Futaleufú dam and river See map

Esquel - Trevelin - Dam - Esquel
Total Travel: 90 km.

Located 45 kilometers from Esquel, the Futaleufu dam was built between 1971 and 1976 with one goal: to provide electricity to the aluminum plant ALUAR in Puerto Madryn, while the surplus would be dedicated to public use.

View of Amutui Quimey Reservoir in Futaleufú dam. Photo courtesy of Gustavo Facci.

Currently, you can visit this piece of engineering and know how it works, its infrastructure and its lakes, while enjoying the journey to get there, as it is within the Los Alerces National Park. The road to the dam is paved.

One point which is worth stopping at is Lake Amutuy Quimey ("lost beauty" in the Mapuche language), which is named as the mirror of water that was formed by the reservoir of the Hydroelectric Dam. This monumental piece of engineering covered a whole chain of lakes that were the Situación and lakes called 1, 2, and 3. Numbered lakes were chained, being a river that was born in Lake 1 and converged with the Frey river into Lake Situación. This is a brief description of "the lost beauty" even though it does little to restore its image.

Futaleufú River. Photo courtesy of ccate.

The plant has an installed capacity of 448,000 kilowatts (kw) and generation of the order of 2,560,000,000 kw. per year. Futaleufu dam has a height of 120 meters.

Since the reservoir was born the Futaleufu River. Undoubtedly a beautiful river and perhaps the largest area (Futaleufú literally means "great river"). Crystal clear waters, dense forests, places for all sorts of activities, both contemplative and active, camping areas, fishing top quality areas, memorable trips, this is all possible in this stage completely natural.

Road to the complex you can also stop in Trevelin, people of Welsh origin, which still retains the typical features, such as its old Flour Mill that has been transformed into an Historical Museum. Its tea houses invite you to taste an excellent pastry, where the traditional "black cake" had reached known prestige.

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