Cerro Tronador
Cerro Tronador
4.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles4,431 reviews
Excellent
3,172
Very good
993
Average
201
Poor
45
Terrible
20

Andries J
England, UK3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
From Bariloche, we rode a bus to Pampas Linda, where we hiked to the 300-foot-tall waterfalls that flow from the Castano Overa glacier on Mount Tronador. The entire journey through a beautiful old growth forest was breathtaking. The nine miles round trip hike is comparatively easy, with perhaps only a thousand feet of elevation gain. The bus ride's lake and forest scenery was equally breathtaking. There are several lovely campgrounds along the lakeshore, so we wish we had planned to camp and spend more time here.
Written July 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

seadie166
156 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2015 • Couples
My wife and I visited here recently and decided rather than take a tour that we'd rent a car and enjoy exploring the area by ourselves. I'd recommend this as the driving is simple (even for being on the opposite side to N.Ireland) and its much easier to stop where you'd like and see the amazing views. It takes about 3 hours from Bariloche, and when in the park the road is gravel, but we had a basic car and it was fine. The road in the park is one way at certain times so you need to be going up between 10:30 and 14:00, and leaving between 16:00 and 18:00. This sounds complicated but its not at all, and makes the road much easier and safer to drive on. I'd recommend leaving Bariloche around 9:30. We used Correntoso car hire on Mitre street as they spoke English, had unlimited km and had good insurance options. The staff were great and the car (while not new and flash) was perfect for what we needed so we'd recommend them. Enjoy!
Written October 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AALarry
Mountain Springs, Texas14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2017 • Couples
We had read other posts saying you should hire guides at $95 per person. The road was in good condition and they limit driving to inbound until 1400 (2:00 P.M) and outbound from 1600 to 1800 which worked really well as you didn't have to worry about oncoming traffic.

Views were unreal, we read a post saying their guide told them to watch the glacier for ice falling off and not waiting to hear the ice falling off because it would be too late. Great trip, we watched for about 45 minutes and saw ice fall of 3 times, each time you would see it, then, you would hear it and had we not known this, we never would have seen it!
Written November 16, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

