47 Best Sights in The Lake District, Chile

About 3 km (2 miles) west of downtown along the coastal road lies Puerto Montt's fishing cove. This busy port serves small fishing boats, large ferries, and cruisers carrying travelers and cargo southward through the straits and fjords that form much of Chile's shoreline. On weekdays, small launches from Isla Tenglo and other outlying islands arrive early in the morning and leave late in the afternoon. There are dozens of stalls selling local handicrafts, and the fish market here has one of the most varied seafood selections in all of Chile.

On the Pacific coast, about a three-hour drive from Osorno, is a network of indigenous parks spread over nine Huilliche communities amid 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres) of pristine temperate rain forest. Overnight trips include a sail up the coast to visit a Huilliche settlement and the beautiful, white sand and turquoise waters of Condor Beach (www.caletacondorexpediciones.cl). The eight-person boat leaves from Bahía Mansa, but keep an eye on the weather as the boat won’t run if it’s really windy. Exploring the indigenous parks by land is a more intrepid trip. The Agencia de Turismo Mapu Lahual, which represents the Huilliche communities, offers three- to six-day programs that include trekking, horseback rides, and homestays (simple, basic accommodations) with descendants of the Huilliche. Nature lovers will appreciate the native alerce forest as you cross the Chilean Coastal Range, home to 30 different bird species and an equal number of mammals, including the Molina’s hog-nosed skunk, mountain monkeys, and pumas. 

This imposing hillside site is where the 1881 treaty between the Mapuche and the Chilean army was signed, allowing the city of Temuco to be established. It's a great spot for a short day hike or picnic, with nice views of the city. Trails bloom with bright red copihues (a bell-like flower with lush green foliage), Chile's national flower, in autumn (March–May). The monument, not far from downtown, is part of Chile's national park system.

Step into the past at one of southern Chile's best museums. Besides displays of 19th-century agricultural and household implements, this open-air museum has full-scale reconstructions of buildings—a smithy and barn, among others—used by the original German settlers. Exhibits at this complex administered by Chile's Universidad Austral are labeled in Spanish and German, but there are also a few signs in English. A short walk from the lake up Avenida Arturo Prat, the museum also has beautifully landscaped grounds and great views of Volcán Osorno.

A private nature preserve about 40 km from Futrono, the 13,500-hectare Futangue Nature Park has a fantastic variety of outdoor recreational activities to offer. There is a network of more than 100 km of trails for hiking and mountain biking through lush, Valdivian temperate rain forest. The scenery is breathtaking, and always unique: sometimes you are deep in virgin forest then occasionally find yourself among rock formations so visually unusual as to seem extraterrestrial. Views of mountains and volcanoes peak around the corner. Hike about three to four hours in and there are natural hot springs. Kayakers and fly fishermen can spend countless hours on one of the several lakes or rivers. There are also opportunities for horseback riding. From May to October you must reserve your park entrance ticket ahead of time on their website, where you can also book a variety of excursions with bilingual guides. There is no camping permitted, but they have a highly regarded upscale lodge with 16 rooms, fine dining restaurant, pool and sauna room (two-night minimum, 550,000 pesos). 

Volcán Llaima, which has shown constant but not dangerous levels of activity since 2002, is the brooding centerpiece of Parque Nacional Conguillío. One of Chile's most active volcanoes, the 3,125-meter (10,200-foot) monster has created the moonscape of hardened lava flow that characterizes the park's southern portion. In the 610-square-km (235-square-mile) northern sector, there are thousands of umbrella-like araucaria pines, also known as monkey puzzle trees. The Sierra Nevada Trail is the most popular for short hikes. The three-hour trek begins at park headquarters on Laguna Conguillío and continues northeast to Laguna Captrén. Heavy snow can cut off the area in winter, so November to May is the best time to visit the park's eastern sector. Conguillío's western sector, Los Paraguas, comes into its own in winter because of a small ski center.

The main entrance to the park is in the Melipeuco sector, which is reached from Temuco via a paved road that passes through the towns of Cunco and Melipeuco before becoming a gravel road over its final section. In Melipeuco, a private company, Sendas Conguillío, administers excellent cabins and camping facilities.

