Hike Habsburg Rock

Otto mountain bears that name in homage to the German pioneer Otto Goedecke, one of the first settlers of Bariloche. He had his farm on the slopes of the hill, populated the neighborhoods of Melipal and Playa Bonita in 1888.

Through paths with little unevenness and walking under huge Lengas, we will travel the first part sheltered from the sun. Behind us we will leave the Nahuel Huapi Lake behind.

We will begin with an incredible view of Lake Nahuel Huapi and its islands and we will end by seeing Lake Gutiérrez. While we walk, you will learn the history of Bariloche and the area.

The paths are curvilinear and will force us to change the perspective of the Andean Forest, and perhaps we can find people practicing paragliding on the hill. We will be in the permanent company of the "Old Man's Beard", a lichenized fungus, which tells you that the air we breathe is extremely pure: take a deep breath.

"Piedra de Habsburgo" is a rock promontory on Cerro Otto. Here you will have an unbeatable view and you will feel the privilege of observing the vestiges of glacial activity from thousands of years ago.

On the way we will cross several viewpoints. In the main one, we will observe Lake Gutiérrez, Mount Catedral (where the Refuge Frey is located) and Mount San Martín (also called "La Vieja"); and Cerro Ventana among others.

Then we can have lunch at this beautiful viewpoint or go to the old "Berghoff Refuge", today a confectionery, to have a drink with the incredible view of Lake Nahuel Huapi. If we still want to walk a little more, we will head down the path and enter a dark pine forest.

The pines of Mount Otto were planted by the German settler Otto Meiling in the 50s (a pioneer of mountaineering in our city).

Further down, you will be able to see the grave that Don Otto chose to rest.

This hill was chosen by Otto Meiling (another German settler) to build his home. He himself planted pine trees (with seed brought from Europe) with which he built his house in the 1950s

Through our feet, you will know, and you will be part of, the history of our beautiful city of San Carlos de Bariloche.

If you want a more complete hiking experience, I recommend visiting the Pampa Linda area with places like the Castaño Overa Glacier Viewpoint. You can also walk after sunset in the Patagonia Night Experience.

Do you dare to know walking?