🇦🇷 Argentina · Patagonia
Junín de los Andes is a town in southwestern Neuquén, on the banks of the Chimehuín river, known as the 'National Trout Capital' for being one of the best fly-fishing destinations in the world. It's the oldest town in the province and keeps a quiet, ranching feel with deep Mapuche roots, right in the middle of the Andean lake corridor.
It's the southern gateway to Lanín National Park, with the imposing Lanín volcano (3,776 m) as a backdrop, lakes such as Huechulafquen and Paimún, araucaria forests and Mapuche communities. Unlike its neighbor San Martín de los Andes, Junín keeps a more authentic, less touristy profile, ideal for fishing, nature and rural tourism.
This guide covers the essentials: fly fishing in the rivers and lakes, access to Lanín National Park and the volcano, the Vía Christi (an unusual sculptural way of the cross), the Mapuche communities, how to get there and practical advice on seasons, lodging and combining the trip with San Martín de los Andes.
Junín de los Andes was founded in 1883 as a military fort during the Conquest of the Desert, making it the oldest town in Neuquén. Settled on historically Mapuche land, beside the Chimehuín river, it grew around livestock and rural life. Today it combines those ranching and Mapuche roots with its worldwide fame as the capital of fly fishing.
Read the full history ↓The province of volcanoes, lakes and the araucaria: Pehuenche and Mapuche land in northern Patagonia, world capital of the giant dinosaurs, heart of the Vaca Muerta shale and gateway to the Route of the Seven Lakes.
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Origins, formation and what the sources say.
Long before anglers the world over dreamed of the Chimehuín river, Junín de los Andes was born as a war post: it is the oldest town in the province of Neuquén. It was founded on February 15, 1883, when Sergeant Major Miguel E. Vidal built Fortín Junín in the valley known in Mapudungun as Cuncun Niyeu ('meeting place around a boundary marker'), during the campaign known as the Conquest of the Desert, through which the Argentine state took the Patagonian territories of the indigenous peoples by force. A year earlier, in 1882, Colonel Rufino Ortega had led the Campaign of the Andes, pushing through the mountain valleys as far as the Aluminé river to attack the last encampments in the region; it was in that military context that Vidal chose the site for the fort, on the banks of the Chimehuín river, at a strategic point in the cordillera.
The choice of location came down to its value as a pass and a control point for the Andean region, in an area that was — and still is — deeply Mapuche. The military presence was meant to consolidate Argentine sovereignty on the Chilean border and to subdue the communities who had lived in these valleys, lakes and forests since time immemorial. In its first years Junín was more a military post than a town proper; the real change came in 1892, when the Salesian priests Domingo Milanesio and Juan Ruggerone visited the area as missionaries, and in 1895, when Father Milanesio settled there for good and founded the Salesian house that would give Junín much of its educational and religious character.
From that military origin, the settlement grew into a town tied to livestock and rural life. Fertile valleys, plenty of water and pasture and the ranching character of the area shaped a quiet, hard-working identity that Junín keeps to this day, setting it apart from the more touristy destinations along the lake corridor.
The territory of Junín de los Andes and its surroundings is ancestrally Mapuche. For centuries the communities of this indigenous people lived in the valleys, lakes and forests of the mountain area, in an intimate relationship with nature: the Lanín volcano, lakes Huechulafquen and Paimún, the araucaria (pehuén) forests — whose fruit, the piñón, was a staple food — and rivers teeming with life.
Despite the impact of the Conquest of the Desert and the colonization that followed, the Mapuche presence stayed strong in the region. Today several communities live inside and around Lanín National Park, keeping their traditions, their language and their bond with the land. Those roots show in the place names, the crafts, the food and the community tourism experiences on offer in the area.
That cultural identity even threads through contemporary expressions, such as Junín's remarkable Vía Christi, a sculptural trail that weaves the Christian tradition together with elements of the Mapuche worldview and regional history. To understand Junín de los Andes you have to recognize that, beneath its frontier-town air, there beats a living Mapuche inheritance deeply tied to the landscape of the Lanín.
Much of Junín de los Andes's current fame comes from something introduced: fly fishing for trout. Trout are not native to Patagonia; they were introduced in the early 20th century into the region's rivers and lakes as part of a program to stock the waters, and they found ideal conditions to thrive in these cold, crystalline environments.
The Chimehuín river, which rises in Lake Huechulafquen and runs through Junín, became over time a legendary destination for fly fishers from all over the world. Its 'boca' — the point where the river leaves the lake — and its various stretches hold very large trout, and the quality of the fishing drew enthusiasts and international figures, giving the town global standing in the sport.
So Junín de los Andes earned the title of 'National Trout Capital'. Sport fishing, regulated by seasons and permits to protect the resource, became a central economic and tourist activity, with local guides, specialized lodges and a deeply rooted fishing culture. That calling, added to its ranching and Mapuche roots and its exceptional natural setting, defines the unique character of this Neuquén town.
The religious identity of Junín de los Andes is marked by the Salesian missionaries, who reached the region in the late 19th century and carried out intense evangelizing and educational work among the Mapuche communities and the criollo settlers: in 1899 they opened both the Salesian school and that of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in the town. Tied to that tradition is the moving story of Laura Vicuña, born in Santiago de Chile on April 5, 1891, the daughter of a Chilean soldier and political leader. After a revolution overthrew the government her father belonged to, the family was exiled 500 kilometers from the capital; the father died soon after and the family was left destitute. Her mother, Mercedes Pino, crossed the cordillera with Laura and her sister Julia Amanda, and in 1901 they arrived in Junín de los Andes, where the girls were enrolled at once in the newly founded school of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
Weakened by personal sacrifices and by tuberculosis, Laura died in Junín de los Andes on January 22, 1904, aged 12. Her story of devotion and faith struck deep in the Salesian community, and on September 3, 1988 Pope John Paul II beatified her, holding her up as a model for young people; she remains a figure of regional devotion, with her feast day celebrated every January 22.
Those spiritual roots found a contemporary and singular expression in the Vía Christi, a sculpture park opened in the late 20th century on the slope of the Cerro de la Cruz. Over some two kilometers, sculptures and mosaics depict the life of Christ interwoven with the history and worldview of the Mapuche people and with episodes from the region, in an artistic and religious proposal that has become one of Junín's great attractions. It is an uncommon case of dialogue between Christianity and indigenous culture.
Today's Junín combines all those layers: its origin as a fort of the Conquest of the Desert, its deep Mapuche roots, its ranching heritage, the Salesian missionary imprint and its worldwide fame as the capital of fly fishing. Far from the tourist bustle of its neighbor San Martín de los Andes, it keeps a quiet, authentic profile, where the Chimehuín river, the Lanín volcano and the town's traditions still set the rhythm of life. It is, in many ways, one of the places that best embodies the soul of western Neuquén.