Best Glamping Spots Near Bariloche for a Night Under the Stars
Words by
Valentina Garcia
The Best Glamping Spots Near Bariloche for a Night Under the Stars
I have spent the better part of three years sleeping in domes, treehouses, and geodesic tents scattered around the Patagonian steppe outside San Carlos de Bariloche, and I can tell you that the best glamping spots near Bariloche are not just about sleeping outdoors. They are about waking up to the smell of lenga wood smoke, watching the sun hit the surface of Lago Nahuel Huapi from a bed with actual sheets, and feeling like you have the entire national park to yourself. Bariloche has always been a city built by outsiders, German immigrants and Swiss architects who arrived in the 1930s and decided this corner of Patagonia looked enough like the Alps to stay forever. That same spirit of building something beautiful in the wilderness lives on in the glamping scene here, where every dome and treehouse feels like a love letter to the landscape rather than an intrusion on it.
Luxury Camping Bariloche at its Finest: Refugio del Lago
Refugio del Lago sits on the southern shore of Lago Mascardi, about 35 kilometers southwest of downtown Bariloche along Ruta Nacional 40 before you turn onto the access road to Villa Mascardi. I stayed here in late February, which is technically the tail end of summer, and the water was still cold enough to make you gasp but warm enough that I swam every morning before breakfast. The tents are heavy canvas with proper wooden floors, queen beds with wool blankets sourced from estancias in the province of Río Negro, and a small wood-burning stove that the staff lights for you around 6 p.m. if the evening dips below 10 degrees, which it does even in February.
What makes this place worth the drive is the silence. You are far enough from the main road that car noise disappears after sunset, and the only sound at night is the wind moving through the coihue trees and the occasional call of a chucao tapacolo. The kitchen serves a fixed four-course dinner that changes nightly. On my visit it started with smoked trout from the lake, followed by a pumpkin soup, then slow-braised lamb with roasted root vegetables, and finished with a chocolate torta that the owner, Marcos, learned to bake from his German grandmother in Colonia Suiza. Breakfast is included and features homemade bread, local honey, and café de la leche strong enough to reset your circadian rhythm.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask for the tent closest to the eastern tree line, not the one right on the lake. The lakefront tent looks better in photos, but the eastern tent gets direct morning sun an hour earlier, which means you can swim before the wind picks up around 11 a.m. Every local guide knows the wind pattern here, but the booking staff will never mention it."
The one complaint I have is that the shared bathroom facilities are a solid 40-meter walk from the tents, and if you need to pee at 3 a.m. in February, that walk in the cold is genuinely unpleasant. They provide flashlights, but the path is uneven and I tripped twice. Still, this is luxury camping Bariloche style, and the trade-off for that kind of isolation is a bit of inconvenience.
Dome Tent Bariloche: Patagonia Domes at Cerro Otto
If you want the dome tent Bariloche experience without driving an hour outside the city, Patagonia Domes at the base of Cerro Otto is your answer. The site is accessed from the road that leads up to the Cerro Otto cable car, about 5 kilometers from the city center on Avenida de los Pioneros. I visited in early April, right as autumn was turning the lenga forests into shades of copper and rust, and the domes looked like something from a science fiction film set against that backdrop.
Each dome is a transparent geodesic structure with a solid back wall for privacy, a king bed positioned so you can lie flat and watch the stars through the ceiling, and a small private bathroom with a rain shower. The temperature inside stays comfortable because each dome has a radiant floor heating system, which the owner, a civil engineer named Federico, designed himself after spending a winter in a traditional tent and swearing he would never do it again. Dinner is served in a communal quincho, a traditional Patagonian wooden lodge, and the menu leans heavily into regional ingredients: wild boar stew, trout caught that morning from a nearby stream, and a dessert of calafate berry ice cream that tastes like a more intense version of blackberry.
Local Insider Tip: "Book a dome for a weeknight, not a weekend. On Friday and Saturday nights, the communal dinner gets loud with groups from Buenos Aires, and the whole vibe shifts from peaceful stargazing to something closer to a dinner party. On a Tuesday in April, you might be the only guests, and Federico will sit with you after dinner and tell you about the time a puma walked through the property at dawn."
The downside is that because you are so close to the city, you can hear the occasional car on the road below, and the light pollution from Bariloche, while minimal compared to a real city, does reduce the star visibility slightly compared to more remote sites. But for a first-time glamping experience, this is the easiest entry point, and the view of the lake from the domes at sunrise is something I still think about.
