The Circuito Chico is a 17 mile (27 kilometer loop) loop to the west of Bariloche that allows you to experience the Patagonia landscape in different ways. Previously, we had the chance to explore this area via kayak, boat tour, and hikes, so cycling through these forests was the perfect adventure to round out our time in the Lake District of Argentine Patagonia.
While this loop can be done easily by car, in the summer, you can rent a bike to do the whole circuit from Circuito Chico Adventure. This is exactly what we wanted to do (recommended to us by a friend) so we could take our time and take in the landscape.
Below is a deeper dive into our day exploring Circuito Chico, including our recommendation of what to do before and after the loop, our bike recommendations, and some helpful tips if you want to do the same activities as us!
What to Do Before Biking the Circuit...
If you travel like us, you want to pack in your days touring a destination and you’ll end up needing a vacation from your vacation. If this isn’t you, then you may want to pack in your day this one time for this viewpoint.
AEROSILLA CERRO CAMPANARIO
This activity opens at 9 AM, making it the perfect thing to do before the Circuito Chico (since the bike rental opens at 10 AM). The Cerro Campanario is a beautiful viewpoint of the Bariloche area and surrounding lakes, just an easy chair-lift ride away. We would recommend getting there a little before 9 AM. There are large tour-buses that stop here and the line can get long, causing for a heftier wait and a crowded viewpoint.
To get here, we took an easy bus from the Bariloche center and were dropped off right at the entrance of the activity. We used the Google Maps application to determine the logistics of getting to our destination in Bariloche. Once we got the the entrance of the aerosilla (chair-lift), we were quickly able to purchase our tickets at the office.
There are views to the left and the right of the chairlift that give panoramic vistas of the surrounding lakes and mountains.
After you return back down, you can walk .4 miles (.65 kilometers) from the base of the chair-lift to Circuito Chico Adventure to pick up your rental bike.
The Circuito Chico and Our Stops
Circuito Chico Adventure - Renting a Bike
Circuito Chico Adventure is the starting point of the Circuito Chico and place to rent bikes, including e-bikes. If you are not going to the Aerosilla Cerro Campanario prior to the Circuito Chico, you can take a bus directly from Bariloche to this destination.
There is more information about the bike rentals on their website and you can reserve your bike in advance via WhatsApp. The company provides a detailed map, mountain bikes or e-bikes, a helmet, a safety vest, and a bike lock. We opted for e-bikes because we wanted to enjoy the route rather than struggle through the day. (Chicago is pretty flat so we haven’t had the best hill training.) However, if you got those pandemic Peleton workouts in, take that training to the test with a motor-less bike!
When you arrive at Circuito Chico Adventure, you will get a map of the route and instructions. The following descriptions of the stops are in the order that we did them in. We also include the helpful tips that the bike company conveyed to us that we found useful. We did the loop in a clock-wise direction and enjoyed this order of activities.
B. Punto Panoramico - Circuito Chico
This is a great panoramic viewpoint of the lakes around Bariloche. There are some signs at the viewpoint that call out the different mountains and lakes that you can see. You’ll definitely want to stop here to take some photos!
C. Colonia Suiza
Founded by a Swiss family, this little village is an interesting juxtaposition between Swiss inspiration in tea houses and architecture and traditional Patagonian food preparation style of curanto or asado. The path to the village is a dirt road and the one drawn on this map is the one recommended to us.
D. Berlina
Berlina is an independent craft brewery outside of the Colonia Suiza. They have a truly wide variety of beers that range from standard to experimental. This is a nice place to stop right after touring through Colonia Suiza. They have a bike rack where you can lock up your bike as well.
E. Cerveza Patagonia
The Patagonia brewery opens at 12 pm. If you arrive here before it opens (and are on an e-bike), I recommend you continue on to visit Colonia Suiza and return to visit after it opens to avoid wasting time waiting.
This brewery is no longer independent and is one of the most successful craft breweries in Latin America, now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. They have bike racks to lock up your bike and enjoy the brewery grounds. The location provides a number of different beers on tap along with different burgers and empanadas. All of this can be enjoyed on their lawn with beautiful views. This is where we stopped for lunch.
F. Mirador Bahia Lopez
Another great viewpoint of the beautiful landscape of this Patagonia region. It is the first stop of the Parque Municipal Llao-Llao, a park with different hiking trails and beaches to take advantage of. This particular viewpoint is on the left side of the road if following this loop and is clearly indicated with a boardwalk.
G. Cerro Llao Llao
Because we had a few hours left in our bike rental, we opted to hike to Cerro Llao Llao, an impressive viewpoint within the Parque Municipal Llao-Llao. It is the best viewpoint that we have been to in this region and was definitely worth the extra effort.
Parking Option 1
The first option for parking your bike before hiking up to the Cerro Llao Llao viewpoint is at the end of a dirt path off of the main route. We locked up our bikes around the trees that are found at the end of the parking area near the start of the hike. By using this parking location, you will have a shorter hike up to Cerro Llao Llao.
Parking Option 2
The second option for parking your bike before hiking up to the Cerro Llao Llao viewpoint is right off of the main route and is the official start of the hike. By using this parking location, you will have a longer hike up to Cerro Llao Llao but you will not have to bike down a dirt road.
The Cerro Llao Llao Hike
This viewpoint is at the end of a medium-difficulty hike. We found this to be one of the best views in the Bariloche area. I recommend making time on your Circuito Chico loop to do this hike. From parking option 1, it took us an hour. We were told that from parking option 2, it would take 1.5 hours.
After this hike, we biked back to the Circuito Chico Adventure to return our bikes. We got back to the shop around 5:30 PM, making this a long and fulfilling day of touring.