Volcan Osorno, ever present around Petrohue, with red flowers indigenous to Chile, called ‘notro’, in front
Having enjoyed the coast briefly, we head further south, to more volcanos and more lakes. After a few hours on the Ruta Panamericana, the main north-south motorway, we turn off towards the mountains again, with spectacular views of the Cordillera, including several snow-capped volcanos. The biggest of all, Tronadir, once again on the border of Chile and Argentina, is not always equally visible, but several smaller, nearer volcanos are, amongst them Puntiagudo, with its pointed top, and more prominently, Osorno, an almost perfectly cone-shaped volcano from any geological text book. And all along we have the expansive lake Llanquihue on our side.
Puntiagudo on the left, and Tronodor on the right, majestic view on the way to Petrohue
which also shows prominently the Osorno volcano, with a textbook perfect cone
along the way we encounter a small wooden church
with a cemetery, containing old crosses
as well as the typical Chilean extravaganza with plastic flowers
a rare wildlife spotting, a small Patagonian fox
Petrohue village, where the Todos los Santos lake empties in the Petrohue river
Osorno, from our bedroom, changing colours at sunset
and the Puntiagudo volcano doing the same, other window
The small village of Petrohue is located at the edge of the next lake, Todos los Santos; our guesthouse, and our room, face Osorno, whilst through the other window we see Puntiagudo. Their snowy peaks are gradually changing colour, with the setting sun, truly spectacular. Oh, and had I already mentioned that we have perfect weather, stark blue skies, limitless visibility, and a pleasant temperature? Apparently we are lucky, last week it was still raining cats and dogs, and completely overcast.
morning drive up the volcano, first through dense forest
The next morning we drive up the Osorno, for some 12 kilometres. Firstly through dense forest, then through an explosion of spring flowers, and finally onto the barren slope of the volcano itself. From where we take a ski lift – mountaineering made easy – to the base of the ice, which is at around 1700 meters, not that high after all. Beautiful views, of the volcano, of the surrounding landscape, and of the Llanquihue lake below.
next: Cochamo
and lots and lots of lupines
and then we reach a level full of spring flowers
including the indigenous ‘notro’, beautifully red
ultimately, we reach the bare flanks of the volcano itself
which we ‘climb’ further with the help of ski lifts
some of the volcano is red
and the top is white, covered with snow and ice
in close-up, the ice shows big cracks
the view from above – not the top – is fabulous
and includes the large Llanquihue lake
as well as a great view of the Tronador volcano, at the border with Argentina
