Puerto Varas itself is a pleasure, but the reason to come is what surrounds it: a perfect volcano, a national park of lakes and rainforest, German towns along the shore and the islands of Chiloé just beyond. These are the nine places we would build an itinerary around, each with its own guide covering what to do, how to get there and which tours cover it.
Things to See in & Around Puerto Varas
Nine places that make the Lake District one of the most beautiful corners of Chile.
Puerto Varas & Lake Llanquihue
Puerto Varas & Lake Llanquihue Puerto Varas
The City of Roses on Lake Llanquihue
A small lake town founded by German settlers in the 1850s, with shingled wooden houses, a red-roofed church copied from the Black Forest and a waterfront where the Osorno volcano fills the view on a clear day. It is the Lake District’s best base for tours, food and hotels.
Puerto Varas & Lake Llanquihue Frutillar
German heritage and world-class music
The prettiest of the lake towns: a waterfront of painted wooden houses, a pier and a beach, and the striking Teatro del Lago concert hall built out over the water. Every summer it hosts the Semanas Musicales, one of Chile’s leading classical music festivals.
Puerto Varas & Lake Llanquihue Lake Llanquihue
Chile’s second-largest lake
An inland sea of around 860 km² ringed by German-founded towns — Puerto Varas, Llanquihue, Frutillar, Puerto Octay — with the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes on its eastern shore. Drive or cycle round it for beaches, viewpoints and kuchen stops.
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park Osorno Volcano
Chile’s most perfect cone
The 2,652 m snow-capped cone that rises above Lake Llanquihue and appears on half the postcards in Chile. A road climbs its western flank to a ski and mountain centre with chairlifts, craters and lava fields — a volcano you can visit in an afternoon.
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park Petrohué Waterfalls
Turquoise water over black lava
Not a tall waterfall but a thundering series of rapids where the Petrohué river forces its way through channels of basalt left by the Osorno volcano. Short forest trails and viewing platforms put you right beside the water, with the volcano behind.
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park Todos los Santos Lake
The emerald lake with no road around it
A long, green-blue glacial lake wedged between the Osorno, Puntiagudo and Tronador volcanoes, with only forest on its shores. Boats from Petrohué cross it to the remote village of Peulla — the first leg of the famous Andean lakes crossing to Bariloche.
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park
Chile’s first national park
Created in 1926 and still one of the country’s most spectacular: a huge protected area of volcanoes, glacial lakes and Valdivian rainforest that includes the Osorno volcano, the Petrohué falls, Todos los Santos lake and the road-free village of Peulla.
Puerto Montt & Chiloé
Puerto Montt & Chiloé Chiloé
Island of myths, palafitos and wooden churches
A rain-washed archipelago a short ferry ride from the mainland, with its own food, legends and architecture: stilt houses over the tide in Castro and a group of wooden churches listed by UNESCO. Easily reached on a long day trip from Puerto Varas.
Puerto Montt & Chiloé Puerto Montt
Gateway city and seafood capital
The capital of the Los Lagos region, 20 km south of Puerto Varas, where the Panamericana meets the sea. Most visitors pass through for El Tepual airport, the bus terminal or the ferries south, but the Angelmó market and waterfront are worth a few hours.
A sensible four-day plan: Day one, arrive and walk Puerto Varas’ heritage quarter and waterfront. Day two, the Osorno volcano and the Petrohué falls on the first clear day. Day three, the boat across Todos los Santos lake to Peulla — or rafting and Frutillar. Day four, Chiloé, or the Cruce Andino onwards to Bariloche.
Plan your days on the lake
Make the most of every clear day in Puerto Varas
When the clouds lift over Osorno, you want to be on the road already. Compare volcano, waterfall, lake and island tours and book in a couple of taps.