.
Get to know the historic Berghof Refuge
The
Berghof Refuge has a beautiful panoramic view over Lake Nahuel Huapi and the city of Bariloche, this refuge gives history: there lived the pioneer ro and founder of the Club Andino Bariloche, Otto Meiling. In this corner, the first ski factory and the first ski center in South America worked.
The Berghof is the closest to the city center is about 2 hours of walking. You can visit the old Don Otto's home, converted into museum , or participate in the Sturm und Drang ( jazz, funk and latin), which is organized the first nights of the months of May, December and February. It is also accompanied by a delicious evening with fixed menus, the most outstanding being the stuffed bell pepper (starter), pork tenderloin steaks (main course) and apple pancakes (dessert).
In 2013, the New Berghof Refuge was inaugurated, after the fire that destroyed the historic structure two years earlier. This space consists of a spacious living room, a very complete kitchen and a pantry. It is built mostly of wood. The nights in the refuge are the perfect combination of music, gastronomy and a unique view of Bariloche.
Otto Meiling was one of the pioneer mountaineers of Bariloche and the Berghof was their home for a long time . In the 1930s he built several buildings: his private house, the refuge that was first called “Bergfreude” (in German, Mountain Joy) and later “Berghof”, two bungalows (known as Horseflies and Pichi ruca, which means “small house ” in Mapuche), and a workshop where they made skis. Thanks to this factory, and the interest of Otto Meiling and other inhabitants of the region from Europe, the Tronador ski school was born. Thus, Bariloche begins to transform into the international ski center that it is today.
To get to the refuge there are several alternatives: with a vehicle, on foot or using the cable car (the station is located at Av. Pioneros km 5). To ascend to the refuge you must take the path next to the car path that begins at kilometer 1 of Pioneros avenue.
This path "Refugio Berghof" It develops with a gentle slope, that is why it is considered the easiest of the accesses to refuges of the Club Andino Bariloche. The journey takes about 2 hours (7 kilometers). In the case of going by car from the center of Bariloche you must take the Exequiel Bustillo Avenue until the RP82, there take a left to the Cerro Otto Access that you must take and drive for 5 kilometers until you see the Berghof Refuge on your left.
Visit the Nordic Ski Center
13 kilometers from the city of Bariloche on the steep slopes of Cerro Otto is the Nordic Ski Center , a place perfect for skiing at a height of 1280 meters. It works throughout the winter season (June to August) maintaining the slopes with snow machines. As its name indicates, the center is dedicated to the Nordic specialty, where skiers can move between forest trails and even go uphill thanks to the special shape of the ski.
Stands out for its more than ten kilometers of slopes designed for all levels and techniques of Nordic Ski: Skating and classic. In addition , add other interesting activities such as ATV rides, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. During the winter season, the slopes are open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.
The Centro School rents the equipment and gives fun classes from 5 years old old. On this track of more than 3000 meters you will also find a toboggan run. The circuit is carefully delimited with different degrees of difficulty for all tastes and ages. The slopes are surrounded by lush forests of lengas, European pines, ñires and notros among many other species.
And to close your visit to the ski center with a flourish, it has a mountain refuge ideal to enjoy a gastronomy of first level after an afternoon of pure skiing!
If you want more information about places to rest in the mountains, I recommend you read the note on shelters in Bariloche
Eating at Arelauquen Refuge
The Arelauquen Refuge is located on a viewpoint at 1,300 meters high, on the southern summit of Cerro Otto.
It stands out for its high-end mountain restaurant with unbeatable views. The favorite of all is the cheese fondue and the chocolate one! They also have exquisite asparagus and onion soups. A varied menu of venison, pork and fish. Another of the star dishes is the grilled trout with chives cream and noisette potatoes.
Another very nice activity to enjoy in this place is the nordic night. You will marvel at the nocturnal landscapes of the place, while enjoying a delicious homemade dinner in the refuge in the middle of the mountain. The tour starts from the city to Cerro Otto, where you ascend in trucks to its summit. Once there, a quadricycle circuit begins for 1 hour to the viewpoint, from which the city of Bariloche can be seen fully illuminated.
The Arelauquen refuge can be accessed in car or on foot. In the case of going by car from the center, head along Avenida de los Pioneros towards the RN40, travel it for 12 kilometers to the gravel road De los Pañiles, circulate for 5 kilometers until the sign that will direct you to the Arelauquen Refuge. If you want to get there on foot (13 kilometers), I recommend you take the path (Arelauquen Refuge) parallel to the RP82 from Avenida de los Pioneros.
If you want to know more about tours in Bariloche, do not hesitate to contact us !