Maitenes Park Rangers Office - Llum lagoon (Isla Corazón lookout)
TRAIL MAP
Moderate Difficulty
Distance
11 km. From the campground to the lookout.
Elevation gain
800 mts. up to the lookout.
Tiempo de Marcha
7 hs. (ida y vuelta al Mirador de la Isla Corazón)
How to get there
HOW TO GET THERE
From downtown Bariloche:
Bus. The Company Via Bariloche hat heads to El Bolsón, get off at the Park Rangers Office “Maitenes”, then walk back along the road to the entrance sign for LofWiritray. From here its 2 km. on a dirt road from route 40 to the trailhead at the Relmu Lafquen Campground.
By car. Take route 40 to km 2014. Take a turn off to the right onto a dirt road, signs to Relmu Lafquen camping. Here you must pay for the parking.
SERVICES
Camping Relmu Lafquen
/LofWiritray/
- You may need extra shoes for wading through creeks.
- Watch for trail markings especially between Llum lagoon and the lookout as there are lots of trail crossings.
- Camping and fires are not allowed at Playa Leones and Llum lagoon.
DESCRIPTION
The trailhead is at the Relmu Lafquen campground, belonging to the Mapuche community Lofwiritray, there is a 3 km. dirt road access from route 40. If you park in the premises there is a fee.
On the trail soon you will need to cross the Fresco creek, which at the end of spring and early summer has a lot of water. There may be a small bridge or not, if so you need to wade through. Later in the season it is easy to cross and the lake level goes down and you can walk along the beach for the first part.
The trail is well marked with red dots, arriving first at Playa Leones, 4 km., then continues up to Llum lagoon.
You can continue up to the Isla Corazón lookout, but the trails as of the Llum lagoon becomes pretty closed due to vegetation and lack of maintenance with some very steep sections. Watch for markings as it has little use and easy to lose track. Follow the same trail back down.
Camping at Llum lagoon is not allowed. If you wish to continue to Los Césares the camping area is down on the Mascardi lake after contouring round a fair bit. The area is called “Machete” and has no services, fires are not allowed.
To improve the trekking experience, it is recommended to contact a Mountain Guide authorized by the AAGM (Argentine Association of Mountain Guides)