Munich Hotel

Skiing in a volcano

by IIGUANA

The Villarrica volcano has nice steep slopes for skiing and snowboarding. The view from top is quite amazing. You can see the Andes quite well, plus a lot of the surrounding lakes. Although it's not a big skiing resort, it's worthwhile.
Do not go up if it's too clouded on top of the volcano. You won't see anything once you arrive. Skiing/snowboarding equipment

Pucón: What a place!

by patagoniapaul

"Overview"

The lovely town of Pucon is dominated by the nearby volcano Villarica. From just about anywhere in town you can catch a glimpse of this magnificant mountain. Although not nealy the highest mountain in the area, it is very close. At the municipal office there is a "traffic" light showing the level of activity. Since this is the most active volcano in Chile (with over 500 active volcanoes, quite a feat) it is also the most monitored. Normally the light is green but when it turns yellow all activity on the mountain is stopped and on red the town is evacuated.

Pucon is much more than a mountain, though. The town itself looks and feels very European. There are many very nice restaurants and luxurios hotels. Even a casino if you really have too much money and are bored by the other attractions.

Pucón lies between the volcano and the lake by the same name. Villarica is a town located on the other end of the lake. It is not nearly as touristy as Pucón. Prices are slightly lower if you are on a tight budget and it is only 25km with local busses quite common. The town of Pucón was only connected by road in the 30s, before that you needed to cross the lake by boat. It has since boomed and is possibly the most glamorous place in Chile.

Around Pucón there is a lot to do. There are several hikes and nice drives as well as action acitvities. Obviously, you can climb the volcano. You could soak in a spa or raft the rapids. Are you a horsey person? Plenty of places to ride. Hiker? You could hike around the volcano - about 23 km. Not for the unfit. You could climb Lanin, almost one and a half kilometeres higher than Villarica - put aside at leat two days for this. Best of all for me, hike in the lovely, tranquil Huerquehue park. I will describe some of these below.

Just south of Pucón is Lican Ray on Lageo Calfquén. It is a little hectic in February but sleepy the rest of the year. Nice beaches and a little more affordable than Pucón.

A little further still is Panguipulli. On lago Riñihue, it has lovely views across the lake towards Vn Choshuenco.

"Climbing the volcano"

At 2840m, Villarica is no pushover but certainly not in epic Everest mold either. Unless you have the equipmet such as ice pick and crampons as well as a gas mask and can prove membership of some or other mountain club, CONAF will not let you climb the mountan without a guide. So, a guided tour for the day including transport to and from the mountain and all equipment and entrance fees cost us CLP40000 or about $85 per person.

We started with a short ride on the ski lift - not always guaranteed in summer, and this was not included in the price. Another CLP 5000 or $10.

The hike - we were there in Mid December - was quite uneventful. You zig-zag up the mountain on hard snow. No need for crampons. The climb took about 3 hours but it depends on your level of fitness. Our guide said that it has taken him up to 8 hours to get people up the mountain!

The return trip was much easier - we slid down on our bums! No more than 20 minutes. Waterproof clothes were provided by the tour operator, so it was great fun.

The view from the mountain was absolutely magnificent. To the north we could see Vn Llaima. It blew a puff of smoke just as we were at the top of Villarica. About two weeks later it erupted violently. The Sierra Nevada as well as Volcan Lonquimay was also easy to spot. To the east was the huge Volcan Lanin. This fierce looking mountain is almost 4000m high. Numerous volcanoes are visible to the south, all the way to Vn Osorno, over 250km away.

The crater was just a huge vertical hole in the mountain from which rose a cloud of sulpherous fumes. We could not get too close because of the fumes - not closer than say 3-4m. There are numerous fumaroles with sulpherous steam rising from the rocks.

An interesting feature of the crater was a huge block of ice. This is thousands of tons of ice, coloured black from the soot from the volcano. A major feature of an eruption is flooding, caused when lava melts this ice and it then cascades down the mountain.

On the attached photograph the tip of the block of ice is visible in front of the smoking crater. People are walking on the rim. I will upload more photgraphs in the "Things to do" section under Tips.

"Raft the white waters around Pucon"

Well, what is there to say, except that it was great fun. I believe this is very mild rapids, not in the mould of the rapids below the Victoria Falls or the Ucallali, but great fun. On the photograph I am on the left, front.

Chilean Independance... and lots of rain

by Alisonchilla

"Pucon - Written SEPT 24, 2002 by Patty"

Ok, so, after day 1 in Pucón, it rained every single day, and we did not get the opportunity to climb up the volcano. Two days in a row, we tried to go horseback riding at 2pm. At 1:30 both days, the sun was shining and things were looking up. Lalo called the company for us to tell the guys to bring the horses down from the top of some hill to the bottom, where we would board. As soon as we stood up from the couch at Lalo´s house to go outside, however, INSTANT RAIN and hail. The hail was a nice touch. Rain alone would have been bearable, but the prospect of getting smacked in the face with ice globules was not appealing to either of us. So, at the last minute, TWO TIMES, we cancelled our horseback riding trip.

"Sept 18th - Dia de Independencia"

We did manage to celebrate Chilean independance day in style, though. The party started the night of the 17th, and we started the night off right with a round of Pisco sours at a café downtown. There, we met a group of British travelers who were passing the rainy day drinking there and playing cards. We agreed to go out to the pubs later on, but first, we had to go home for dinner. Living with a family is not quite the same as living in a hostel. ;)

"Fiesta y Cueca"

That night, I believe we had mashed potatos, hot dogs, and vegetables. Quite good. Then we went out to a bar called The Mamas and the Tapas (clever, eh?). Around 4 am (chileans know how to party), we headed over with a group of people to a fonda. A fonda is where Chileans meet to dance and drink and celebrate their independance day. There we danced the merenge and the ranchero (Mexican), and I attempted, poorly, to dance the cueca, a traditional Chilean dance that involves complicated steps, clapping, and hankerchiefs. We rolled back to Lalo´s place around 7 am. Would Lalo be mad that we were out so late? Heck no! He was out in the bars with us till 4. :) Not that anyone was going to get good sleep in the house anyway. Lalo was unfortunate enough to be living next to the two loudest fondas in town. We were exhausted, or else we would have been kept up all night by their dueling music.

"Descanso"

The next day was spent recuperating from the festivities. Chicken soup and the soundtrack channel, our constant companion in Lalo´s house. The soundtrack channel plays music videos from movie soundtracks 24-7. By the end of our stay, I think I had their playlist memorized.

The 19th was another lazy day. Note to other travelers: Ecolé hostel has great food at a reasonable price. We left Pucón on the 20th for Chillán.