Treehouse Stay Bariloche: Selva del Bosque
Selva del Bosque is a treehouse stay Bariloche visitors rarely find unless a local tells them about it. It is located in the neighborhood of Villa Los Coihues, about 12 kilometers from the city center along the road that runs along the southern edge of Lago Nahuel Huapi. The property has four treehouses built into a dense forest of coihue and arrayán trees, each one elevated between 4 and 7 meters off the ground and connected by wooden walkways. I stayed in the highest one, called Arrayán, in mid-January, and the canopy was so thick that I felt like I was inside a green cathedral.
Each treehouse has a double bed, a small sitting area with a window that opens fully to the forest, a compact kitchenette, and a bathroom with a composting toilet. There is no electricity in the traditional sense, solar panels power a few LED lights and a USB charging port, and that is it. The owner, Lucía, is a botanist who moved to Bariloche from Córdoba specifically to build this place, and she offers a guided forest walk every morning at 8 a.m. where she identifies every plant within a 2-kilometer radius. On my walk, she pointed out a rare orchid species that only grows in the arrayán forests of this specific part of the lake district, and she explained how the Mapuche people used the bark of the arrayán tree for digestive medicine.
Local Insider Tip: "Bring a good book and plan to read during the afternoon. There is no Wi-Fi, no TV, and the cell signal is weak. This is not a bug, it is the entire point. Also, ask Lucía to pack you a picnic lunch. She makes a smoked provolone sandwich on sourdough that is unreasonably good, and she will include a thermos of mate if you ask nicely."
The honest critique here is that the treehouses are not well suited for anyone with mobility issues. The ladders are steep, the walkways are narrow, and there is no way to access them without climbing. I also found the composting toilet took some getting used to, and on a warm January day, the ventilation was not perfect. But if you are reasonably fit and you want to feel like you are living inside the forest rather than just visiting it, this is the most immersive option on this list.
Glamping on the Seven Lakes Route: Hostería Puerto Manzano
Hostería Puerto Manzano sits on the shore of Lago Lacar, at the very start of the famous Ruta de los Siete Lagos, about 65 kilometers north of Bariloche along Ruta Nacional 234. I stopped here for two nights in March on my way to San Martín de los Andes, and it ended up being one of the most peaceful sleeps I have had in Patagonia. The property has six glamping units, each a semi-permanent wooden cabin with a canvas roof, a queen bed, and a private deck that hangs over the water. The effect is that you are sleeping on the lake, with the water lapping just a meter below your feet.
The hostería has been in the same family since the 1960s, when the grandfather of the current owner, Roberto, bought the land from a logging company that had stripped most of the surrounding forest. Roberto's father spent the next 30 years replanting native species, and the forest you see today is almost entirely the result of that effort. Roberto will tell you this story himself if you join him for a glass of malbec on the main dock at sunset, which he does every evening without fail. The food here is simple but excellent: grilled trout, a salad of whatever is growing in the garden that week, and a dessert of quince paste with local cheese that is a staple of Patagonian cuisine.
Local Insider Tip: "If you are driving the Seven Lakes route, stay here the night before you start, not after. The route is best driven in the morning when the light hits the lakes from the east, and starting from Puerto Manzano means you hit Lago Lacar first, which is the most photogenic. Roberto will also give you a hand-drawn map with his personal stops marked, including a waterfall that is not on any tourist map."
The one thing that frustrated me was the lack of hot water consistency. The solar water heater works well on sunny days, but March in Patagonia can be overcast, and I had one shower that was lukewarm at best. Roberto apologized and said they are working on a backup system, but as of my visit, it was still a work in progress.
Luxury Camping Bariloche at Estancia Peuma Hue
Estancia Peuma Hue is the most upscale option on this list, and it is located on the western shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi, about 25 kilometers from Bariloche along the road to Villa La Angostura. The estancia sits on 200 hectares of private land that includes forest, meadow, and a kilometer of lakefront. I stayed in one of their premium glamping suites in late January, and the experience was closer to a five-star hotel than anything I would call camping. The suite had a king bed with Egyptian cotton sheets, a freestanding copper bathtub on a wooden terrace, a wood-burning fireplace, and a minibar stocked with Argentine wines and local craft beers.
