Pehuén trees
Umbrella branches.
Matías Cordero — CC0 · Ayi.funes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rubén Daniel De Bona — Public domain · Matías Cordero — CC0
Rucachoroi is a small, beautiful lake in Lanín National Park west of the town of Aluminé; its Mapuche name means «house of parrots». It fills a broad valley between the Rucachoroi, Negro and Chohue Cura hills and drains into the Aluminé river basin. Its glory is its pehuén forests, the majestic monkey-puzzle araucaria with umbrella-like branches: its shores are counted as the largest stand of pehuén forest in the Argentine Andes, mixed with lenga. Because the road in is narrow and very steep and almost no one lives on its shores, it has stayed away from crowds and kept its plants and wildlife intact. The Lanín National Park fee applies, and the gravel road is hard in places, so drive carefully in a suitable vehicle. Autumn is loveliest, when the lengas turn red among the green pehuenes.
Umbrella branches.
Red lengas.
Far from crowds.
Lanín National Park, west of Aluminé, Neuquén
«House of parrots» in Mapuche; its shores hold the largest pehuén forest in the Argentine Andes.