San Martin de los Andes: Lake Boat Tour to Hua Hum

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Duration7h

GroupUp to 116

LanguagesEN · ES

Mobile ticketAccepted

Small boats reach the waterfall; tour buses stop at the gate

You board at Lake Lácar's pier and spend the day crossing two glacial lakes with five stops: Quila Quina beach, Chachín Waterfall in the Valdivian Forest, Hua Hum Port near the Chilean border, and Santa Teresita Island. A bilingual guide narrates the 28-kilometer route through Lanín National Park, and you have free time at each stop for lunch, walking, or photos. The boat returns to the starting pier by late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Boat tour on Lakes Lacar and Nonthue

Meet at pier 15 minutes early
Collect boarding tickets at pier office
Begin navigation on Lake Lacar
Visit Quila Quina beaches and residential area
Have lunch at Quila Quina restaurant (not included)
Stop at Chachín Port and see waterfall
Continue to Hua Hum Port near Hua Hum River
Explore border area near Chile crossing
Stop at Santa Teresita Island and visit chapel
Return to starting pier

The Experience

The boat leaves the pier at Lake Lácar, and you're moving into the kind of landscape that makes you understand why people settled here in the first place. The water is so clear you can see down, and the Andes rise straight up from the shoreline — no gradual slope, just rock and forest and the weight of the mountains. You're crossing 28 kilometers of water that came from glaciers, and the guide (bilingual, so you get the full story) points out the sub-Antarctic forest pressing in on both sides. It's not crowded — the tour needs at least 10 people to run, which means you're never jammed into the boat with fifty others.

The first real stop is Quila Quina, a residential area on the southern edge of Lake Lácar with beaches and a restaurant where you can grab lunch if you want (it's not included, so you either pack something or eat there). After that the boat navigates a narrow channel between the two lakes — you feel it shift as you move from Lácar into Nonthue — and then you're at Chachín Port. The waterfall here is about 30 meters high, dropping straight out of the Valdivian Forest into the lake. You get time to walk around, take photos, or just stand there and listen to the water. It's the kind of stop where you realize how quiet everything is.

The last two stops are Hua Hum Port, a few meters from the river mouth where the border with Chile is only 4 kilometers away, and then Santa Teresita Island on the way back — a small rocky island with a chapel and Patagonian forest covering most of it. By the time you're heading back to the pier where you started, you've seen five different places and understood why this part of Argentina matters. The whole thing is built around the boat schedule, so you're not managing timing or transport yourself — you show up 15 minutes before departure, collect your boarding ticket at the office on the pier, and the day unfolds from there.

What’s included

Your day includes the boarding ticket, a bilingual guide for the full route, and access to all five stops across Lakes Lácar and Nonthue: Quila Quina beach, Chachín Port with its 30-meter waterfall, Hua Hum Port near the Chilean border, and Santa Teresita Island.
Lunch is not included, though a restaurant operates at Quila Quina during the stop.
You arrange your own transport to and from the pier, though public transportation is available nearby.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Tangol

Is this one for you?This works well if you want to see the glacial lakes and Lanín National Park without arranging your own boat or managing multiple stops — the fixed route and bilingual guide handle the navigation and history, leaving you to spend time at each place as you choose.