Bariloche: Full Day on Circuito Chico (The Loop)

If you’re visiting Bariloche you need to spend a day doing the Circuito Chico Loop. This is the best way to experience all of what Bariloche offers, the beautiful scenery, mountains, lakes, beaches, great food, and adorable little villages.

You can make this a half day but I’d recommend a full day so you can do hikes and relax at the beaches.

The Circuito Chico is a scenic 60 km drive that features some of the most popular stops and amazing views in Bariloche. In this blog I’m going to break down exactly what we did, my honest opinion on each spot, and my recommendations for you.

Cerro Campanario

We started in the late morning around 10am at Cerro Campanario. This is the most famous viewpoint in Bariloche. You get 360 degree views of the endless mountains and many lakes, it’s extremely beautiful and pictures simply do not do it justice.

We decided to do the hike up instead of taking the chairlift. The hike is steep and took us about 30 minutes to get up and roughly half the time to get down thanks to gravity. If you want a little workout and to save money, do the hike. You don’t get many views along the hike, you really just keep your head down and grind out the steepness. But once at the top, you are greeted with some spectacular views.

There’s a little cafe and seating at the top so we grabbed some refreshments, snacks, and relaxed a bit then walked around to take in all the views. Cerro Campanario is definitely a must stop on this loop and in Bariloche in general. You really do get the BEST views here. And remember you can take the chairlift up and down at a cost.

Lao Lao Hotel

This is supposedly an iconic hotel and spot in Bariloche, however I did not get the hype. Maybe we did something wrong. If you aren’t staying here, I don’t see the point in making this a stop. You get just the same views if not better elsewhere.

We drove around the area and walked around the hotel and still I simply did not understand the hype. For me, I don’t think it’s worth visiting.

Cerro Llao Llao Hike

Afterwards we decided to do the Cerro Llao Llao hike. There’s two different routes you can go, you can either hike up for some awesome views or hike down towards the lake. We honestly didn’t know there were two options before we started so we were going up, I get really hot and by this time it was about 1pm and the sun was beaming. So we decided to make our way back down to the lake and find water - we were running low. So definitely bring plenty of water on your hikes!

The views on this hike were beautiful so I honestly do recommend it. The lake was stunning, super clear water and mountains in the background. Our swimsuits were in the car but I wish I had brought mine down! It’s the perfect place to take a quick dip and relax before hiking back to the car.

Cerveza Patagonia

After the hike we were starving so we headed to Cerveza Patagonia, the popular brewery in Bariloche with amazing views. It’s a bit out of the way on the loop, towards the end from the way we were going so we did make our way back after but we really wanted to have a nice lunch here with a large beer after those hikes.

The food was great, we got burgers that really hit the spot, and the beers were phenomenal. We sat outside on the patio for a bit taking in the views and then headed on for the rest of our day.

We got here around 3pm and spent a little over an hour and a half here.

Bahía López

Afterwards we headed to the beach called Bahai Lopez, again super clear water and amazing views surrounding you. You have a huge mountain just right up against the lake. The beaches here are super rocky so make sure to wear water shoes or sandals that you can get wet.

I definitely recommend stopping here!

Colonia Suiza

Around 6:15pm we stopped at the adorable little Swiss-inspired village at the end of a long gravel road called Colonia Suiza. Unfortunately I didn’t know that a lot of the little artisan shops start closing at 6pm, but it was still fun to check the village out, walk around, grab ice cream, and go into the other shops that were still open.

In peak season the hours are usually 10am-6pm.

It’s not the most pleasant driving down the long gravel road but I do think it’s worth checking out on the loop! If you are doing a half day loop - skip out on it.

Punto Panoramico

Our final stop was another very popular viewpoint called Punto Panoramico. You get amazing views of the mountains and lakes but honestly, Cerro Campanario’s view is much much better. However, you’ll likely be driving by Punto Panoramico so might as well stop by!

My Recommendation for You

This day was amazing, a bit physically tough on my body with running out of water on a super hot hike. Honestly, I think I structured the day a bit wrong considering the hikes we were doing. Since we didn’t find much to do at Lao Lao hotel, we practically did two hikes back to back, Cerro Campanario and Cerro Lao Lao. With the first being so steep and the second being pretty long with some decent elevation, this destroyed my body, plus doing it in practically peak day heat. I don’t recommend.

What I’d do instead is start at the Lao Lao hike trailhead around 9am, spend a few hours hiking and spend some time at the beach if you choose to go down to the lake. This way you’re getting the big hike out of the way first and not during peak sun and heat hours.

After the hike you’ll definitely be hungry, so I’d either get some lunch near Village Campanario or head to Cerveza Patagonia if you’re really feeling a nice cold beer.

After lunch I’d head to Bahia Lopez for some beach time then head to Colonia Suiza and roam around the village.

By this time it should be late afternoon/early evening, 3-4pm, if you are feeling hungry again I’d head to Cerveza Patagonia if you haven’t already and then end the day by doing the Cerro Campanario hike.

Below is a map of the loop.

My top recommendations are going to Cerro Campanario, Cerveza Patagonia, doing some hikes and going to the beaches. There are some other hikes like the Sendero de los Arrayanes, it’s also close by Cerro Lao Lao hike and there’s plenty of beaches. All of which are going to be beautiful so just go where the day takes you and if you something that catches your eye, stop.

The point of this loop is to enjoy the drive and go where the wind takes you. Everywhere is going to be beautiful.