Villa La Angostura

This mountain village is located at the south of Neuquen province in the heart of Nahuel Huapi National Park lakes. In this village you will find the entrance to Arrayanes (myrtles) National Park, which is the only pure forest of its kind in the world.
Villa La Angostura has an exclusive mountain style architecture with buildings that are usually placed near the beaches of Nahuel Huapi lake. Some of these are quite luxurious and with an excellent panoramic view.
Villa La Angostura is perfectly located for sport-fishing and adventure tourism lovers. Here you can enjoy trekking, kayaking, sailing, scuba-diving, horse-back and fourtrax riding, “Canopy” (abseil in the forest) and mountain bike activities, among many others available.
You can also enjoy other terrestrial and lacustrine excursions to visit the famous Arrayanes (myrtles) National Park, Bahia Manzano, get to streams and waterfalls nearby surrounded by beautiful flowers and a wide range of vegetation. Another alternative is to visit – departing from Villa La Angostura – the corridor of the lakes and San Martin de los Andes, Villa Traful and Valle Encantado, Chile and Bariloche as well as Tronador and Ventisquero Negro or El Bolson.
The weather in the region – in spite of being cold – is nice since it benefits from the climatic conditions generated by the mountains and lakes which surround the village.
It is a unique place as regards its beauty where areas rarely visited by humans are abundant giving you the chance to enjoy peace and silence together with exclusive accommodation and gastronomy. These are the reasons why Villa La Angostura is a fantastic place.

Where is Villa La Angostura?

It is a beautiful mountain village located in the Patagonia Argentina, in the south of the Province of Neuquén. It is only 45km from the international border with Chile, 82km from San Carlos de Bariloche city and 110km from San Martin de los Andes, along Camino de los 7 Lagos (Seven Lakes Route).

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How do I get to Villa La Angostura?

By Plane: the closest airport is in San Carlos de Bariloche city, 82km from Villa La Angostura. At this airport arrive non-stop daily flights as well as flights with stops from Buenos Aires, with the following airline companies: Aerolíneas Argentinas , Lade, LAN Argentina.

By Car:
- from Buenos Aires: along roads 5, 35, 153, 143 151, 22, 237 and 234. Distance: 1,650km.

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Which is the best moment to visit Villa La Angostura ?

The colours and the climate of Villa la Angostura change according to the season. A place you can live in and enjoy during the four seasons of the year.
For those who love adventure tourism, spring, summer and autumn are good for trekking, diving, kayaking, fourtrax, sailing, rappel, horse-back riding, etc.

In summer Cerro Bayo is ideal to practise mountain bike on the trails and roads that go up to the foot of the moutain; or to trek to the summit and a enjoy the lift-chairs to enjoy the landscape from the heights. You can also enjoy guided tours to San Martín de los Andes, Villa Traful and Valle Encantado, San Carlos de Bariloche, Tronador, and tours in the lake, among other activities.

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In spite of being cold, the weather of this region is mild, since it is protected by the climatic effect of surrounding hills and lakes. A special feature about the weather is that the four seasons are clearly defined, offering natural settings which change as regards its flora and fauna, making Villa La Angostura a unique place.

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Which is the rainy season?

The rainy season is at the beginning of spring and end of autumn.

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How many hours of sun are there?

December 21st is the longest day of the year. The sun rises at 5:30am and it sets at 9:30pm. In winter, it rises at 8:30am and it sets approximately at 6:30 pm.

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Health

There is a hospital with a first quality human staff, but reduced resources. There are also many private doctors who accept almost all health insurance services.

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Security

Villa La Angostura is well known for being a very calm place without crimes that break its peace. In any case, as in the winter and summer high seasons there are many people in town, it is recommended that you take the necessary precautions.

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Is the water drinkable?

Yes, the water is drinkable and it comes from snow melting.

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Gastronomy

Villa la Angostura invites you to make a tour through the unique flavors of Patagonian cuisine and also through International cuisine: with pastas and pizzas, chucrut and fondue, Patagonian lamb, or dishes prepared with trout, salmon, venison, among others.

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Shopping

You will find Mapuche crafts in gold or silver works, musical instruments and sheep-wool clothes, candles and handcrafted pictures of flowers and natural leaves.

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Night life

It is normally calm. Anyway, in the winter and summer seasons pubs are open almost every day, though in autumn and spring entertainments concentrate specially at weekends.

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Prices in general

If you come from the north of Argentina or from Chile, you will notice that, in general, in Patagonia prices are a little bit more expensive. Anyway, although there are differences in the prices compared to the highly populated centres of the country, they are not very noticeable.

