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The Lake Region

Pucón - Villarrica     Puerto Varas     Puerto Montt    

To see an itinerary that starts from, or includes, one of the places mentioned above, just click on the name.

What follows below is a brief introduction to the places we include within our Lake Region itineraries. Scroll down or Click on the section below to get directly to the information.

Pucón - Villarrica / Puerto Varas / Puerto Montt

Climate

The northern part of the lake district begins at Temuco (677 kms south of Santiago) and tails off at Puerto Montt (1,016 kms south of Santiago). In this zone the climate is warm- temperate with "normal" length summers (3 months) that are warm, sometimes hot but often with rain showers. The temperature cools off the further south you travel i.e. towards Puerto Montt. Winters are usually wet, cold and changeable with snow on the mountains.

Pucon - Villarrica

Nearest Airport: Temuco
Located: 790 kms. south of Santiago and 112 kms. from Temuco, these two towns straddle Lake Villarrica and are dwarfed by the active, snow-capped Villarrica Volcano. Villarrica lake is the most northern lake of significance in the Chilean lake chain effectively marking the start of the Chilean Lake Region.

Pucon has developed into a "boutique" lake-side village and a very popular place during the summer break months of January and February. The area to the east of the lake is spectacular. The lake itself is bordered by rolling hills that grow into mountainous terrain on the north-eastern quarter and by the magnificent conical, snow-capped and active Villarrica Volcano to the south.

Both the villages offer a great base from which to explore the area, although Pucon is considered to be the principal village and certainly more lively than Villarrica. Pucon offers a number of good restaurants, lively bars and outdoor activity shops. This zone is a haven for those who like outdoor pursuits such as: white water rafting, climbs to the top of the volcano, hikes into the national park, mountain biking, skiing in winter, fishing and boating; and for those who prefer a slower pace there is golf, walking, barbeques and hot springs to unwind in!

You can participate in as many or few of the activities available or just sit back and read a good book!

Experience Chile Itineraries

We offer a number of itineraries that include a few days in Pucon with optional activities that include, a visit to the hot springs, climbs up the volcano, to the caves, golf, rafting and so on. We also offer to take you from here through the Chilean Lake Region to the places mentioned below or into Argentina to San Martin de Los Andes and then back into Chile.

Puerto Varas

Nearest Airport: Puerto Montt
Puerto Varas (996 kms south of Santiago) is another lake-side village located almost half way between Frutillar and Puerto Montt (17kms). It is a more active place than Frutillar, again with unimpeded views directly to Osorno Volcano on the other side of the lake. The village has that "Colorado Rockies" style feel to it, with some small boutique style shops and a few fishing shops and many wooded buildings. There are also some supermarkets and an impressive, newly built casino!

Similar to Pucon, Puerto Varas is a good base from where to enjoy many of the outdoor activities such as rafting, fishing, mountain biking and hiking. There are also a number of excursions such as to the powerful Petrohue Water Falls, the National Park Vicente Perez Rosales, Chiloe Island and the start and end points for the lake crossing to Argentina.

Experience Chile Itineraries

We offer a number of itineraries that include a few days in Puerto Varas, a visit to Petrohue Water Falls, Chiloe Island and fishing as well as the lake crossing over to Argentina.

Puerto Montt

Nearest Airport: Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt is located 1,016 kms south of Santiago. It is the most southern city on principal mainland Chile before the land mass breaks into the archipelago. It Faces the sea and is a good base from where to visit the other lake-side villages of the zone, head on down to Chiloe or to drive the Carreterra Austral towards Chaiten and Coyhaique in Chilean Patagonia.

Puerto Montt is also the port from where the cruise ships depart to explore the southern archipelago and the famous "San Rafael Glacier" - a glacier that runs down from the mountains to meet the sea where is breaks off into giant icebergs. The creaking sounds from the glacier and incredible blue colours within ice are an amazing spectacle to witness.