Azul river (Blue river)

One of the places you can not miss in Lago Puelo is the Azul river (Blue river). The clear waters of this river are coming down from the mountains and finishes draining in the Puelo lake as a delta. There are two bridges that cross the Azul river, one of them is no more than 2 kilometers from the town center by Route Nº 16 to El Bolson. The way to reach it is well signposted on the road; a sign indicates where to turn, then cross the bridge over the Golondrinas stream, cross a section of the area called La Isla (The Island) where there are a lot of new houses and following the signs you can reached the river.

The Azul river shows a series of pools that makes that this place becomes a popular beach on hot sumer days. The footbridge is only for 8 pedestrian at a time. While crossing the river we can see its clear waters, the stones of the riverbed, and the surrounding hills as the Currumahuida, Motoco, Piltriquitrón and Tres Picos.

Crossing the river we arrived to a beautiful and quiet place, very green, ideal for picnicking; the camping is called "Motoco Cárdenas" and managed by a Mapuche community. Several trails start from here for lovers of trekking, of varying length and difficulty as those to Motoco Refuge, the Laguna Huemul, Los Hitos and to a nearby waterfall.

The footpath to this beautiful waterfall is easily visible, crossing the sectors where this community work we reached a forest and crossed a stream. Crossing it is possible to approach the waterfall, of several meters height and immersed into the green vegetation.

It's a nice trail that has no major difficulties, we did it walking from the center but you can go by car to the footbridge, or by bus to the turnoff on the road and then walk.

I hope you enjoyed this ride that offers Lago Puelo, my place in the world...