2023-05-24 17:45:00
Every time they fall first snowfallMartín Muñoz cannot resist the temptation to go and see how the white flakes settle on the bolillosthose wonderful natural totems carved in the rocks through thousands and thousands of years by the wind. There he just grew up before settling in Varvarco, 19 kilometers away, in this north of Neuquén blessed by its supernatural beauty. He returns there whenever he can, he accompanies the muleteers and their piños, registers the flight of the condors, he is surprised again by so much nature between snowy peaks, that pure sky and the stalls of the breeders, while looking for the best angles to do what he likes the most: sharing with the world the beauty of his land, the one he knows so well, first as a wildlife ranger and then as a photographer.
And the last time was no exception, because as soon as he saw that it was snowing, he got in the car and recorded this wonderful video.
How to get to Los Bolillos in the north of Neuquén
At the end of a gravel road that meanders between wintering posts and stones, Los Bolillos invites you to travel back in time in this sanctuary of natural totem poles in the north of Neuquén.
To get to that territory where fragments of volcanic eruptions fell, you have to do about 15 kilometers from Varvarco by Provincial Route 43, at that height a gravel road that zigzags between mountains. And deviate where the sign indicates a few four kilometers toward the left.
From where you leave the car, on a hill, the view is terrifying: a succession of rocks in the shape of needles, cones and domes that turn from red to ocher. Behind, the fields of the crianceros and the poplars and pines that protect the posts in the valley of the Varvarco river. Beyond, between the clouds, the snowy peaks of the cordillera. A panorama includes more wonders in the form of carved stone to the right and left, under the azure sky of a sunny autumn morning in Patagonia.
You only have to descend about 100 meters down the slight slope of earth and sand to begin the route among small bushes, while the wind that comes down from the mountains rocks the bushes and the echo of its blowing is the soundtrack of a movie walk.
A rough estimate indicates that the rocks and sandstone massifs are scattered about 400 meters long by 1,000 meters wide, over a small portion of the 92,000 hectares of the Domuyo Protected Natural Area. Seen in scale, it is not a large area, but it would fight until the end to lead a ranking of proportion of beauty per square meter.
The first stop is the formation known as The Monks, giants about 15 meters high who earned their nickname because of their resemblance to a group of religious men standing in hoods and cassocks.
They occupy the center of the scene and it is inevitable that they concentrate the initial glances.
It is worth walking up a small hill to contemplate the place from a panoramic point opposite to that of the access. From there the monks seem to be in procession and the perspective of that lunar-like valley is even more amazing.
From there there is no precise order: wherever you go you will be surprised by the geoforms. solid.
On two wheels
In addition to vehicles, bike travelers and other adventurers arrive here as part of a trek.
Everyone spends a long time getting lost among these giants or organizing themselves to see them with the light of sunrise, sunset and starry nights.
It is also a land of legends: the locals say that in the 19th century famous Chilean bandits seeking an isolated refuge buried fabulous loot.
If it is hidden below, nobody has been able to verify it yet, but there is plenty of evidence that there is a real treasure on the surface.
If you are going to go, you always have to check the forecast and the status of the routes in the daily part of Vialidad Provincial Neuquén.
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