November 2012
It took me a lot of time to sit down and finally write about this trip of ours to Northern Patagonia. Life has been so busy since this memorable journey down south that now, while I put pen to paper, I am reminded of that beautiful landscape that passed through in front of our eyes. Let me begin with Puerto Varas.
A drive from the Puerto Montt airport to the city of Puerto Varas would probably take not more than an hour if I remember correctly. The city of Puerto Varas is small and dominated by the magnificient Volcan Osorno. We had found a cottage which was set on the banks of lago Llanquihue. A very picturesque setting and appropriate for an evening stroll by the 2nd largest lake in Chile. We had this beach all to ourselves and two very friendly dogs who constantly ensured that we didn`t get lost.
Fruitillar is a nearby town along this lake which is about 30 minutes drive from Puerto Varas. It is a beautiful town espcially known for its Tulip plantations..too bad that there weren`t any when we went.
Our next stop was Lago Todos Los Santos and the Petrohue falls. These two picturesque water bodies should be on everybody`s to-do list on a trip to Puerto Varas. They are beautiful, especially the green colored Todos Los Santos lake.
There wasn`t any time to waste and we headed off down south to the beautiful island of Chiloe. Ancud was our first stop. A small town and very very different from anything that you would have seen in mainland Chile. There is a reason why there are no roads that lead directly to Ancud (or for that matter to Chiloe); you have to take a ferry and part of the reason is to control the flow of tourists into this area and help preserve their uniqueness. There is an airport though in Castro.
From Ancud, our next stop was Castro. One would be a complete insane to not go further down south into the island and return back to the mainland from Ancud. I know some people who did that and I really feel sorry for them! Now for Castro (and for the entire island of Chiloe), wooden churches are famous. These are very old churches built entirely out of wood and they are a treat to your eyes. I especially loved the one in Castro. While you are in Castro, you should not miss the exquisite sea food, the Palafitos de Castro and the city Church.
We managed to carve some time out for Dalcahue, the national park near Chonchi and ofcourse the penguin sanctury near Ancud.
So that was our 10 day trip to Northern Patagonia. Chiloe has a landscape worth admiring, something we would not find anywhere else. Whats left on our list is southern Patagonia and the North of Chile. Ofcourse, every country in this continent is so beautiful that you really cannot pick one and not feel bad about leaving the rest out. But we returned back very satisfied and eager to plan our next trip.
It took me a lot of time to sit down and finally write about this trip of ours to Northern Patagonia. Life has been so busy since this memorable journey down south that now, while I put pen to paper, I am reminded of that beautiful landscape that passed through in front of our eyes. Let me begin with Puerto Varas.
Fruitillar is a nearby town along this lake which is about 30 minutes drive from Puerto Varas. It is a beautiful town espcially known for its Tulip plantations..too bad that there weren`t any when we went.
Our next stop was Lago Todos Los Santos and the Petrohue falls. These two picturesque water bodies should be on everybody`s to-do list on a trip to Puerto Varas. They are beautiful, especially the green colored Todos Los Santos lake.
There wasn`t any time to waste and we headed off down south to the beautiful island of Chiloe. Ancud was our first stop. A small town and very very different from anything that you would have seen in mainland Chile. There is a reason why there are no roads that lead directly to Ancud (or for that matter to Chiloe); you have to take a ferry and part of the reason is to control the flow of tourists into this area and help preserve their uniqueness. There is an airport though in Castro.
From Ancud, our next stop was Castro. One would be a complete insane to not go further down south into the island and return back to the mainland from Ancud. I know some people who did that and I really feel sorry for them! Now for Castro (and for the entire island of Chiloe), wooden churches are famous. These are very old churches built entirely out of wood and they are a treat to your eyes. I especially loved the one in Castro. While you are in Castro, you should not miss the exquisite sea food, the Palafitos de Castro and the city Church.
We managed to carve some time out for Dalcahue, the national park near Chonchi and ofcourse the penguin sanctury near Ancud.
So that was our 10 day trip to Northern Patagonia. Chiloe has a landscape worth admiring, something we would not find anywhere else. Whats left on our list is southern Patagonia and the North of Chile. Ofcourse, every country in this continent is so beautiful that you really cannot pick one and not feel bad about leaving the rest out. But we returned back very satisfied and eager to plan our next trip.