The main draw of this popular 610-square-km (235-square-mile) national park, which has skiing, hiking, and many other outdoor activities, is the volcano. Happily, you don't need to have any climbing experience to reach the 3,116-meter (9,350-foot) summit, but a guide is a good idea. The volcano sits in the park's Sector Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "house of the devil." That name is apt, as the perpetually smoldering volcano is one of South America's most active. CONAF closes off access to the trails at the slightest hint of volcanic activity deemed out of the ordinary. It's a steep uphill walk to the snow line, but doable any time of year. All equipment is supplied by any of the Pucón outfitters that organize daylong excursions for about 100,000 pesos per person. Your reward for the six-hour climb is the rare sight of an active crater, which continues to release clouds of sulfur gases and explosions of lava. You're also treated to superb views of the nearby volcanoes, the less visited Quetrupillán and Lanín.

Chile's first private nature preserve, this park hosts one of the last remaining, extensive araucaria forests, a magnificent tree species that can live up to 2,000 years and that is oft nicknamed "monkey puzzle" because of its tangled branches that swirl around its treetop. With about 500 hectares (1,235 acres) altogether, this is simply one of the best treks in southern Chile. The hike to El Cañi's highest ground (1,600 meters), called Mirador Melidekiñ, is a three- to four-hour steep climb but rewards you with an awesome view of four volcanoes. Guides are not necessary for the trails, and there are camping sites and a refugio for overnight stays (4,000 pesos). Located about 20 km (12 miles) east of Pucón, the park is accessible via the road to Lago Caburgua (take the turnoff at Km 14). Then turn on the paved road with the sign "Termas Huife" and drive until you reach El Cañi. It is also possible to arrive by bus.

Culture in Frutillar, and the southern Lake District in general, nowadays follows the lead of Teatro del Lago, which hosts a year-round schedule of concerts, art shows, and film. Events take place every week, and the state-of-the-art building is considered one of the finest of its kind in the world. Even if you can't attend an event, it's worth a look when walking along the lakefront in Frutillar.

Chile's volcanoes have endowed the area around Pucón with numerous natural hot springs. About a two-hour drive from Pucón, this is one of the best and most beautiful. Seventeen natural hot-spring pools, many of them secluded, dot the dense native forest. Each thermal bath has its own private bathrooms, lockers, and deck.

An Osorno business executive's love for tailfins and V-8 engines led him to establish this auto museum in 1995. His particular passion is the little-respected Studebaker, which accounts for about half of the 140 vehicles on display. Elvis and Buddy Holly bop in the background.

About 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Puerto Montt, at this small town near Pargua—the ferry crossing to Chiloé—the Maullín River merges with the Pacific Ocean in spectacular fashion. Be sure to visit the expansive Pangal Beach, with large sand dunes teeming with birds. If staying overnight, there are cabins and a campground.

Across the estuary from the Fuerte de Niebla is this large and well-preserved fort from 1645. In the January through February summer season, historic reenactments of Spanish military maneuvers take place daily at 4 and 6. To get there, you need to rent a small boat, which costs only about 1,000 pesos at the marina near Fuerte de Niebla.

Valdivia's imposing modern cathedral faces the west side of the central plaza. A small museum inside documents the evangelization of the region's indigenous peoples from the 16th through 19th centuries.

Latin America's ornate church architecture is nowhere to be found in the Lake District. More typical of the region is Puerto Montt's stark 1856 Catedral. The alerce-wood structure, modeled on the Pantheon in Paris, is the city's oldest surviving building.

This modern cathedral fronts the Plaza de Armas and is topped with a tower resembling a bishop's mitre. "Turn off your cell phone," the sign at the door admonishes those who enter. "You don't need it to communicate with God."

The city's modern cathedral sits on the northwest corner of the central square, flanked by an office tower emblazoned with a cross.

A walk south of downtown on Yungay and General Lagos takes you through a neighborhood of late-19th- and early-20th-century houses that were spared the ravages of the 1960 earthquake. One of these houses dates to 1870 and accommodates the Centro Cultural El Austral. It's worth the stop if you have an interest in period furnishings.

Valdivia has a long history of producing beer, and this brewery brews the country's beloved lager. The Anwandter family emigrated from Germany a century-and-a-half ago, bringing along their beer-making know-how. The cervecería (brewery), on the road to Niebla, hosts interesting guided tours by prior arrangement. There's also a small museum and a souvenir shop where you can buy the requisite caps, mugs, and T-shirts, plus a pricey restaurant serving German fare.

