Day 14 - Puerto Varas, Chilean Lake District

We flew to the Chilean Lake District this morning and were transferred to our hotel in Puerto Varas.  During the 30 minute drive you could easily believe you were in England with gentle hills, green fields full of buttercups, cows,  sheep and the occasional river or stream.  It was noticibly cooler here and quite cloudy although it did feel warm when the sun came out.

Puerto Varas is a really quaint, affluent town on the shore of Lake Llanquihue and a popular holiday resort for Chileans wishing to escape from the nearby cities.  It was originally inhabited by German settlers and has a distinct European feel about it.  Many restaurants and cafes serve German style food and cakes.  Many of the houses are built with locally sourced Alerce Tree also known as Patagonian Cedar.  Small tiles from the wood are used  to clad the fronts of the houses and shops.  



Alerce cladded house

Alerce cladded house



Large hawk in hotel grounds.

Small wren type bird in hotel grounds


View of lake

Plaza des Armes

Across the lake are 2 snow capped volcanos, Osorno and Calbuco.  We had a good walk around the town and had coffee and cake in one of the cafes as well as walking around the streets.  We were incredibly lucky as the sun came out and the clouds over the volcanos lifted for a while allowing us to get some good photos.  


Osorno Volcano from Puerta Varas

Calbuco Volcano from Puerta Varas

Calbuco Volcano from Puerta Varas (zoom version)

Osorno Volcano from Puerta Varas (zoom version)


Early evening we went for a walk along the lakeside.  A few people were swimming and others were sitting on the shore enjoying the evening sunshine.  The town has a lovely feel to it and is a very safe place to walk around.

White and pink daisies growing in stone wall

Luthitarian Church

View from our hotel room



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