PUELO & FUTALEUFU

Volcan Chaiten Wakes Up

Región de Aysén
General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo

No one even considered as a volcano, but that quickly changed. On May 2, 2008, volcán Chaitén, 10 km northeast of the town that bears the same name began to erupt. The scattering of ashes caused flooding and severe damage to houses, roads and bridges, decimating thousands of crops and spewing ash as far as Buenos Aires. Chaitén’s 4,000 residents were evacuated, but the government remains uneasy about determining the future plans of Mother Nature. Four months after the eruption, the inhabitants remained displaced as volcanic activity continued. While the inhabitants hope to rebuild on the old side of Chaitén, there are proposals to relocate partially or entirely to a more secure location further north.

How Much Do We Love This Place?

The Good

It's an area of immense beauty with the remoteness that people expect from Patagonia
There are some of the best fly-fishing lodges
The Futaleufu is one of the world's top rivers for rafting
You can find lands laden with lush vegetation or layered in fields of ice