I only had a couple of days in Puerto Varas, so I decided to explore this German heritage town and the nearby national park. My base was the beautiful MaPatagonia hostel. It’s a historic house, surrounded by other wooden buildings first built by German settlers who arrived in the 19th century. There was a cosy atmosphere in the large living & kitchen area were people connected while having a cup of tea.
Day hike in the national park
A few minutes walk away is the bus stop for micros (mini buses) going to Petrohué. They pretty much drop you off anywhere along the way, but on my first day I stayed on until the end of the line: lago Todos los Santos. It was only 3500 pesos and I could hike in the national park Vicente Pérez Rosales for free. I registered at the Conaf office and headed for the Paso Desolación. The trail heads up on the side of the Osorno volcano, with great views of both the volcano and the lake. If you start early enough, you can do the 8 hour hike to the Antigua Sala de Máquinas at 1064m altitude. On the way there is a viewpoint called La Picada, at 611m, which is where I decided I probably didn’t have enough time to head to the top before the last bus at 6pm.
The first part of the hike I met a French guy from the hostel and we walked together for a bit, practising our Spanish. It was fairly flat, walking on volcanic black sand, which at times was pretty loose, like on a beach. There were some trees at first, but for the most part the bushes were low and spread out through the landscape. At times there were some bright yellow flowers. I got some amazing views of the perfect cone-shaped volcano, covered with snow. We had to go down what seemed like the bed of a wide river that was now dry. Not far from there was a split in the trail. One branch stayed low, going into the Los Alerces trail, while the other continued on the Paso Desolación.
From this point it got a fair bit steeper, but the way to mirador La Picada wasn’t that hard. The trickiest part was perhaps the loose sand and stones on the dry trail. The trail was all carved out, like it was supposed to have water. You could walk through it or on one of the sides. After a little workout I reached the last, pretty steep, section until the view. A few people were already there. The views were incredible. The lake beliw, surrounded by other mountains. The volcano, where the clouds were drifting in and out around it. Once again it was nature at its finest!
After some photos and a snack I headed back down and then followed the Alerces trail to add a loop alongside the lake. It took me a while to arrive to the first beach. On the way there was a mirador, but it couldn’t compare to the other one. It didn’t even come close. But when I saw the beach through the trees I screamed out loud. It was so pretty. Coming out of the forest and onto the black sand I saw someone was lying in the shade. I said hello and went a bit further to change into swimming clothes. The sand felt hot on my feet. I didn’t exactly go for a swim, but I dipped into the cold water. There were small red stones at the water’s edge and as soon as the sand started it got pretty deep. I got out pretty quickly and changed back into my clothes.
After a short walk through a surprising forest I crossed a different small beach. There was a small bay at this point of the lake. The forest around it was much thicker than before. It felt more like a jungle. The trail snaked through, going up and down. Finally, there was a the playa larga, as the name suggests it was a long beach that I followed back towards Petrohué. The final stretch was a wide forest road and after 5 hours I signed back out at the park ranger’s office.
The waterfalls of Petrohué
The next day I got back on the micro, getting off at the Saltos de Petrohué. It’s part of the same national park, but accesible more easily and with an entrance fee. There are some cascades in the river that push huge amounts of water over the rocks. They’ve built some walkways so that people can get the best views, with the highlight being the waterfalls with the volcano in the background. People come here in busloads and even though it’s beautiful, it just doesn’t have the some impact as hiking to a spot like this has.
Besides the falls there are two short trails. The sendero de los enamorados brings you to some more river views and some smaller rapids. It loops back via a small stream. I like that they’ve built some areas of contemplation, although it seems hard to find peace and quiet on the trail. A much quieter trail was the sendero carilemu. It’s a 1km loop through the forest with a view of the smaller branch of the river. Here I also found a little spider hanging in the trail. I think it had just started its web. It pulled itself back up towards the tree when I tried taking photos of it.
Laguna Verde
The micro also goes through a village called Ensenada. After the waterfalls I went there to walk around the green lagoon. It was just a short stroll, partly on boardwalks and partly on a forest trail. The ranger pointed to my walking sandals and told me to be careful, but it really wasn’t hard. The lagoon had a platform with some benches where I stopped for a picnic. The roasted chicken I’d bought had been providing me with delicious sandwiches all throughout my stay. Chicken for lunch and dinner! Another nice spot was the small beach at the end of the forest trail. But after an hour or so, you’ve spent more than enough time there. Time to head to the cute café in Ensenada, where I ate a delicious piece of lemon pie with a chai latte. The blue wooden building had a lovely terrace, filled with decorations you could also buy. There were some strange hats that reminded me of Lord of the rings. Some even had ears. And there were lamp shades made from straw.
After an active day in the national park, it was nice to have a more relaxed day at the smaller sites. I returned to Puerto Varas with enough time to walk around, check out the shops and climb to the viewpoints. Puerto Varas has much more to offer, but I’m happy I got to see these beautiful things during my stay.
