Accommodations and Food

Los Alerces [1] has numerous campgrounds and other accommodations, mostly near Lago Futalaufquen. In addition to organized campgrounds, formerly free agreste (“wild”) campgrounds now charge for limited services but are much cleaner than in the past.

Accessible by road, organized campgrounds all have picnic tables, fire pits, toilets, hot showers, and access to groceries and restaurants; some have electrical outlets. Among them are Camping Los Maitenes (tel. 02945/ 45-1003, US$5 pp), only 200 meters from the Intendencia at Futalaufquen’s south end; Camping Bahía Rosales (tel. 02945/47-1004, US$6 pp), 14 kilometers from La Villa on the eastern lakeshore; Camping Lago Verde (tel. 02945/45-4421, US$7 pp), 36 kilometers north of La Villa on the eponymous lake; and Camping Lago Rivadavia (tel. 02945/45-4381, US$5 pp), 42 kilometers north of La Villa at the south end of its namesake lake.

Reached only by a 25-kilometer footpath or launch from Puerto Limonao, Camping & Hostería Lago Krüger (tel. 02945/45-3718 in Esquel) is the only backcountry campsite and hotel. Having undergone a major renovation, it charges about US$6 pp for camping, US$87 pp with full board in the hostería.

For groups of any size, the cheapest noncamping options are places like Cabañas Tejas Negras (RP 71, tel. 02945/47-1046, tejasnegras [at] ciudad [dot] com [dot] ar, US$79 d), about 12 kilometers north of La Villa.

About six kilometers north of La Villa, Hostería Quimé-Quipán (RP 71 s/n, tel./fax 02945/47-1021, US$61–66 s, US$68–100 d, with half board) has simple but comfortable rooms, some with lake views; the restaurant is adequate.

Four kilometers north of La Villa, the park’s prestige accommodation is the Bustillo-built Hostería Futalaufquen (tel. 02945/15-46-5941, www.brazosur.com.ar [2], US$159–242 s or d with half board, depending on view, in high season). With only nine rooms, it enjoys a privileged end-of-the-road location on Lago Futalaufquen’s western shore; distinctive features include beamed Tudor-style ceilings, a walk-in granite fireplace, copper chandeliers, and a polished wooden bar. The restaurant is open to nonguests (reservations required for dinner).