steamboatsista

We are going to Chile during mid-April....first to Patagonia and then to the Lake Country, Colchagua Valley and then Valparaiso and Santiago. My question concerns the towns of Pucon and Chillan. We have 2 nights in each location. We love to hike and will have a rental car. We also like to eat,so restaurant suggestions would be great

Any ideas?

crellston

We spent a few days in Pucon and can highly recommend hiring bikes and getting out into the countryside. We chose to ride out to Ojos de Caburga a waterfall a round trip of 30/35 km. Fantastic views of the volcano. The ride out was through great countryside although the last few kilometres was along the main road. Another popular option would be to climb up Villarrica and slide back down on a plastic tray (this trip is weather dependant). Lots of operators in town offer this trip

Most of the restaurants are in block of 2-3 streets loads to choose from and all looked good - great fish and meat. Our favourite place was a Uruguayan asodo type place fantastic food and enormous porttion sizes! I think it was called La Maga

A few photos of our time there

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...0060/tpod.html

Have fun , it really is a nice town to visit

steamboatsista

The bike ride sounds perfect for us. Thanks for taking the time, crellston. I enjoyed your blog and photos.

Chillan anyone?

Huentetu

Are you talking about this coming April? Although Chillan has an excellent market to explore, you would be better off driving up toward Las Trancas and Termas de Chillan if you want some hiking opportunities. I have no idea how that road is since the earthquake. Allow extra time for detours on the highway too.
http://www.visitingchile.com/eng/map...bio-region.htm
Don't miss at least a half day at a termas, hot springs near Pucón, Huife is nice and has a full restaurant or snack options.

steamboatsista

Thanks, Huentetu. Yes, we are leaving in about 3 weeks but will spend the first 5 days in Torres del Paine. My understanding is that the roads are OK but will require extra time as you stated.

Now I am getting advice to forego the Chillan and Colchagua Valley part of the trip...perhaps fly out of Temuco to the Santiago/Valparaiso area after seeing Puerto Varas and Pucon in the Lake District.

What do you think?

Huentetu

At the moment I can't tell you what that bit around Chillan into the mountains is like. I think it is OK as there has been nothing about it on the news. The Ruta 5 is OK for driving, with the detours of course.
The Colchagua valley was hit fairly hard due to the number of old adobe buildings, but there is still lodging available and wine tours started up again for a lot of the vineyards. The others were hoping to be up and running in mid-April. You would certainly be very welcome if you went.
You will still see a lot of earthquake damage around Santa Cruz as there is a lot of clearing to do, but it is feasible to visit if you want.
An alternative to flying or driving is overnight long-distance bus from Pucón to Santiago. Turbus goes from Pucón and other bus lines from Temuco or anywhere else in the south. Get servicio Cama or Premium.

steamboatsista

This is encouraging. We will consider the bus as you suggest. We are booked into the Hotel Parador de la Vina in Santa Cruz. They say the structure is OK and we would like to go there if possible.

Thanks for your helpful response, Huentetu.

Huentetu

If it were me, I would go to Colchagua. It is beautiful countryside and the hotels that are open for business are full. Parador de la Viña gets excellent reviews.
Did you have somewhere contacted for Chillan? As I said, Las Trancas is a good spot for a bit of trekking. It means coming off the highway and heading about 70 kms toward the Termas de Chillan. Las Trancas is about 8 kms before the Termas. You could contact a place there to see about the road condition. The only place I know there is M.I. Lodge (French owned).
http://www.misnowchile.com/
If driving, keep the tank full if heading off the main highway. There are plenty of petrol stations right on the highway with clean bathrooms and hot food. The Pronto Copec ones have wifi. It is all toll road, although some tolls have been waived where you have to detour.

steamboatsista

Yes, we are booked into Hotel Isabel Riquelme in Chillan which (I believe) is downtown. Sounds like moving out of the downtown area to someplace like Las Trancas would be wise.

We will stay the course and go to Colchagua.

Thanks, Huentetu