Huinganco

Huinganco is 5 km from Andacollo and 490 km from Neuquén city, on the left bank of the Neuquén River, in the Enchanted Valley (Valle Encantado). Surrounded by rugged mountains and forests, it is a picturesque village of rustic buildings with 1,144 residents (2022 census). Its forestry and gardens earned it the nickname “the Garden of Neuquén”. From the village you can see Cerro La Corona, 2,990 metres high.

Things to do

• Tree and Wood Museum: shows a slice of the oldest cypress in the Cordillera del Viento, about 1,200 years old, along with petrified trunks and historic tools.
• Cañada Molina Protected Natural Area: very close to the village, it protects Andean cypresses over 1,200 years old.
• The community nursery: founded in 1968, it gave rise to the country’s first community forest.

Climate

Rainy winters, with frequent snow and temperatures between 5 and −20 °C. Dry, mild summers with cool nights.

History

The area was settled in the late 19th century because of mining. In the 1960s, as mining and livestock declined, Temístocles and Rogelio Figueroa founded a community nursery that grew to employ 160 people, raising conifers and native species. Its name comes from Mapuche: “stream of the huinganes”, a local shrub.

Distances: 5 km from Andacollo · 490 km from Neuquén city