The Lake District: Places to Explore

The small fishing villages of Cochamó are blessed with friendly people but little infrastructure. Only a few farms dot the countryside. In short, nature with a capital "N" is the real reason to come... Read more

A drive along the southern shore of Lago Llanquihue to Ensenada takes you through the heart of Chile's murta-growing country. Queen Victoria is said to have developed a fondness for these tart red berries... Read more

Halfway down the western edge of Lago Llanquihue lies the small town of Frutillar, a destination for European immigrants in the late 19th century and, today, arguably the most picturesque Lake District... Read more

At this private nature reserve, which spans nearly 120,000 hectares, you will find some of the last, best stands of Chile's native evergreen forest, a temperate rainforest ecosystem rich in plants and... Read more

In the Mapuche language, Lican Ray means "flower among the stones." This pleasant, unhurried little resort town of 1,688 inhabitants is on Lago Calafquén, the first of a chain of seven lakes that... Read more

Workaday Osorno is the least visited of the Lake District's four major cities. It's one of the oldest in Chile, but the Mapuche prevented foreigners from settling here until the late 19th century. Like... Read more

The resort town of Pucón, on the southern shore of Lago Villarrica, attracts all manner of Chileans young and old. By day, there are loads of outdoor activities in the area. The beach on Lago Villarrica... Read more

For most of its history, windy Puerto Montt was the end of the line for just about everyone traveling in the Lake District. Now the Carretera Austral carries on southward, but for all intents and purposes... Read more

The story goes that a German merchant named Ochs set up shop in this tidy community on the northern tip of Lago Llanquihue. A phrase uttered by customers looking for a particular item, "¿Ochs, hay.?... Read more

A small but fast-growing resort town on the edge of Lago Llanquihue, Puerto Varas is renowned for its view of the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes. Stunning rose arbors and Germanic-style architecture grace... Read more

This northern gateway to the Lake District acquired a bit of pop-culture cachet as the setting for a segment in 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries, a film depicting Che Guevara's prerevolutionary travels through... Read more

If you have time for just one of the Lake District's four hub cities, make it Valdivia. The city gracefully combines Chilean wood-shingle construction with the architectural style of the well-to-do German... Read more

Villarrica was founded in 1552, but the Mapuche wars prevented extensive settlement of the area until the early 20th century. Founded by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia, it was a Spanish fortress... Read more