StephenNorthernNV
Northern NV110 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2017 • Couples
Cerro Tronador is not easy to get there, but it's worth the journey. The turn off of Route 40 is 35 kilometers south of Bariloche. The maps show a town near the turn off to the mountain, but don't be fooled. A two building entity does not make a town. The turn off is just past a bridge. Look very carefully for the one sign 500 meters before the turn. Then you can anticipate a 1.25 hour drive on a gravel road. The views along the way are spectacular. Be sure and walk 800 meters to the waterfall just past the large tea restaurant. It was amazing! The cafe at the base of the mountain is nice, but no amazing views from there. One way roads during certain times of the day.
Written March 12, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jo W
Gold Coast, Australia9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2016 • Friends
Hire a car for the day, it's about $90 Aus and get a free map from the info centre. You'll need $150 pesos per person in cash for park fees. The drive is beautiful with plenty of places to stop on the way and admire the lakes and mountains. You'll get to the Black Glacier which is stunning. Cerro Tronodor is a short and lovely walk from the Black Glacier car park. Look out for the short walk to the base of the mountain near the waterfall. On the way back, pop into Cascada Los Angeles. It's worth it!
Written October 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ray C
Bray, Ireland119 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2011 • Family
The hike up to the glacier can be undertaken on horseback for the first part or by foot. I went by foot and the scenery during the ascent becomes more and more breathtaking, with the thunder-like booms of the glacier regularly in the background. The hike, starting at Hosteria Pampa Linda, which I took with two friends and their five children is moderately challenging and took about five hours to reach the refugio where we spent the night. The refuge is at the edge of the glacier - the views were stunning with mountain peaks in very direction, condors flying below us, seeing the majesty of the glacier and it's crevasses up close and playing in the snowfields. The refuge is basic and very cheap, and offers warmth. There is a canteen where bikers can buy food. Standing outside the refuge in the snow at midnight is an unforgettable experience with the clearest sky I have ever seen with countless stars, and satellites scurrying across - the vastness of the universe was never so real to me. One of the best experiences of my life.
Written August 26, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jerzy G
Olsztyn, Poland1,823 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Do not expect an easy day... And plan your trip well... We made the trip with a rented cmall car and it was great. It is easy to drive to the park entrance but then the drive on the dirt road is demanding. And remember that the road is open for traffic in different directions at different times. The views are great. And do not limit tour visit to just the view point to the Tronador and Black Glacier but plan the waterfall also... Listen to the roar of cracking ice... Enjoy the views... Be prepared for strong and cold wind... Remember that the road from Pampa Linda is closed for traffic downwards until 4 p.m. And going on your own can be much better than going with a group...Then you can take your time and see everything at your own pace...
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Allen R
Depoe Bay, OR104 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
First, make sure you plan out the trip due to the main part of the road only being opened one-way for several hours. We went up in a very small rental car but I sure wish I had my Suburban from back home. Road was rough but very good, but it rattled our bones in the cheap rental.
On the way up is several stops with beautiful lookouts. Just like the rest of the Bariloche area, there are great lakes with towering mountains all around. Near the top you'll come to Black Glacier which is worth the trip by itself. When there you can hear the reason for this mountain's name. As the glaciers fall off or the landslides come down, it sounds like thunder through the valley.
Keep going up the road and you come to a great little stop and restaurant. Just light items but they had french fries, chocolate cake and beer. Yep, that was our lunch. From their parking lot you walk up the path to the creek area from the glacier runoff. Keep going up the harder to climb path and it will lead you right to the side of the mountain and some great cliffs and numerous waterfalls. Have fun and remember, it's cold up there.
Written December 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marty R
Piermont, New York, United States25 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2014 • Couples
El Tronador is a dormant volcano with glacial ice that cracks and thunders, hence the name. At its base is the "black" ice of the Manso glacier, which has receded dramatically since the 1940s due to global warming.
We chose to drive here from Bariloche, and after seeing the endless white tour vans do the obligatory quick stops I'm glad we took more time. Be prepared, once you turn into the park off the main highway, to drive at between 10 and 40 km on extremely rutted and stone-covered narrow dirt roads. While it's just 28 km to the base of El Tronador, it took about 90 minutes of driving time to get there.
The views along the route are spectacular: Moscardi Lake, the snow-capped Andes, incredible rock formations.
Also, if you're driving yourself there, check out the hours in which the road is one way for incoming vehicles and one way for outgoing. The tours vans work around that schedule, also, of course.
The walkway from the parking lot to beneath the waterfall at the mountain is also quite rocky, with a very short, steep set of steps that looked challenging for some visitors. It's worth the effort if you've come this far!
There is a small restaurant here. Good coffee, great apple strudel, and a simple and forgettable menu of hamburgers with or without add-ons.
Afterwards, we doubled back to a hiking trail we spotted at Pampa Linda and set out for a good four-hour trek -- we just doubled back on one of the trails. Well-marked and beautiful.
Written January 7, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David68_11
Guildford, UK77 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2013 • Friends
We were staying in the Bariloche area, so it seemed an obvious trip to visit Tronador, which is not a great distance away. However, much of the road is an unpaved ripio, which made it seem further! Initially we were lulled into a false sense of security as Route 40 south from Bariloche to Villa Mascardi proved to be a very good road, quite wide and with a lovely smooth surface. However, as soon as we turned off onto Route 81, we were greeted with our first experience of a ripio, which was unpaved, and whilst generally quite flat, there were loose rocks in places on the surface and occasional unexpected bumps. We soon found out why most of the local rental cars were anything but free of dents and scrapes! Also, two things to bear in mind - almost immediately after joining Route 81, you enter the National Park, with a fee of (I think) 100 pesos per person payable, and there is a system of one-way traffic on Routes 81 and 82 - in our case this meant we could only go into the park up to 2pm, and only come out after 4pm. Apart from lots of dust, there was not a lot to see for the first few kilometres, but once we got good views of Lago Mascardi, things improved dramatically. There is a viewpoint about halfway up the western edge of the lake, and this is well worth a stop for the stunning views especially if the sun is on the lake which then has a magnificent turquoise colour. From there on, the views of Cerro Tronador begin to appear with increasing frequency provided it is free of clouds - its snow capped peak is really splendid. After Pampa Linda (where there is a cafe/restaurant, whose service is not the quickest, but who cares with the views available), the road, which now appears to be slightly less rough, climbs up to a dead-end from which you can climb up to waterfalls, and further if you have sufficient time. Near the end of the road, there is also a glacier to which you can walk, but it appeared to be disappointingly dirty, being largely muddy brown. Altogether, it makes a great day out, but do not go with an empty fuel tank as there is nowhere to refuel after you leave the main road.
Written March 27, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Cerro Tronador - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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