Varvarco

Varvarco is in northern Neuquén, where the Neuquén and Varvarco rivers meet, more than 1,300 metres above sea level. It is a small village of 503 residents (2022 census), surrounded by mountains and landscapes of great geological value. It was selected among the 55 Argentine destinations competing for UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Villages label.

Things to do

It lies below Mount Domuyo, the highest mountain in Patagonia at 4,707 metres, within the Domuyo Protected Natural Area.

• The Los Tachos geysers and the hot springs of Aguas Calientes and Las Olletas.
• The Los Bolillos rock formations.
• The Colomichicó archaeological site.
• Its seasonal-herding (transhumance) culture and the songs of the “cantoras”, who pass down the stories of northern Neuquén from generation to generation.

Climate

Summers are usually warm and winters cold and harsh: the lowest temperature on record is −26 °C.

History

The Varvarco valley was a stronghold of the Pincheira brothers, Chilean royalist outlaws who raided towns in south-central Chile between 1817 and 1832, allied with Pehuenche chiefs. A village of some 6,000 people grew up in the area.

Distances: 18 km from Manzano Amargo · Minas department