Cajon del Azul, Patagonia, Argentina
4.5 (245 reviews) Spent Ranking #2 in Province of Rio Negro Bodies of Water
Beautiful place to stay
The hike up to Cajon del Azul is an easy 2.5 hours from Wharton. There are some fairly steep ups and downs but nothing too extreme & none go on for very long. We used this as a test hike for a friend who had recently injured her knee & it was fine. There are some lovely views & most of the way is through shady forest. The cajon itself is a beautiful shade of blue & a lovely place to relax, or go swimming if you can brave the cold water. Make sure you hike up to the Nacimiento. We stayed at the Cajon del Azul refigio & campsite for 2 nights & loved it. We were greeted warmly by the owner with a cup of tea. Big shady campsite with a nice cooking area. I stayed in the refugio while my friends were out in their tent. Refugio accommodation is the standard mattress on the floor & you need your own sleeping bag. The mattresses are crammed in touching each other so there is very little space for belongings or even to walk between them.You can pay a little extra to use the showers. Refugio guests technically have use of the kitchen but it would be difficult to cook there as it is also a working kitchen making food to sell to guests. The food they make is good & wine is reasonably priced considering somebody had to carry it up there. My favourite thing was that they have a vegetable garden so you can buy fresh vegetables for a very reasonable price.
Address
, El Bolson, Argentina.
Current local date and time now
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 8:51
User Ratings
4.5 based on (245 reviews)
Reviews
-
5210Amelia 5:00 PM Jan 25, 2020
Excellent hike but some logistics worth noting
This is a must-do activity in El Bolson, absolutely gorgeous hike that's easily do-able in one day. However we want to leave some comments particularly for English-language travellers about the logistics: 1. Buses in the morning leave from Av San Martin near the Feria, heading to Wharton which is the location of the trailhead. They're the orange and white colectivos. We caught the one at 8am, which is advisable to ensure you have plenty of time for the hike, and also because the buses are infrequent. In high season there can be big crowds of people with camping gear wanting to take the bus, so best to get to the bus stop as early as possible. 2. Return buses from Wharton to El Bolson in the afternoon leave at 1.45pm, 5.45pm and 7.45pm. 3. Everyone who enters the national park must register with the parks authority. This can be done in person at Wharton, however we had to wait in line for about an hour because there was only one person working the stand and it's a slow process. We noticed people had somehow registered online and didn't have to line up. We'd strongly recommend asking your hotel/hostel about this, as it's a massive time saver.
-
5Sarah I 5:00 PM Mar 3, 2016
Beautiful place to stay
The hike up to Cajon del Azul is an easy 2.5 hours from Wharton. There are some fairly steep ups and downs but nothing too extreme & none go on for very long. We used this as a test hike for a friend who had recently injured her knee & it was fine. There are some lovely views & most of the way is through shady forest. The cajon itself is a beautiful shade of blue & a lovely place to relax, or go swimming if you can brave the cold water. Make sure you hike up to the Nacimiento. We stayed at the Cajon del Azul refigio & campsite for 2 nights & loved it. We were greeted warmly by the owner with a cup of tea. Big shady campsite with a nice cooking area. I stayed in the refugio while my friends were out in their tent. Refugio accommodation is the standard mattress on the floor & you need your own sleeping bag. The mattresses are crammed in touching each other so there is very little space for belongings or even to walk between them.You can pay a little extra to use the showers. Refugio guests technically have use of the kitchen but it would be difficult to cook there as it is also a working kitchen making food to sell to guests. The food they make is good & wine is reasonably priced considering somebody had to carry it up there. My favourite thing was that they have a vegetable garden so you can buy fresh vegetables for a very reasonable price.
