Lake Aluminé is located in the central part of Neuquén in northern Patagonia, on the Andes, it is the last of the vast glacial lakes, of the land of the Araucaria monkey puzzle trees north of Lanin National Park.
It has a surface area of 57 km2 (22 sq.mi.) and a depth of 70 m (230 ft). It is linked to Lake Moquehue and is next to the Chilean border. It drains into the Aluminé River and its water reaches the Atlantic Ocean through the Limay and Negro rivers.
A Culebrón
In September 2019, some members of the Puel community (a group of Mapuche people) living in Villa Pehuenia, on the north side of the lake spotted something moving in the lake. They said it was like a water snake and it was seen swimming in golfo Azul (Blue Gulf) in the lake. It was filmed (video below, see it online), at around 7:30 pm on a calm lake.
Liliana Puel, a member of the community said that "there was a culebrón, there was one, but I think there were more" she added that "70 years ago in La Angostura (The Narrows) there was a ford where the horses were crossed, but they were not allowed to pass after sunset. Apparently, at dusk the culebrón was about. In those days there was no bridge, and they said that if the culebrón wrapped itself around the horse's leg, the rider would fall off."
As mentioned in my book, this lake is home to a strange fox-snake hybrid the nguruvilu. An article published in 1912, stated the following: "Doctor Lehman Nitsche obtained from Chief Nahuelpí a complete version regarding a certain nürüfilu, a monster in Lake Aluminé in Neuquén. There is no doubt that the nürüfilu is no other than Yemisch itself, and has, like him, a prehensile tail."
Anthropologist Paul Adolf Robert Lehman-Nitsche (correct name) interviewed the Mapuche chief in 1902, and it was then that the chief told him about the Mapuche myth of the snake-fox or “Nguruvilú.” The mythical Nguruvilú (also known as Nirribilo, Ghyryvilu, nürüfilu, etc.) derives its name from the Mapudungun words ngürü = “fox” and filu = “snake,” hence “fox- snake,” making it another Mapuche fox hybrid!
It was described in 1810 by Jesuit priest and naturalist, Juan Ignacio Molina, as a reptilian “Dragon”:
In certain Chilean lakes, an enormous fish or dragon can be found, which they name Ghyryvilu, that is, Vulpangue or fox-snake, which, they say, is man-eating, and due to this, they abstain from bathing in those lakes. They disagree on its appearance: some make it out to be long, like a serpent with a fox head.
A Culebrón is another type of creature, a large snake, thick and stubby, described as follows: "A big and snub-tailed snake, that is, with a truncated tail. On its back, it has a mane that measures up to two spans in length and that is extended on both sides, which it uses as wings to fly. The Culebrón’s size is variable; some specimens have been seen with a length of eight spans (1.60 m) [5 ft. 2 in.]"
And the Aluminé River, according to Clemente Onelli in 1922 had a huge beast. This river drains Lake Aluminé and receives the inflow of other Andean lakes (like the Pulmari, Ñorquinco, Rucachoroi, Quillén, and Tromen). It flows into the Limay River, which drains the Nahuel Huapi.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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