An unavoidable stop at the Pehuenia circuit is Lake Ñorquinco. The primitive camping site resting on its shore invites visitors to stay and experience its charming quietness.
Cascades, magnificent monkey-puzzle woodlands, water mirrors that shine in various shades of blue and green, high rocky walls with textures of nature, all this is contained by the Pehuenia circuit. Visitors should go there with enough time to spare and drive carefully around it. Not only as a precaution, as the road is mostly made of gravel, but also because each stretch of the scenery is amazing and makes everybody stop to have a better view.
We started the itinerary at Aluminé and took Provincial Route 23 early in a very sunny morning. The detour into Route 11 lies approximately 20 kilometers away and a gravel road starts there. Bordering the Pulmarí River, we crossed the landscape that comes close to the mountain range, where ancient slender monkey-puzzle trees stand out. Shortly after getting past Lake Pulmarí, one of these old native trees was blocking the road. Therefore, we had to stop and wait for the road authorities to clear the way. As we continued driving, we just had 4 kilometers to go in order to reach the camping site on the shores of Lake Ñorquinco, on the northern end of the Lanín National Park.
Natural Life
We arrived in the ecological camping site at noon. It was the ideal time for a picnic under the shady trees. As we waited for Daniela, who has been the manager and mentor of this undertaking for the last 15 years, we toured around the venue, which spreads along the northern shore of Lake Ñorquinco. The woodlands reach the white sandy beach and Nompehuén creek crosses the camping site and ends in the lake. All this makes up a magical and pleasant environment. Aldo arrived before Daniela. He is in charge of organizing several workshops, including bio construction, tai chi chuan and archery. All these activities, though diverse, share something in common: beholding nature and learning from it by wisely using the resources it provides. As we talked, Aldo showed us an adobe construction he was raising and then we practiced some bow shooting.
As we returned from the forest, Daniela was already waiting for us. Always smiling, she commented that the ecological camping site was the first undertaking of
Corporación Interestadual Pulmarí in 1993 and that she has been in charge of the venue ever since. As a good rural teacher, Daniela is in charge of guiding visitors on an interpretative tour around the area. She showed us the
Chenque (cave), an oak tree grove and the site where Juan Benigar's son lived, a distinguished character in the area. After having some
mates, we said good-bye to Daniela in order to keep on visiting Pehuenia. We promised that we would bring our tent and ask for enough days off to stay on the shores of the Ñorquinco next time.
Due to the distribution of the pieces of ground, the camping site provides privacy in a pleasant environment. It provides cold and hot water; there is a convenience store, grills and amusing activities, among other services.
