Villa La Angostura is the capital city of Los Lagos department, in the South of Neuquén province. It is located on the Northwest bank of the Nahuel Huapi lake, on the slopes of the hills Bayo, Inacayal and Belvedere.

Its origin goes back to the beginning of the century, in the year 1902 the Superior Gobierno de la Nación (the Nation’s Supreme Government) decreed the creation of the Nahuel Huapi Colony and fixed the place named Angostura as a reservation for the town for topographic reasons. Along the years the first colonists arrived and settled.

In 1932 the Foundation Act of the town was signed.Two years later the Organic Law for National Parks (N÷ 12,103) was issued and the Nahuel Huapi National Park was created, on the 3 square leagues cuadradas donated by the Expert (perito) Francisco Moreno in 1903.

On the 16th of January 1946 (one year before the National Territory of Neuquen became a province), due to requests of a group of residents, the first Neighbors Commission was created. The community’s activity was strengthened and organized with the creation of the Fomento Commision of Villa La Angostura, decided by the Government of Neuquen’s territory in1948, setting its limits and jurisdiction in approximately 8,000 hectares.

Villa La Angostura, due to is special characteristics as a Mountain Village, has always been the target of high level tourism, to which hotel establishments, many summer residences and Cumelén, its prestigious Country Club, contribute. Building the road to Chile through the Puyehue Pass started in en 1956 and took 10 years to be finished.

By the end of the ‘60s Villa La Angostura had its hospital. In 1973 the secondary school was created and the port access avenue was paved. Later the telephone and television arrived, while the Ski Center of Bayo Hill started to develop.

The second historical period of great growth started around 1985, in coincidence with the beginning of the paving of the road to Bariloche. Many people have settled since then, arriving to a population of over 6,000 people. Money was invested in public works such as the new electricity plant, the gas net and neighborhoods of houses. The construction of huts and buildings of all kinds has largely increased. Because of this incredibly large growth, worries started to rise about the environment’s and Nature’s preservation, and about the profile definition and orientation of the area within a posible and sustainable frame. An adequate development planning represents a very serious challenge. Villa La Angostura projects its future permanently. So it will not be surprising or unexpected, but it will depend on the decisions made at present. In Villa La Angostura vision prevails.