PUCON & VILLARRICA

Villarica National Park

Región de la Araucania
Lake District

In this park there are three volcanoes: Villarrica, Quetrupillán and Lanín. It is a large park of 61,000 hectares (150,670 acres) and stretches out to the border with Argentina where its name becomes the Lanín National Park. It has a thick Araucaria forest. There are a wide variety of activities available all year round, including skiing, climbing the volcano, hiking, horseback riding, bird watching, and many more. The park has three sectors. Most park visitors prefer the Rucapillán sector (the Mapuche name for the Villarrica Volcano meaning House of the Devil.) Where the Villarrica Volcano found, which is one of the world's most active volcanoes. It has erupted 59 times since the 16^th century. There are two paths here, the Challupén path of 15 km and the Pichilancahue Glacier path of 5 km, which leads visitors to a glacier through a native forest. Also in this sector there are Volcanic caves consisting of lava flowing from the volcano creating underground tunnels of up to 400m (1,312 feet), which have been equipped with lights and walkways that allow them to travel. The air in the cave is cold and moist, so bring warm clothing. It is open daily from 10 am to 8:30 pm during the summer and from 10 am to 6:30 pm during the winter.

The second sector, Quetrupillán, is an area with wild and thick vegetation. It has a trekking circuit of several days passing through virgin forests, waterfalls and goes beyond the Palguín Hot Springs. There is also a horse stable here offering trips around the area. Finally, the third sector, Puesco, is accessed via Ruta 119, south of Curarrehue. There is a Conaf post and walks through the several wild areas of the park, including pine forests, lakes and rugged mountains.