We ended up staying about 10 days in Pucón and had a fine time. We really liked our two bedroom cabaña at Hotel y Cabañas Monte Verde. It had a woodburning stove to keep us warm and the wi-fi worked more or less well. It cost US$77 a day. Our cabaña was up on a hill overlooking Lago Villarrica and it was beautiful. (Hotel y Cabañas Monte Verde, Km. 5 camino Pucón a Villarrica, fono (56-45)441-351 and (56-45) 442-042, e-mail: info@monteverdepucon.cl, web: http://www.monteverdepucon.cl/) And the people working there were quite nice too.
According to "Excursions for Expats, Chile and Neighboring Countries" by Teri McLachlan with Leonie Elphinstone, the area has: "Lush green native forests, silver waterfalls, blue sky with fresh air, active snow-covered volcanoes, thermal baths, fishing, river rafting, parks with hiking, horseback riding, many dramatic cascades (saltos), casino in Pucón, wood and wool artesania and Mapuche culture. (p. 119) Click here to the website for Villarrica and here for Pucón.
The active volcano called Volcán Villarrica
And we had a lovely time discovering the thermal pools. Our favorite thermal pools were Termas Geometricas (Camino Conaripe Al Parque Nacional Villarrica km 16, Fundo Cajon Negro, Aojie, Panuilli, X Region, fono (56-2) 241-1214, web: http://www.termasgeometricas.cl/) They charged us the seniors price CLP$12.000 for the two of us. We really liked the design and the placement of the pools. We could move from pool to pool depending on the temperature of the water we wanted. There was a short hike to the source there too. There was even a tiny place that made delicious soup for lunch. (Lunch 2 soups: CLP$4.000)
Our favorite thermal pools near Pucón called Termas Geometricas
Our bike rides around Pucón were fun. It's our kind of place: good biking, good thermal pools, great vistas, a nice place to stay, nice people!
On our 21 km bike ride to Ojos de Caburga,Caburga, and Lago Caburga with the volcano in the background
Audre and Dimitri; We loved Pucon!
ReplyDeleteWe stayed at the Villarica Park Lake Hotel between Villarica and Pucon. Our rate was $250 per spacious and wonderful room. The hotel is one of the nicest we have ever been to. The hotel is relaxing and luxurious at the same time. The restaurant is fabulous(stick to a la carte) and the pools are very nice. Our views were of the volcano were amazing and the moon reflected beautifully off of the lake at night. Pucon is wonderful! We went horseback riding in the mountains at an equestrian center called Huepilmalal. The owner, Rodolfo Coombs, is a retired olympic horse trainer. He took the Spanish team to 4 different Olympics during his tenure. His place is outstanding, the horses well trained and the riding varied for all levels. The vistas as we rode were breathtaking. We will never forget his professionalism, patience and warmth.(www.huepilmalal.cl). We booked him through the hotel but got him by chance because the usual places were fully booked. He was a lucky find! Another day we went white water rafting. This was fabulous! We booked this in town at the suggestion of one of the english speaking waiters. The group we used was Sol y Nieve Adventure in Pucon. For about $16.00 US per person we had transportation to and from the river, full wet suit and floatation device, paddle, boat, guide, additional safety person in a kayak, a photographer and finally, 4 hours of glorious level 4 rafting! Our guide goes to Idaho every summer to teach other guides. We felt totally safe and really enjoyed ourselves. We also did the thermal pools and went to the termas geometricas that you suggested. Very nice. Our teenage girls did the zip line over the canopy one day. They loved it! The area is beautiful, clean, friendly, and offers a lot of enjoyable activities. We highly recommend it!
Stella (sjwag6@aol.com)