We enter Chile by bus to Puerto Varras, a town with a German heritage, and use it as a base to visit Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales.
The Austrians we’d met on our La Payunia tour told us that Puerto Montt was ugly and instead we should go to Puerto Varas, so that was where we made our first stop in Chile after crossing the border from Argentina. The ‘welcome to Chile’ sign was right at the top of a mountain pass and from there we rode with the Andesmar bus a good 30 minutes before reaching the customs part. As we filled in our customs form we’d been given on the bus, we were really hoping we got that stamp, otherwise it was going to be a very long walk back.
At the customs area, all of our big bags were removed from the bus and laid out on a bench for a few sniffer dogs to do their thing. Meanwhile we were asked to bring all our smaller bags off the bus and line them up on another bench for some more dog sniffing. While the dogs were busy, we had to line up to have our passports stamped. As we were waiting in the queue, someone came around to just collect the forms and – even though the dogs weren’t interested in our small bags, or anything other than playing with their ball – we were still picked out of the queue to come and empty them. Did we look like drug smugglers?? No, they were in fact looking for fruit. We took this as a compliment. It was less the border police and more the agricultural department checking that nobody brings in any organic produce to Chile. We guessed that they assume the foreigners are the ones to not realise this, and that’s why we got such a thorough search. After satisfying the guard that I was not smuggling in apples, we rejoined the queue and got our passports stamped. We were only asked which city we were staying in, and advised not to lose the very important piece of paper they gave us. After I’d got my stamp I realised the bus driver was waving at me and saying ‘mochila?’ (backpack). I stuck my head out the door and found that the same guard wanted to open my big backpack too, so I had a second opportunity to reassure him that I was not a fruit smuggler. Alas, there was one poor lady who lost not only her banana but also her ham and cheese sandwich. I hope the dogs get some of the contraband.
Back on the bus we drove back down the mountain onto a plateau where our first impression of Chilean countryside was gently undulating fields dotted with large old trees, rusty red coloured wooden log cabins and volcanoes. The first we spotted was Osorno, like a big chocolate drop with white icing dripping down from its crater. On the horizon we could also see Puntiagudo. The introduction to the roads was less glamorous – we spent about 2 hours on a dirt track that looked like it was in the process of being paved. It was dusk before we arrived in Puerto Varas and were dropped a bit by the side of the road. Puerto Varas is so small that it doesn’t have a main bus terminal, rather terminals per bus company. This turned out to be important later.
Kim had booked our Puerto Varas accommodation, a yoga ‘retreat’. But let’s be honest – it was the cheapest place left. It was really 2 spare rooms in the house (traditional rusty red wooden construction) of a young couple with a dog. We needed to pay in cash and given we’d only just arrived in Chile, we had none of the new pesos on us so we walked into town (over the railway line :)) to fetch some. Here again we lost almost 10 euros in transaction fees but at least in Chile there seems to be no limit on how much you can take out like there was in Argentina. The town looked a bit pokey to start with but when we reached the main road around the harbour the bars and restaurants were chock-a-block, especially for a week night. We were happy to get a table at El Barista for some fish and a burger, but not so happy at the prices. We quickly realised what everyone had meant when they’d said Chile is expensive, and later figured out that La Barista is actually one of the best value restaurants in town.
After a short night’s sleep (turns out yoga people also like to party), the next day was what’s becoming a classic new country admin day. We bought a Chilean SIM card from a grumpy shop assistant, sussed out the public bus system which would get us to the Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales the next 2 days, and then waited an hour to be allowed into a pizza restaurant set in what looked like an old pier over the lake. But hurrah, pizza in Chile is real and not just cheese on bread! We then took a walk along the lake – Osorno volcano always within sight – to a little beach area and relaxed for what I consider to be a very long time (an hour). On the way back we stopped to try out our first pisco sour (very nice, but not cheap) and then after some more time killing we ended the day in the world’s worst Irish pub for some average enchilladas and some excellent, but badly mixed, 80s tunes.
The next morning we were up and down to the bit where all the collectivos (minibuses) set off for the park. As soon as the drivers saw us coming in our walking gear they could guess where we wanted to go and pointed us into a bus where we were pretty happy to get a seat. About 20 minutes later and impossible to squeeze anyone else into the standing area, we were off. It took about an hour to get to Saltos del Petrohue and we paid 2000 CH$ one way per person. You pay the driver as you get off at your destination. The buses run every 20 mins or so and it’s worth checking when the last one back is, because even in summer it was 6.30pm for us.
