Neumeyer Shelter – Chalhuaco Valley

The mountain spirit is fully lived in the Neumeyer refuge, in Valle del Challhuaco. 20 km from downtown Bariloche, this incredible corner of Lengas Forest is a walk with a range of walks to choose from. In the Mapuche language, challhuaco means "good fishing water." The original shelter was built by Manolo Puente Blanco in 1971 and is named after a pioneer from Bariloche. Laguna Verde, lengas y matas de amancay Valle del Challhuaco is guarded by the hills, Ñireco, Carbón, Ventana and Challhuaco and is a mountain destination, with a refuge to live the experience. It has the added value that you can reach by car, ideal a 4x4, or hiring an excursion. The shelter itself was destroyed with a fire. The site was reconditioned with domes. They are spaces prepared to receive visitors, heated and decorated with all the comforts. They also have gastronomic offers with regional dishes.

In the surroundings of the Neumeyer refuge there are several demarcated and well-maintained trails to enjoy different walks. In summer you can practice mountain biking, climbing, rappelling, hiking. In winter the snowy valley is lived with cross-country skiing, sledding, culipatín and snowshoes. The latter are the ones chosen to reach a frozen lagoon, as a story postcard. It is the Green Lagoon at 1550 meters above sea level, where the little frog of Challhuaco lives, a micro-endemic species of the Nahuel Huapi National Park. The tourist paths are planned in favor of the care of this species. One more stretch and you reach the Mirador del Pedregoso, with a panoramic view of the city and the Nahuel Huapi lake. There are other trails to choose from. It is advisable to arrive very early, take a walk in the morning, have lunch at the shelter and take advantage of the afternoon to do another. The botanical interpretation has its maximum splendor in January and February, months in which the amancay flower covers the valley with its vivid color. The beauty of the yellow bushes becomes powerful and the legend is heard. Other inhabitants of the forest are foxes, hares, deer. Walking through the different vegetation such as the high Andean forest of the Challhuaco hill or the steppe of the Valley of the Lost will lead to the observation of birds, and the carpenter bird sighting will not be missing, or at least the rumble of its beak in the trunks Of the silent forest. In the Neumeyer shelter you can do active walks or interpretation walks at any time of the year, with different degrees of difficulty, however all can be done.