The experience of visiting this small village 29 km (18 miles) northwest of Temuco begins the moment you board the bus. Expect to share space with Mapuche vendors and their enormous sacks and baskets of fruits and vegetables, all returning from market. A trip in your own vehicle is much less wearing but infinitely less colorful. Regardless of your chosen mode of transport, you arrive in Cholchol to the sight of rucas, traditional indigenous thatch huts, plus claptrap wooden houses, horse-drawn carts, and artisan vendors lining the dusty streets—all of whom sell their wares from 9 until about 6. Photo opportunities are plentiful, but be unobtrusive and courteous with your camera. Locals dislike being treated as merely part of the scenery.

This awning-covered market in the southern shadow of the bridge leading to Isla Teja is a perfect place to soak up the atmosphere of a real fish market. Vendors set up early in the morning; you hear the thwack of fresh trout and the clatter of oyster shells as they're piled on the side of the market's boardwalk fronting the river. If the sights, sounds, and smells are too much for you, fruit and vegetable vendors line the other side of the walkway opposite the river.

To protect the all-important city of Valdivia, the Spanish constructed a series of strategic fortresses at Niebla, where the Valdivia and Tornagaleones rivers meet. Portions of the 1671 Fuerte de Niebla and its 18 cannons have been restored. The ground on which the cannons sit is unstable; you can view them from the ramparts above. The old commander's house serves as a small museum documenting the era's military history.

The small subterranean gallery displays rotating exhibits by Chilean artists.

Some 20% of Chile's 1.4 million indigenous Mapuche live on reducciones, or reservations. One of the most welcoming communities is this settlement of Mapuche and Huilliches on Isla Huapi, a leafy island in the middle of deep-blue Lago Ranco. A boat departs from Futrono, on the northern shore of the lake, at 7:30 am every day except Thursday, returning at 4 pm. The pastoral quiet of Isla Huapi is broken once a year in January or February with the convening of the island council, in conjunction with the Lepún harvest festival. You are welcome during the festival, but be courteous and unobtrusive with your camera.

North and west of the Universidad Austral campus, this garden is awash with 1,000 species of flowers and plants native to Chile. It's a lovely place to wander among the alerce, cypress, and laurel trees whatever the season. If you can't make it to Conguillío National Park to see the monkey puzzle trees, this is the place to see them. It's particularly enjoyable in spring and summer.

Fondly known around town as the "MAC," this is one of Chile's foremost modern-art museums. The complex on Isla Teja was built on the site of the old Anwandter brewery destroyed in the 1960 earthquake. The minimalist interior, formerly the brewery's warehouses, contrasts sharply with a modern glass wall fronting the Río Valdivia, completed for Chile's bicentennial. The museum has no permanent collection; it's a rotating series of temporary exhibits by contemporary Chilean artists.

This museum is dedicated to the life and work of Rudolph Amandus Philippi, a 19th-century German-Chilean naturalist. The museum's collection explores the botanical studies of Philippi and is housed in the historic Schüller house, built in 1914. The exhibits include watercolors, drawings, photographs, and other objects that belonged to Philippi and tools, furniture, and other scientific objects from the 1800s.

This museum, east of the city's bus terminal, has a collection of crafts and relics from the nearby archipelago of Chiloé. Historical photos of Puerto Montt give a sense of the area's slow and often difficult growth, plus the impact of the 1960 earthquake, which virtually destroyed the port. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the grounds during his 1987 visit; one exhibit documents the event.

For a historic overview of the region, visit this museum on neighboring Isla Teja. The collection focuses on the city's colonial period, during which time it was settled by the Spanish, burned by the Mapuche, and invaded by Dutch corsairs. Downstairs, rooms re-create the interior of the late-19th-century Anwandter mansion that belonged to one of Valdivia's first immigrant families; the upper floor delves into Mapuche art and culture.

The municipal museum displays an impressive collection of Mapuche ceramics, masks, leather, and jewelry. A replica of a ruca hut graces the front yard. It's made of thatch so tightly entwined that it's impermeable to rain.