Traveling the araucaria route in the heart of the Andean region.

We have traveled more than 5,000 kms since we left Buenos Aires on our way to Patagonia and we have crossed itineraries already planned and others that have emerged as Gol devoured the kilometers in the immense Patagonian steppe.

One of the alternative routes selected is the so-called Route of the Araucarias because of the large number of these trees that we found along and across a vast expanse of territory in southern Argentina.

Throughout the province of Neuquén, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains, araucarias grow naturally in the squares of the mountain towns and villages, along the side of the roads, often unpaved, and of course in Andean forests and mountain slopes, serving as a frame for lakes of incredible beauty.

Arriving at Copahue in the north of the province of Neuquén and up to San Martín de los Andes, we find an ancient araucaria forest, fossilized after the passage of millions of years, perhaps the only one on the planet, in the middle of a forest vegetation of unearthly beauty.

To get to know and admire the beauty of this tour in its fullness, it is necessary to go through a triangle-shaped circuit, which includes the cities of Neuquén, Zapala and San Martín de los Andes.

In this part of the Andean-Patagonian forest, the araucaria is almost always associated with other native species of the region, such as the oak, the caña colihue, the coihue, the ñire and other endemic species.

In the town of Primeros Pinos (whose snow-covered mountains are ideal for skiing) the asphalt ends and the gravel road continues, a typical mountain road, winding with precipices, which requires driving with the utmost caution.

We continue straight ahead as if we wanted to enter the mountain range itself until Villa Pehuenia and the road begins to descend, 100 km downhill and through my centenary Sainuco and Kilca.

The spectacle of the journey has just begun!

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