Villa la Angostura, Argentina

Spread along the lakeshore of Nahuel Huapi, VILLA LA ANGOSTURA has grown enormously in the past decade, capitalizing on the Lake District's surging popularity, to become the second largest holiday destination in Neuquén. The settlement originally swelled due to its proximity to the trout-fishing at Río Correntoso, one of the world's shortest rivers, but today caters mostly to upper-end tourists, with whole new areas of wooded hills giving way to luxury hotels, cabins and spas. The ubiquitous and somewhat forced log-cabin architecture gives the town a clichéd feel, almost like a mountain village theme park, and may not be to everyone's taste.

For those not into fly-fishing, the main reason for visiting Villa La Angostura is that it provides the only land access to Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes. The park is reached by crossing the isthmus at La Villa, a 3km-long peninsula west of the centre – the old harbour.