Cruce a Nado del Lago Aluminé

Under the volcanic ridge of Batea Mahuida, Lake Aluminé holds an unexpected midsummer anomaly for northern Patagonia: deep Andean water that warms to pleasant, comfortable temperatures. Cruce a Nado del Lago Aluminé is an open water swimming race in Lake Aluminé, a mountain lake at Villa Pehuenia in the province of Neuquén, Argentina. Swimmers gather on the north coast of the lake at the Muelle Turístico y Recreativo, where the starting line opens directly from the village pier into open water. Stepping off the shoreline, you encounter striking visibility across the shallows before the bottom drops away into the deep mountain basin. The event takes place in January, at the peak of the southern summer season.

Swimmers can choose between two distinct challenges: a 1,000-metre participatory swim designed for those seeking an accessible distance, and a 3,200-metre competitive crossing that spans the wider lake waters. While Andean waters in nearby mountain basins can run cold, Lake Aluminé provides a welcoming environment, offering transparent waters and pleasant temperatures that make sustained open water swimming comfortable. Once the pack launches into the lake, swimmers navigate open stretches where sighting relies on shore landmarks and marker buoys bobbing on the surface. The race is organized by Santiago Manuel Ruiz with the support of the Municipality of Villa Pehuenia Moquehue. At the finish line, competitors receive category awards featuring medals and local gifts. The atmosphere is enriched by live music and a bustling fair featuring local artisans and producers.

Lake Aluminé and the Batea Mahuida volcano

Looming over the northern shoreline of the lake is the Batea Mahuida volcano, a commanding volcanic formation that rises to an elevation of 1,948 metres. The surrounding landscape remains remarkably open and untamed, as the land enclosing the lake is not protected by any national park. Swimming through this wide expanse offers a rare sense of solitude beneath high Andean ridges. Lake Aluminé forms the primary source of the Aluminé River, serving as the starting point of an expansive river network. The lake itself is fed by the continuous outflow of neighbouring Lake Moquehue, which discharges its waters through a narrow natural channel approximately 400 metres in length. From the northern mountain springs, several streams merge high in the cordillera to form the Litrán River.

This river runs from north to south before emptying into Lake Aluminé on its northeastern shore. Together, these combined watercourses form part of the vast upper basin of the Aluminé and Collón Curá rivers, which eventually make their long journey toward the Atlantic Ocean. From its northeastern edge, Lake Icalma drains through the 10-kilometre-long Rukanuco River. Together with nearby Lake Galletué, it forms the headwaters of the mighty Biobío River. Laguna Galletué itself rests in a narrow valley enclosed by snow-capped mountain ranges that feed it through rapid alpine streams. Historical accounts from a 1924 description record that this lagoon spans an area of 9 square kilometres at an altitude of 1,163 metres, while other records note the Biobío River beginning here at 1,350 metres.

The lagoon was once preserved within the Galletué National Reserve, which was established in 1991 and later decommissioned in 1997. Today, the body of water is situated between two protected expanses: the China Muerta National Reserve and the Alto Biobío National Reserve.

Pehuén forests and the Chañy reserve shores

The western shores of Lake Aluminé form part of the Valdivian temperate rain forest ecoregion. Throughout the surrounding area grows the pehuen, the endangered monkey-puzzle tree. Around neighbouring Lake Moquehue, extensive Patagonian Andean forests thrive with an abundant presence of pehuenes. Approximately seven kilometres from the race venue, the area forms the northern boundary of the Chañy natural reserve. This protected area is shaped as a rectangle aligned in a northeast-southwest orientation, centered on the flow of the Chany stream. The riparian environment around Lake Aluminé shelters a diverse population of aquatic birds, including the white-tufted grebe, the ruddy duck, the spectacled duck, the red-gartered coot, the Andean gull, and the ringed kingfisher. In the waters of neighbouring Lake Moquehue, healthy populations of salmonids are well established, making them a primary attraction for visiting tourists. Similarly, sport fishing is popular at the mouth where the Litrán River discharges into Lake Aluminé, where anglers primarily target small to medium-sized rainbow trout.

Villa Pehuenia and its twin peninsulas

On the lake's northern edge, the charming mountain village of Villa Pehuenia extends across five kilometres of coastline. Two narrow peninsulas extend straight out into the waters of Lake Aluminé. These slender projections create varied stretches of shore where competitors can walk before the race and watch the morning water ripple under the early mountain sun. Human history in this part of the Andes is closely linked with the landscape. Along the eastern shore of nearby Lake Moquehue sits a Mapuche community. The crossing of Lake Aluminé combines the thrill of distance swimming in clean Andean water with the tranquil atmosphere of a remote Patagonian haven.