Lago Llanquihue

One of our highlights from our 2013 Road Trip was Lago Llanquihue and its charming lakeside villages. We returned to the lake as the southern-most point on our trip, but as with Pucón, decided to stay out of the towns and along the lake shore. We found a cabaña between Puerto Varas and Volcán Osorno with access to the lake, which was very idyllic.

Volcán Osorno from Puerto Varas

Sunset over Volcán Osorno from our cabaña

We have previously driven east around Lago Llanquihue to Volcán Osorno and Saltos de Petrohué, so on this trip we decided to go clockwise around the lake and up to Puerto Octay. We had read excellent things about Puerto Octay in our guidebook, but the reality was a little less charming than the Eyewitness Travel's superlatives.

Map of Lago Llanquihue

View over Puerto Octay - pretty from a distance!

Needless to say, we hastened back to our old favourite, Frutillar. It was no less lovely this time around and we had time to explore the town properly. We visited the Museo Colonial Alemaán which recreates pioneer-era life with life size buildings, including a mill, a farmhouse and a blacksmith's forge. The landscaped gardens are beautiful and the buildings and artefacts very interesting.

The mill in the Colonial German Musem

Us with Lago Llanquihue and Volcán Osorno in the background

The iconic treble clef tree on the lake edge. Frutillar is famous for its music festivals

While Daniel went out for a long run, I headed to the Reserva Forestal Edmundo Winkler, a forestry school sanctuary which has a short trail through the woods at the northern edge of Frutillar. I saw some exquisite hummingbirds in the Valdivian forest, as well Laurel trees which were hundreds of years old.

A 700-year-old Laurel tree

Saltos de Petrohué

Another beautiful natural feature of the Lago Llanquihue area (South America's third largest natural lake) are the Saltos de Petrohué. These waterfalls gush out from a where a lava field splits the river. The water is a greeny-blue colour with white water rapids over the rocks, and the backdrop of Volcán Osorno makes this a truly stunning place to visit.

Sendero Los Enamorados

Volcán Osorno

Volcán Osorno lies about 45km east of Puerto Varas in the Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales. We drove up to Estación Base, where the ski lifts begin, but the snow didn't quite reach down to where we were! We were treated to some amazing views of Lago Llanquihue and a close-up of the picture-book, cone-shaped, 'frosted-icing-snow-on-top' volcano.

Skiing base camp

The very blue waters of Lago Llanquihue

Vanessa in front of the lake

Impressive Volcán Osorno

Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas is the biggest town on Lago Llanquihue, located on the southern shores of the lake. It has spectacular views across the lake of Volcán Osorno and Volcán Calbuco. The Mapuche believed this lake to be a realm of monsters and evil spirits, but the holiday-makers were out in force on the black beaches and in the balmy waters! We walked up Cerro Philippi for a bird's eye view of the town - very pretty!

Puerto Varas pier and Volcán Osorno

Lago Llanquihue and Volcán Osorno

Walk up Cerro Philippi

View of Puerto Varas from Cerro Philippi

Puerto Varas was founded in 1854 by German immigrants, and the German influence on the town is evident in its architecture and culture. We stayed in a charming little cabaña (Cabaña Tirol) which captured the spirit of the town. The town's most famous Teutonic building is the Iglesia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, which is a to-scale replica of a church in Germany's Black Forest. It is made entirely of wood.

Cabaña Tirol - our home in Puerto Varas

The famous German-style church

Puerto Varas - a quaint town across the lake