By travellers, for travellers.
Puerto Varas, said to be home of the most picturesque volcano on the planet, but is it? Well, you will just have to visit and find out your self! Located around Lake Llanquihue, it most certainly does have an incredible view of volcano Osorno, as well as volcano Calbuco… That is right, located at the base of 2 active volcanoes… Osorno being one of the most active volcanoes is all of Chile..
I know what you are thinking… “The locals must be crazy”, right?
Known as “La ciudad de Las rosas" or “The city of roses", Puerto Varas truly is bucket list material, and you would be sad to skip it!
Read on for a travellers guide on this beautiful city.
But, first things first, how do we get there?
Following our South American adventure, you will know we were last in Pucon. To get to Puerto Varas, the most economical way was to jump on the bus. Roughly a 5 hour drive and 2 departure times (morning and evening) but the best thing, it only costs 9500 Chilean Pesos! We bought the tickets directly from the bus station (you will find this often saves you some money).
Where to stay?
The bus will drop you in town and you will find it is with in walking distance to many hostels that are at a more than fair rate. Personally, after a few days of partying in Pucon, we were looking for something a little bit more chilled out. Casa Azul was the perfect fit for us and roughly a 15 minute walk from the bus stop. 8000 CLP a night for a 4 bed mixed dorm. Other services provided is GREAT free wifi, and a kitchen to be able to cook your own meals. In the summer time they even provide a free breakfast.. Winning! What we liked most about this hostel is that is within walking distance to the city center for great views of the lake, volcano and of course shopping, restaurants and bars.
After settling in you are ready to get out and about.
The First suggestion we have is to head straight to Saltos De Petrohué National Park. Ask your hostel the where the closest bus station is that takes you there. The bus takes about 1.5 hours and runs all day at a cheap price! The last bus to bring you home is between 4.30 and 6 depending on the weather and road conditions so make sure to ask the driver so you know when to return. If your running late, don’t worry, you can always hitch a ride back the old fashioned way, thumbs up on the side of the road! It is a lot easier and safer than you would think.. Something we didn’t realise at the time was that it would actually become one of our favourite ways of getting around South America! Meeting other travellers,quite often locals who give you a brief history of where you are from their perspective, a short tour, practice your Spanish, and best of all, it’s a free ride!
Pack a picnic lunch and plenty of water because once you arrive and see the crystal clear water, rapids cutting through the sharp mountains you won’t want to leave anytime soon. There is plenty of treks to choose from, all ranging in different degrees of difficulty it. Be sure to speak to the National Park Authorities or hostel staff before you leave for the best routes.
Pro tip - DO NOT FORGET YOUR CAMERA!
With a 2 volcanoes sitting off in the distance I am sure you will want to see at least one of them up close and personal right? Not to mention the surrounding villages, lakes, national parks and waterfalls! Well, depending on the season there is many ways to go about this. The best, and most convenient way is hire a car and drive up to the base where the ski lifts are located. 5000 CLP for 24 hours including insurance and in our case split between three people, it was a no brainer. (Also, by doing this you have COMPLETE freedom). If you are not used to driving on the right hand side of the road it can be a bit of a challenge but you will pick it up quickly. A good idea is to have a decent navigator by your side, otherwise you could end up driving down the wrong direction of a one way street...But that is story for another time!
After you have seen the volcanoes and are back in on the road, your next destination needs to be “Las Cascades”. Just a short drive from the base of Osorno. Follow the signs along the side of the road or use your map. We use the App “Maps.me”to get around. (An offline mapping app). Once you arrive you will pay 1000 CLP entry. You will hike along the rapids a short way before you come to an enormous waterfall that you can hear crashing down from the moment you get out of your car! Llanquihue is filled with beautiful small towns as you go around, so stop in any where you please and have a look around, the locals will be glad to meet you.
Special Mention - Authentic Chilean Experience
The Chilean culture is very warming and very open. We were lucky enough to have friends of friends there to take us in for a traditional home cooked Chilean meal and some drinks. What we can suggest for you to have a good and local experience, use apps to help you connect with people in the are. Such as couchsurfing apps. You may find the host will not only give you a local guide, home cooked meal but also a place to stay for a few nights. Our host quickly became our good friends, they cooked for us homemade Empanadas, salads, completos and even kind enough to cater for us with a vegetarian variety completo.
All this talk of “completo’s” probably has you wondering what it is? To put it simply, it is a hotdog with everything on it. The Chileans love them. You will find that you can not find a simple hot dog in a bun throughout Chile, it is always going to be loaded up with all the extras. The bigger the better right?
Onwards to Bariloche, Argentina!
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