Nahuel Huapi Lake

Nahuel Huapi is a large glacial lake among the forests and mountains of the northern Patagonian Andes. Long arms reach into valleys on its western side, while its eastern outlet feeds the Limay River. Puelche and Poya communities lived around the lake and travelled routes across the mountains to the lands west of the cordillera.

In 1670 the Jesuit Nicolás Mascardi came from Chiloé and founded a mission by the lake. Mascardi sought to evangelise the Poya and Puelche and travelled beyond the lake on several expeditions. The mission ended after his death, but Jesuits returned in 1703 and maintained another establishment until 1717. Missionaries sought routes across the Andes, including the Vuriloche pass, in a region where Indigenous knowledge of mountain paths was essential to travel.