San Carlos De Bariloche Hotels

San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche, is a city in the province of Neuquen, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by lakes (Nahuel Huapi, Gutiérrez Lake, Moreno Lake and Mascardi Lake) and mountains (Tronador, Cerro Catedral, Cerro Lopez). It is famous for skiing but also known for sight-seeing, water sports, trekking and climbing. Cerro Catedral is one of the most important ski centers in South America.
The name Bariloche comes from the Mapudungun word Vuriloche meaning "people from behind the mountain. The Vuriloche pass was used by the Poyas to cross the Andes and was kept secret from the European priests for a long time.
The first Spaniard to visit the zone of Nahuel Huapi Lake was the Jesuit priest Diego de Rosales. Diego de Rosales was ordered to the area by the Governor of Chile Francisco Antonio de Acuña Cabrera y Bayona who was concerned about the unrest of the native Puelches and Poyas after the slave hunting expeditions carried out by Luis Ponce de León in 1649. Diego de Rosales, who beginning at the ruins of Villarica in Chile, crossed the Andes probably through Mamuil Malal Pass, and then traveled further south along the eastern Andean valleys until reaching Nahuel Huapi Lake in 1650.
In 1672 the Jesuits established in Chiloé Island founded a mission in the Nahuel Huapi Lake that lasted until 1717