San Martín de los Andes

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Cities and towns
in Argentina

San Martín de los Andes

Province	Neuquén
Department	Lácar
Location	40°10′ S 071°21′ W
Population	23,519
Demonym	—
Area	140 km²
Elevation	640 m AMSL
Phone code	+54 2972
CPA base	Q8370
Mayor	Luz Sapag
Party	Movimiento Popular Neuquino Party

San Martín de los Andes is a village in the province of Neuquén, Argentina. It is located in the Lácar Department in the south-west of the province, at the foot of the Andes, beside the Lácar Lake, 45 km from the border with Chile and about 1,545 km from Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 24,000 inhabitants in town and throughout its surrounding area (2001 census [INDEC]).

[edit] Tourism

San Martín de los Andes, modeled like a European style alpine village, was founded on 4 February 1898. At present, either for the ski season or the summer, it is a popular destination for tourism, and the seat of the intendency of the Lanín National Park. Its landscape is one of the most spectacular of Patagonia.

In the summer, adventure sports like kayaking, mountain biking, trekking, rafting, horse riding and others are popular.

The beautiful Seven Lakes' pebbled road, takes you to Villa La Angostura, the Los Arrayanes National Park and the Nahuel Huapi lake.

Chapelco is one of the most important ski centres in Argentina and South America for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding amongst others.

Handcrafted artisan arts & crafts and local culinary delicacies like gourmet chocolates, pastries, organic jams and preserves. Patagonian cuisine and tea houses abound. Alpine-style hotels, lodgings and cabins available troughout.

The city is serviced by the Chapelco Airport (IATA: CPC, ICAO: SAZY), which is 22 km away (at 40°5′S, 71°8′W).

Hua-Hum international pass for travel to Panguipulli in Chile lies only 45 km from San Martín de los Andes. It is one of the few passes between Chile and Argentina that are open all year round.