Pucon and Volcan Villarrica

Chile'S Adventure Capital On Lago Villarrica, Beneath Volcan Villarrica, One Of The Most Active Volcanoes In South America, With A Lava Lake In Its Crater · Pucon, La Araucania

Pucon is a small resort town on the shore of Lago Villarrica, and above it rises Volcan Villarrica, a smoking white cone and one of the most active volcanoes in South America, with a lava lake that glows in its crater. Climbing it is the signature adventure: a pre-dawn start with a licensed guide, crampons and ice axe up the snowfield to look into the steaming crater, then a slide back down on the snow. Climbs are frequently suspended when activity rises, so they can never be promised. Around the town is a landscape of lakes, rivers and forests of monkey-puzzle trees: Huerquehue National Park with its trail past lagoons among araucarias, rafting on the Trancura, the Ojos del Caburgua waterfalls, and dozens of hot springs, including the Termas Geometricas, red boardwalks winding through a fern-filled canyon. The region is also the heartland of the Mapuche. In summer Pucon fills with Chilean families and backpackers; in winter it becomes a ski resort on the volcano's flanks.

Avenida O'Higgins, Pucon, La Araucania, Pucon, La Araucania, Chile

The town runs all year. Guided volcano climbs leave before dawn in the climbing season, roughly November to April, and are suspended whenever volcanic activity or weather makes them unsafe. Hot springs keep their own hours, some into the evening. Huerquehue National Park is open in daylight.

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