After a fairly hefty park entrance fee (6000 CH$) we did the 3 recommended ‘trails’ in the park. This took a total of about an hour, and wasn’t challenging, but the second one – Sendero de los Enamoradas – did take us very close to a bright-blue rushing river which was particularly nice. The third trail is the one where you get to see the waterfalls with Osorno as the backdrop. It was a nice view, but we would say if you’re only one day in this area, skip it because it’s pretty touristy and doesn’t keep you amused for long. Instead, do what we did on our second day (see below).
We were only at the Saltos about 2 hours then headed back on the bus to Puerto Varas. As there was still an afternoon to fill we thought we’d get another bus around to Frutillar but after watching two jam-packed collectivos pass us (it was the last week of summer holidays), we decided not to bother and instead ended up back at El Barista for kaffee und kuchen (this and the Lutherian wooden churches are the main hangovers from German settlement here). It was over a large wedge of cheesecake that we started to rethink our Chilean plans. Accommodation (in towns) and dining out is expensive, and to get out and about (e.g. to national parks and other places which tend to be out of town) you always need either a public bus (which is cheap but runs at weird intervals or is full) or a tour which will cost you 60 euros per person. We started to come round to the idea that renting a car (to allow us to stay somewhere cheaper, to cook, and to give us more flexibility of visiting the parks) was the way to go and hoped we’d be able to pick up a car on our way to our next destination. I was particularly keen to get cooking because, well – there’s a reason you don’t see many Chilean restaurants outside of Chile…With renewed excitement we pinged off a request to a car hire place in Pucón. And then we got to work booking a ticket out of Puerto Varas. Because of the lack of a central terminal we had to visit 3 terminals – one to Pullman to book a bus to Temuco, then two to book a ticket from Temuco to Pucón as the first company (ETM) only had one ticket left. This left us with a 5 hour layover in Temuco so we were glad we hadn’t left it any later than 2 days in advance to book. Dinner tonight was at Costumbrista Cocineria, a fantastic little (8 tables) restaurant where I had the most perfectly cooked hake. Prices were also about half the price of the other restaurants we’d seen.
On our third full day in Puerto Varas (2 was probably enough) we were up earlier and on the same bus by 9am, this time taking it to the end of the road – to Petrohue. This would cost us 2500 CH$ per person. We’d seen the day before that there was a nice Sendero Paso Desolacion hike we could do. We headed straight for the rangers’ hut assuming we’d have to pay the entrance fee all over again, but we didn’t. Instead we were greeted by a friendly park ranger who gave us a recommendation to walk up to the mirador at 630 metres, then take the Sendero Los Alerces and come back on the Rincón del Osorno, which would have us walking back along the lake in a big circle. So having put our names and details down (this is compulsory, as is letting them know you’re still alive at the end), we set off trampling over volcanic sand, again – always with Osorno within view. The climb up to the mirador was tough – hot, little shade, and no concept of where we were heading exactly. I was about ready to give up but Kim dragged me the last bit up where we got fantastic views of the volcano up close in one direction, and the lake and mountains in the other direction. Here we met Dasha, a Ukrainian couchsurfer also travelling around South America. After the mirador we could have chosen to make a smaller circle but of course we like a challenge and so set off on the bigger circle. Eventually we started walking through a shady forest area and at the point where I thought my toes were melting off, we popped out onto a secluded beach with the clearest lapping water. I ran (well, hobbled) with my bare feet into the water and tried not to think about the remaining 6km (2 hours) we still had to go. Up until this point the signage had been really good in the park – impossible to get lost – but after a section through the forest and coming out onto another beach, we weren’t sure where the trail had gone. Dasha reappeared and was having the same problem so as a 3 we worked it out together, picked up the trail and eventually made it back to the rangers’ hut about 2 hours later than we were expecting, and with Kim’s water having run out long ago. But hey, at least we weren’t in the ambulance we saw pulling out with its blue lights on…One shared banana had not been enough to keep us going and I made Kim promise that on the next hike we’d take some proper food with us.
We paid an extraordinary amount for two chilled cokes at one of the huts – there’s not a lot else in Petrohue – but couldn’t care less as we boarded the penultimate bus of the day back to Puerto Varas. After a 3rd visit to El Barista (it really is the hub in Puerto Varas) we limped up the hill and straight to bed.
Practical extra – pictures of the map and different trails at Vicente Perez Rosales National Park
