Huinganco: Forests and Mountain Landscapes

Huinganco brings together pine and cypress forests, clear streams, and mountain views with a history of community forestry. If you’re looking for a hotel for a trip to Huinganco, you can start planning your destination around your interests: trails and mountain scenery, community forestry history, or regional cuisine.

Forests, Trails, and Mountain Scenery

The well-marked trails in Huinganco wind through pine and cypress forests and along clear streams. They also offer panoramic views of the Cordillera del Viento. This brings together two aspects of the landscape to consider when planning your trip: the nature along the trails and the views of the mountain range. Huinganco offers opportunities for trekking and horseback riding. If you’re planning around the type of activity, these options differ mainly in whether you want to travel on foot or on horseback.

Cerro La Corona is the highest peak in the Cordillera del Viento, rising to almost 3,000 meters above sea level; Laguna Huinganco lies at the foot of Cerro La Corona. The Sendero Raimapu trail runs along Cerro de la Cruz in Huinganco.

Community Forest and Cypress Heritage

Argentina’s first community forest and the forestry nursery in Huinganco laid the foundations for a community-based development model built around environmental protection and collective work. Reforestation through the community forest project reached 3,700 cultivated hectares.

The Museo del Árbol y la Madera houses a cypress tree that is more than 1,200 years old. Surrounded by petrified tree trunks and native species, it is one of the oldest specimens in the Cordillera del Viento. Two distinct aspects stand out here: the community forest represents community-based forestry development, while the museum tree is a single, very old cypress specimen.

Nearby ANP Cañada Molina

Located near Huinganco, ANP Cañada Molina adds a protected stand to the area’s cypress heritage. It protects Patagonia’s northernmost relict cypress stand, which is also the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere. According to University of Tucson studies, some trees are 1,300 years old. You can explore the area on foot along marked trails. Unlike the single tree in the museum, this is an entire relict stand.

Regional Cuisine

Huinganco’s regional cuisine includes chivito criollo, a typical specialty of northern Neuquén. This brings cuisine into view as part of the region’s character, alongside its forests and natural attractions.

Getting There by Road

Find more destinations in the overview: From the provincial capital of Neuquén, head north to Huinganco via National Routes 22 and 40 and Provincial Route 43. The route is about 470 kilometers long, almost entirely paved, and includes an approximately 8-kilometer gravel section. Check the route and road surface before setting out.

To the broader travel overview: Minas Department.