Pucón - active volcano, hot springs, rafting, what more can you want? (Pucon)

Member Name: lula71

Product:	Pucon
Date:	12/04/09 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great place to get a wide range of adventure activities done

Disadvantages: Peak season means high prices

Pucón is situated in the Lake District in Chile and is perfect for outdoor activities, with one of the key attractions being a beautiful, snowcapped active Volcano. In my time there I met a girl who had travelled by bus all the way from northern Brazil to Pucón just to climb that Volcano, attracted by the photos plastered in every tourist activity place of fellow backpackers peering into the orange crater. However, the weather is hugely changeable and tour operators are strangely respective of safety regulations in Pucón, so be prepared to have to wait around for a few days for weather conditions that allow the climb to take place.

Pucón I imagine probably gets extremely touristy, it is definitely a town aimed at tourists, but when I was there it was oddly quiet. Aside from the outdoor activities you wont find all that much to do - shops etc only really seem to offer things like sports and outdoor equipment so it's definitely a place for the more outdoorish types (but if you're backpacking that is likely to be you anyway). Nonetheless, there are some fabulous restaurants, and, with the tourists apparently comes an amazing nightlife (although it was quiet when I was there). It's also perfect for photography enthusiasts as there is plenty of amazing scenery, watch out for the amazing sunsets over the lake, and the pink hue given to the volcano.

*** Activities***
Top of the list is the volcano climb... most hostals can arrange this for you and provide you with the necessary equipment, although it's advisable to at least own your own ski jacket because they don't tend to have a large variety of different sizes available, and walking against the wind in an oversized coat will be a nightmare. The volcano climb is all very well organised compared with how things are usually done in South America, they even provided us with little tubes of sunscreen.... the regulations are great safety wise.... but a pain if your climb is repeatedly cancelled due to the tiniest spattering of rain which is what happened to me, so be prepared to have to wait around.

If your volcano trip can't take place there are plenty of other things of offer though - rafting is hugely popular in Pucón and given the active volcano, plenty of HOT SPRINGS.... of which I am an enormous fan (needless to say there are also plenty of bikini shops if you happen to have forgotten to pack yours which would be perfectly normal when visiting a snowy region).

Pucón is much along the lines of Bariloche (Arg.) in style, plenty of log cabins but much smaller. It's a convenient place for doing all the adventure activities you have been planning in one go, great if you are pressed for time. For accomodation, Hostería école is a really cute, homely place with an enormous and very welcome logburner fire, comfy sofas, and it serves amazing food and giant hot chocolates to warm you up after your day of rafting or volcano trekking. It also offers plenty of excursions so is an ideal place to stay! Be prepared for a queue for the bathroom though, being 'homely' means that everyone shares I think just two bathrooms.. but it's clean and there's lots of hot water!

Pucón is a beautiful town which remains oddly unspoilt by the mass tourism it attracts. Definitely should be near the top of your list of places to visit in Chile, although I hear that during high season prices are bumped up ridiculously and it can get very crowded, so it may be best to avoid the peak season if possible. If planning the volcano trip, book it immediately as it is likely to be postponed due to adverse weather conditions - if you plan it for your last day you therefore might not get to do it.

Summary: Definitely in top 5 places to visit in Chile