The property was originally a working cattle estancia founded by a British family in the early 1900s, and the main lodge still has the original stone fireplace and leather furniture from that era. The current owners converted it into a boutique hotel in 2008 and added the glamping suites in 2015. The dining room serves a tasting menu that changes every two weeks, and on my visit, the highlight was a dish of Patagonian lamb cooked for 12 hours in a pit dug into the ground, a technique the gauchos who worked the estancia used for generations. The wine list is exclusively Argentine, with a heavy emphasis on Pinot Noir from the Río Negro valley, which pairs beautifully with the lamb.
Local Insider Tip: "Book the suite at the far end of the property, the one closest to the forest trail. It is a 5-minute walk from the main lodge, which means you miss out on the social atmosphere of the common areas, but you also get total privacy and the best view of the lake at dawn. Also, ask the concierge to arrange a horseback ride through the estancia at sunrise. The horses are gentle, the trail goes through old-growth forest, and the guide, a local named Tomás, knows every bird call in the park."
My only real complaint is the price. This is the most expensive glamping option near Bariloche by a significant margin, and while the quality justifies it, it is not a budget-friendly choice. I also found that the staff, while professional, had a slightly formal atmosphere that felt less personal than the smaller operations on this list. If you want warmth and intimacy, go somewhere else. If you want luxury and do not mind paying for it, this is the place.
Dome Tent Bariloche at Campamento Los Rápidos
Campamento Los Rápidos is located along the Río Limay, about 40 kilometers east of Bariloche on Ruta Nacional 237, in the transition zone between the lake district and the Patagonian steppe. I came here in early February specifically for the kayaking, and the dome tents were a bonus I did not expect to love as much as I did. The domes are smaller and more basic than the ones at Cerro Otto, with twin beds, a shared bathroom block, and no heating system beyond a thick sleeping bag provided by the camp. But the location, right on the river with the steppe stretching out behind you, is unlike anything else near Bariloche.
The camp is run by a collective of three friends, all under 35, who left jobs in Buenos Aires to start an adventure tourism operation. They offer kayaking, fly fishing, and mountain biking, and they cook all meals over an open fire in a communal area that doubles as a bar at night. The food is rustic but satisfying: grilled chorizo, roasted sweet potatoes, and a dessert of bananas cooked in foil with chocolate and rum that became the highlight of my trip. On my second night, one of the founders, Santiago, brought out a guitar and played folk songs until midnight, and the other guests, a mix of Argentines and Europeans, sang along.
Local Insider Tip: "Come during the week and ask for the dome closest to the river bend. The bend creates a natural pool where the current slows down, and you can swim there even though the main river is freezing. Also, bring your own fishing gear if you have it. The camp has rods, but they are basic, and the rainbow trout in this stretch of the Limay are large enough to test your equipment."
The lack of heating in the domes is a real issue. Even in February, nighttime temperatures dropped to around 5 degrees, and while the sleeping bags are warm, getting out of bed in the morning was painful. The shared bathrooms are also basic, clean but spartan, with cold water only. This is not luxury camping Bariloche style. This is roughing it with a nice tent, and you should know that before you book.
Treehouse Stay Bariloche: Cabañas del Arroyo
Cabañas del Arroyo is in the neighborhood of Melipal, about 8 kilometers from the city center along the road that leads to Llao Llao. The property has three treehouses built around mature ñire and maitén trees, each one accessed by a spiral staircase and featuring a double bed, a small balcony, and a skylight positioned directly above the bed for stargazing. I stayed in the largest treehouse, called Maitén, in late March, and the autumn colors from the balcony were so vivid they looked artificial.
The property is owned by a couple, Diego and Carolina, who built the treehouses themselves over the course of two years using reclaimed wood from a demolished warehouse in the port area of Bariloche. Diego is a carpenter by trade, and the joinery in the treehouses is genuinely impressive, with dovetail joints and hand-carved details that you would not expect in a rental property. Carolina handles the hospitality side, and she prepares a breakfast basket each morning that she leaves at the base of your staircase. The basket typically includes fresh bread, homemade jam, fruit, yogurt, and a thermos of coffee. It is a small touch, but it made me feel more cared for than any hotel I have stayed at in the region.
Local Insider Tip: "Ask Diego to show you the workshop behind the main house. He builds custom furniture for other properties in the area, and if you are there on a weekday morning, he will be working and happy to talk you through his process. He also sells small wooden objects, cutting boards and jewelry boxes, that make better souvenirs than anything you will find in the shops on Mitre Street."