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Villa La Angostura Postcode

The postcode of Villa La Angostura is: Q8407AAA.

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Useful numbers in Villa La Angostura

Area Code: 02944 // From abroad: 54-2944

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Local Currency and Foreign Currencies Exchange

The official currency is Peso Argentino. There are 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and 1 peso coins and 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos notes. It is advisable to travel with United States Dollars, which is the most frequent foreign currency. Foreign currency exchange can take place in currency exchange offices as well as in any of the local banks: Banco Patagonia, Banco del Neuquen y Banco Frances (they all have Banelco and/or Link cash machines).

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Added Value Tax Refund

At the airport you will be able to recover the amount paid for IVA (Added Value Tax) if you have acquired national products for amounts over AR$70.- (per invoice) at "Global Refund" participating stores.

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Time Difference

Minus three hours regarding the GMT

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Languages spoken

The official language is Spanish. Nevertheless, there are many expressions and words which are “definitely Argentine”.

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Electricity Power

The power supply is of 220 volts to 50 Hz.

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Timetables in Villa La Angostura

As every mountain village, people are used to sleeping a “siesta". Stores are open from 9am to 1pm and from 4pm to 8pm. Banks, on the other hand, open in the morning from 8am to 1pm. In the summer and winter high seasons, timetables are longer in the evening.

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Telephones

Public phones work with cards that are acquired in kiosks or with some of the coins in current use. There are also phone offices called “locutorios” where you can pay in cash, and are normally open all day long.

Mobile phones normally have signal within the city, but as you move away the signal is lost. It is important to check the "roaming" system with the mobile phone company before beginning your holiday.

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Where does the name of "Villa La Angostura" come from?

It takes the name from the isthmus that joins mainland and the peninsula of Quetrihué producing a narrowing called Angostura.

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Which is its history?

With a long history of pioneers, Villa La Angostura was officially founded in 1932. Later, the Capital of the Lakes Department was transferred from the Nahuel Huapi spot to Villa La Angostura.

Some years later, there was a division of plots in the area known as “El Cruce” which is located in the crossing of the route with the local road of “La Villa" and three kilometers from there.

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Data of interest

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Events and celebrations

A wide range of interesting cultural events such as concerts, exhibitions and traditional celebrations are additional tourist attractions to visit Villa La Angostura at any time of the year.

Annual Cultural Agenda
February – Fiesta Nacional de los Jardines (National Celebration of Gardens): the aim of this celebration is to encourage town embellishment through gardens decoration. The main attractions are the gardens contest, carriages parade, artistic shows, market stalls, exhibitions, debates and conferences.

May – Anniversary of Villa La Angostura: local official celebration of the town anniversary. Provincial authorities give the “Mutisia de Plata” award to remarkable citizens and/or institutions. The Queen of Villa La Angostura is selected and there are artistic shows and many sports and equestrian events as well as exhibitions and conferences.

June / July / August – “Bajada de Antorchas” (torches descent): it takes place every Friday during the winter season and it is organized by Cerro Bayo School of Ski. Hot wine is served at Chalten refuge while you can enjoy music shows. Other cultural and sports activities are held like rugby and polo tournaments. Travelling ski and snowboard events as well as “Chefs en Altura” (high-rise chefs) meetings, fashion parades and music seasons are also available at this time of the year.

September – Winter Challenge: this is a competition in which two teams (with three members each) are to reach – together – the end of the contest. The race usually involves: snowshoe walking, skiing, abseiling, snow and mountain trekking, horse-back riding and kayaking.

October –    Adventure Race: the most demanding pedestrian race due to the kind of land through which it takes place. Going back to history, on its first edition the race gathered 150 two-member teams reason why the organizers decided to further this contest by setting up the Argentine Track of Adventure Race, currently holding annual rankings.
                 “Mil Millas” (one thousand miles): this is a traditional old-car adventure race which takes place during the last week in October or the first week in November. Famous car-race personalities and celebrities usually participate in the contest going across southern territories in Argentina and Chile.

November – Tradition Day Celebration: since 2001 – following an iniciative of the local Culture Department – Tradition Day is celebrated on November 10th with a festival and different activities.

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Flora

The flora in Villa La Angostura is abundant as a result of the environmental humidity, which favors the development of fine fruits species such as raspberry, red currant, rose hip, strawberry, mushrooms and flowers like tulips and roses.

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Fauna

The most outstanding fauna of the zone is fishing because of the important variety of fish species that are in the lakes: salmon, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, mackerel, catfish and piuyén.

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