This morning I arrived home from the most amazing weekend spent in Pucon, a small town in Chile’s lake region, about half-way between Santiago and Patagonia. The trip began with a 10-hour bus ride from one of the many bus stations in downtown Santiago. After a confusing trip around the bus stations and watching many of the double-decker buses almost crash into each other, we snuggled into our “semi-cama” or half-reclining seats for a 9:45 pm bus ride to Pucón. I hardly slept during the night trip, mostly because I was so excited to head to the lake region after hearing so many great things about it!
We arrived in Pucon at about 7:45 am and were greeted by a dark, desolate town. We had no map and only short directions on how to get to our hostel, but thankfully we chose the right way to walk. We ended up on the main drag in Pucon – really the only street with any life to it. All the shops were closed, but we made our way to Lake Villarica, where our hostel was. When we found the lake, you could barely see the water.
We arrived in Pucon at about 7:45 am and were greeted by a dark, desolate town. We had no map and only short directions on how to get to our hostel, but thankfully we chose the right way to walk. We ended up on the main drag in Pucon – really the only street with any life to it. All the shops were closed, but we made our way to Lake Villarica, where our hostel was. When we found the lake, you could barely see the water.
We received some breakfast suggestions from the people at the hostel and set off back into town to look for some food. We found a cute tavern that is known for its breakfasts and sat down to enjoy some delicious food. Bread came with all of our breakfasts, and we ended up having to ask for more because it was just that good (compared to what we’re used to in Santiago)
Pucon is known for its adventure tourism and there are dozens of options for visitors to choose from. After reading through the binder at our hostel and hearing about all the other activities, we decided to do some zip-lining (“Canopy” as they call it), experience “hydrospeeding” and enjoy a day in the national park. We all wish we would have had the opportunity to climb Volcan Villarrica, but the weather didn’t cooperate that weekend (plus it’s pretty pricey and requires a fair amount of willpower…)
Our first stop was the canopy! We had a great time on the 11-line course with our two Chilean guides who really wanted to test our Spanish. We criss-crossed some rivers as we made our way through the trees. I’m used to “zip lining” being just one straight line, so it was a bit more exciting to zig-zag through the trees for an hour!
Our first stop was the canopy! We had a great time on the 11-line course with our two Chilean guides who really wanted to test our Spanish. We criss-crossed some rivers as we made our way through the trees. I’m used to “zip lining” being just one straight line, so it was a bit more exciting to zig-zag through the trees for an hour!
We asked our guide if he knew of a good place where we could have a picnic for lunch and he suggested Ojos de Caburgua – a small lake not too far away with plenty of waterfalls. We made our way back to the town and found another small station with buses to the park. It ended up being absolutely beautiful – better than I ever would have imagined. The water was so blue and there were so many waterfalls that fed into the lakes. We spent a few hours exploring the rocks and bridges before finally dipping our feet in the freezing water.
We spent the rest of the day eating delicious Mexican food at Mamas and Tapas, a popular place in town, and chatting with a Welsh couple at the hostel. They were traveling all around South America and hearing all of their stories made me so envious of their lives…
The next day was a bit more overcast but we still managed to head out to hydrospeeding. Apparently Pucon is the only place in South America that has this type of “sport”? The premise is that you have a boogie-board type of thing that you used to float down rapids. Essentially instead of going down the white-water rapids in a large raft, half of your body is on a small raft and your legs are swimming along for the ride… Needless to say, I was definitely pretty scared beforehand but it turned out to be absolutely amazing – my friend Leah and I agreed it was definitely one of the coolest things we’ve done in Chile. The water was freezing and my feet went numb but we didn’t even care because it was so fun to go down the rapids. I looked up at one point to see a beautiful mountain coming up in front of us and a bunch of birds majestically sitting on some rocks – it was another one of those “this is why I’m here” moments.
The next day was a bit more overcast but we still managed to head out to hydrospeeding. Apparently Pucon is the only place in South America that has this type of “sport”? The premise is that you have a boogie-board type of thing that you used to float down rapids. Essentially instead of going down the white-water rapids in a large raft, half of your body is on a small raft and your legs are swimming along for the ride… Needless to say, I was definitely pretty scared beforehand but it turned out to be absolutely amazing – my friend Leah and I agreed it was definitely one of the coolest things we’ve done in Chile. The water was freezing and my feet went numb but we didn’t even care because it was so fun to go down the rapids. I looked up at one point to see a beautiful mountain coming up in front of us and a bunch of birds majestically sitting on some rocks – it was another one of those “this is why I’m here” moments.
It rained the rest of the day, so we just spent some time napping in the hostel and grabbing pizza at a local shop.
On Sunday we got up early to check out of the hostel and head to an 8:30 bus to the National Park Huerquehue, about 45 minutes away from Pucon. I was excited to hear that I could get the Chilean price for the admission fee in to the park, not only because it saved me a couple of dollars but because I got to use my Chilean ID for something useful!
We decided to do the more challenging hike up San Sebastien, one of the bigger peaks in the park. It was a fairly difficult hike, so my friend Amy and I went a bit slower and let our other friends go up to the top. Amy and I made it pretty far up the mountains before turning back and taking a nap in the beautiful valley. I was a bit disappointed at first that we didn’t make it to the top, but it was actually really good for me to just focus on the landscape around me on the way up. I enjoyed the lookouts a lot more when I wasn’t so focused on making it all the way. Amy and I had a great day, stopping often for snack and water breaks and just truly enjoying the mountains and lakes around us.
On Sunday we got up early to check out of the hostel and head to an 8:30 bus to the National Park Huerquehue, about 45 minutes away from Pucon. I was excited to hear that I could get the Chilean price for the admission fee in to the park, not only because it saved me a couple of dollars but because I got to use my Chilean ID for something useful!
We decided to do the more challenging hike up San Sebastien, one of the bigger peaks in the park. It was a fairly difficult hike, so my friend Amy and I went a bit slower and let our other friends go up to the top. Amy and I made it pretty far up the mountains before turning back and taking a nap in the beautiful valley. I was a bit disappointed at first that we didn’t make it to the top, but it was actually really good for me to just focus on the landscape around me on the way up. I enjoyed the lookouts a lot more when I wasn’t so focused on making it all the way. Amy and I had a great day, stopping often for snack and water breaks and just truly enjoying the mountains and lakes around us.
We all slept very well on the bus back to Santiago after a full day of hiking. Overall, a fabulous weekend spent in nature – just what I needed after a few more weeks without leaving the city.
Next up – Mendoza, Argentina in a few days!
Next up – Mendoza, Argentina in a few days!