Hazchem in Pucón

We arrived in Pucón and instantly felt the energy of the town. It gave Queenstown vibes with adventure tourism outfits lining the streets, outdoor fashion and restaurants scattered amongst them. Our hostel was right on the waterfront with stunning views over the lake and activity all around.

We started off easy here as Kenzie was under the weather and we knew we had some big days coming up that would not be conducive to recovery. Our first evening and following day was spent roaming the streets, walking Playa Grande, stocking up on supplies from the supermarket, and enjoying the sun out front of our hostel.

The following day we set out to Parque Nacional Huerquehue for Los Lagos sendero. A 13km round trip, we planned to catch the 8:30am bus out and return mid arvo. Of course our assumption of regular buses home to choose from proved to be naive as we discovered it was either 1:20pm or 5:10pm.

After a tedious 2 hour wait for the bus at Torres del Paine, we decided against the 5:10pm here and opted to speed walk for the 1:20pm instead. This turned into a speed walk up and full on run down. Glad to say we did make the 1:20 albeit sweatier and more puffed than anticipated.

The following day was rainy and the worst forecasted during our time in Pucón, a perfect day for Hidrospeeding! This is basically body boarding down a river. Good fun! (Videos were an extra cost we did not expend).

San Sebastian was next on our list, also in Parque Nacional Huerquehue with the same bus schedule as Los Lagos. This time with prior bus knowledge, we took it easy and paced ourselves to ensure minimal waiting at the end. This walk was stunning with some unique trees and ever changing surroundings.

Our last full day in Pucón we summited Volcán Villarrica, the staple attraction in the area involving a steep walk up to the active crater and a snow slide down. Despite going into it with the intent to walk the whole way up, we ended up getting the chairlift along with the majority of our group.

Glad we did though as it was still a slog up! To add to the pain, I had a crook stomach that got worse with movement. The only relief was during our brief stops where I could lie back and stretch out. Nonetheless we made it to the top and I did manage to appreciate the scenics briefly before finding a rock to rest on.

Sliding down was longer and more full on than we expected. Definitely the highlight for us both.

We had an overnight bus to Santiago the next day, filling the time before with travel admin and reading.

Lucas

Jan 31, 2025