Pucon and the Huerquehue National Park
Diterbitake: 05.12.2018
Langganan Newsletter
After a 12-hour bus ride in a really comfortable bus, I arrived in Pucon and went straight to the hostel. 'French Andes Hostel'. As it turned out, there are actually only French people there and one thing I can already say: I don't want to hear a single word of French on the rest of my trip!
So quickly out of the hostel and explore the region. The city consists exclusively of tourist offices, travel agencies, restaurants and hotels. Nothing particularly worth seeing. The region, on the other hand, is impressive. It strongly reminds me of the Allgäu region in Germany, with the exception that in the background there is a large (and very active) volcano. A great sight and also the main attraction. Climbing with a view into the crater is offered everywhere. Not cheap, but probably worth the money. Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite cooperate. As you can see in the pictures, it was sunny and warm, but always heavily cloudy in the morning.
Instead, my first destination was the Salto del Claro. A 90m high waterfall. Not quite easy to get to, but hitchhiking makes it possible. A newly married (of course French) couple was taking wedding photos there and generously took me back to the city.
The following day, despite the warning from the hostel staff that it was 'dangerous', I spent in Villarica. In fact, it is a completely normal small Chilean town, from where you have a great view of the lake and the volcano. There I met a local who showed me around. Together, we spent the evening on the beach - with good conversations, completely in Spanish.
Back at the hostel in Pucon, I actually met a non-French person. The Englishman had rented a car and was looking for people to accompany him to the Huerquehue National Park. I gladly accepted the offer. We set off with a Frenchman. A great hike (about 6 hours) with waterfalls, forests, lakes, and viewpoints. We even encountered a rather unusual spider in our path.
The next day, together with the Englishman, I continued to Puerto Varas, the German region in Chile.
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