The treehouses are close enough to the main road that you hear passing traffic during the day, which breaks the illusion of being in the wilderness. At night it quiets down considerably, but light sleepers might be bothered. I also found the spiral staircase tricky to navigate in the dark, and I wish they had installed a simple railing light. These are minor issues, but worth mentioning.
Glamping with a View: Altos del Sol
Altos del Sol is perched on a hilltop about 15 kilometers from Bariloche, in the area known as Paso de las Nubes, which is not the famous pass of the same name but a local residential zone with panoramic views of Lago Nahuel Huapi and the Andes. I visited in mid-February and arrived just as the sun was setting, and the view from the property's main platform, where guests gather for drinks, was the most expansive I have experienced at any glamping site in the region. You can see the entire lake, the Tronador mountain, and on a clear day, the tip of Cerro Catedral.
The property has five glamping units, each a hybrid between a cabin and a tent, with solid wooden walls on three sides and a fully transparent fourth wall made of glass panels that face the lake. The beds are positioned right against the glass, so you fall asleep looking at the water and wake up to the mountains. Each unit has a private bathroom with hot water, a small wood stove, and a deck with two Adirondack chairs. The owner, Valentina (we share a name, which I took as a good sign), is a former architect from Rosario who designed every unit herself, and the attention to detail is evident in everything from the angle of the glass wall to the placement of the electrical outlets.
Local Insider Tip: "Book the unit called Horizonte. It is the farthest from the main platform and the most private, and it has a slightly better angle toward Tronador. Also, bring binoculars. The birdlife from the deck is extraordinary. I spotted a Magellanic woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in South America, from my deck at 7 a.m. on my second morning, and Valentina told me they are common here but rarely seen by guests who do not think to look."
The hilltop location means wind, and in February, the afternoon gusts were strong enough to rattle the glass panels. It was not dangerous, but it was noisy, and I could see how it might bother someone trying to nap. The road up to the property is also unpaved and steep, and my rental car struggled with it after a rainstorm. A vehicle with higher clearance is recommended.
When to Go and What to Know
The glamping season in Bariloche runs from October through April, which covers spring, summer, and early autumn. December and January are peak season, with the longest days and warmest temperatures, but also the highest prices and the most crowded roads. I personally prefer March and early April, when the autumn colors transform the forests, the tourist crowds thin out, and the nighttime temperatures are cold enough for a wood stove but not brutal. February is the warmest month, with average highs around 22 degrees Celsius, but it is also the windiest, and wind is the one factor that can genuinely ruin a glamping experience.
Booking in advance is essential for December through February, especially for the more popular properties. I have shown up without reservations in January and been turned away everywhere. In March and April, you can often book a week ahead and still get your preferred unit. Most properties include breakfast, and many include dinner, but always confirm when you bring your own food if you are staying somewhere remote, because the nearest supermarket might be 30 kilometers away.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days are needed to see the major tourist attractions in Bariloche without feeling rushed?
Four to five full days are sufficient to cover the main attractions, including Cerro Catedral, the Llao Llao Peninsula, the Seven Lakes route, and a day on Lago Nahuel Huapi. Adding a sixth day allows for a more relaxed pace and time for spontaneous detours.
What is the safest and most reliable way to get around Bariloche as a solo traveler?
Renting a car is the most practical option, as public bus service is limited outside the city center and taxi fares add up quickly. The main roads are well paved and clearly marked. Ride-hailing apps operate in the city but are unreliable in rural areas.
Do the most popular attractions in Bariloche require advance ticket booking, especially during peak season?
Cerro Catedral ski passes and the Llao Llao hotel tour should be booked at least two weeks ahead for December through February. Boat tours on Lago Nahuel Huapi can often be booked same-day in March and April but sell out in January.
Is it possible to walk between the main sightseeing spots in Bariloche, or is local transport necessary?
The city center is walkable, but the major attractions are spread across a wide area. Cerro Catedral is 20 kilometers from downtown, the Llao Llao Peninsula is 25 kilometers, and Villa La Angostura is 80 kilometers. Local transport or a rental car is necessary for anything beyond the central grid.
What are the best free or low-cost tourist places in Bariloche that are genuinely worth the visit?
The Costanera walk along Lago Nahuel Huapi is free and offers the best views in the city. The Civic Center and the Museo de la Patagonia have minimal entrance fees and provide genuine historical context. The Colonia Suiza fair, held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, is free to enter and features local crafts and food at reasonable prices.
Enjoyed this guide? Support the work
