VLA seemed to have got busier since the last few times that we had visited. Some say it’s become more popular since the 7 lakes road was paved and became Ruta 40, and it’s possibly also due to a hangover from Covid that has more people out travelling and enjoying life. With a growth in visitation, it seemed a little different to us and much more touristy and less cutesy. Nonetheless we enjoyed visiting VLA and skiing at Cerro Bayo.

We dined out a few nights, with the highlight being Tinto Bistro for a fancy feast. The peso had gone through a major shift in 2 days, and dining out was incredibly cheap for a couple of days until all the restaurants and bars got their marker pens out on their menus and it became expensive unless you had USD in cash. The Argentine currency is always such a mystery!

Villa la Angostura is a beautiful town. The 7 Lakes Road is also incredibly picturesque and now the paved road makes it quicker and more reliable to travel to San Martin de los Andes. It was snowing in one direction of our drive, whilst on our return to VLA, the fine weather afforded great views of the lakes and mountains.
See our video here

Villa la Angostura is debatably one of the most beautiful places on earth and a patch of paradise. The landscape is rather extraordinary; a great combination of lakes, mountains, snow, forests, and tasteful mountain architecture.

This town isn’t action central, but if you like a more relaxed holiday, the tranquillity of Villa la Angostura is a huge pro. It’s a welcome alternative to Bariloche which is completely over-run with tourism. Another obvious drawcard of the town is its proximity to Cerro Bayo, which has very uncrowded slopes relative to other nearby ski resorts.

The only con of Villa la Angostura is that it’s not home to Angostura bitters! Luckily there are local breweries where you can sample a cerveza instead!
See our video here