Lanin National Park Voyage Tips and guide

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Lanin National Park (Parque Nacional Lanin) is a mountainous highland park in the northwestern part of Patagonia in Argentina. The park surrounds the Lanin Volcano, a 3,747 meter high stratovolcano capped with snow and ice. In addition to mountain climbers, the park attracts anglers coming to fish on the park's three lakes, as well as naturalists and outdoorsmen coming for the hiking and camping.

The park is the third largest in the Argentina national parks system, covering an area of more than 412,000 hectares. The park is on the border with Chile and adjacent to Chile's Villarrica National Park.

The park is historically the land of the Mapuche indigenous people. There are still Mapuche communities living within the park boundaries.

More than 20 lakes lie within the park boundaries including Lago Huechulafquen, Lago Aluminé, and Lago Lácar. Huechulafquen is a particularly large and is contiguous with Lake Paimún to the north and Lake Lake Epulafquén to the south. The park's dominant feature is the towering snow-capped peak of Volcan Lanin. Melting snow feeds numerous small streams which flow into the parks many lakes. The combination of lakes, forests, and towering volcanoes make for breathtaking scenery and promise incredible selfies for your Instagram posts.

Trees in the park are mostly beech or conifers, including the Araucaria, a genus endemic to the highlands of South America. Rare trees in the park include the monkey-puzzle tree, the rauli, and the Roble beech, and the pehuen and pellin oak.

The park has a temperate humid climate with a winter mean temperature of 4 °C and a summer mean temperature of 20 °C.

San Martin de los Andes is the gateway town for the park. From there you can enter the park or can hire a local guide for backcountry or climbing expeditions.

San Martin de los Andes is a 2-hour flight from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP ^IATA). The local airport is Chapelco (CPC  ^IATA). It is served by daily flights offered by Aerolineas Argentinas and JetSMART.

• Waterfalls - there are several waterfalls in the park that can be reached via hiking trails. Waterfalls include Cascada El Saltillo, Cascada de Chachin

• Mountaineering - Climbers can ascend Volcan Lanin from either of two routes up the mountain. A permit must be obtained from Argentina National Parks. A mountain guide with local knowledge is required. Guides can be hired in the Argentine town of Junin de los Andes or on the Chilean side of the mountain in Pucon or Villarrica (where another high snow-capped volcano, Volcan Villarrica is a popular climb. One path up the mountain starts near Tromen Lake (on Route 60) and the other starts from Huechulafquen Lake (on Route 61).

• Fishing - The park's lakes are popular places for anglers who particularly prize the rainbow and brown trout, both invasive species that were introduced in the early 20th century.

• Chapelco
• San Martin de los Andes