Perched on the shores of Lake Llanquighuie overlooking Osorno and Calbuco Volcanoes, Puerto Varas is an excellent base from which to explore the surrounding national parks of Chile’s Lake District.
Accessed from the bustling port of Puerto Montt, a short flight from Santiago, Puerto Varas is a pretty Germanic town looking out across Lake Llanquihue to the spectacular volcanoes of Osorno, Puntiagudo and Calbuco that loom high on the far shores. Ringed by dramatic national parks, Puerto Varas is the gateway to Chile’s southern Lake District, a picturesque area of temperate rainforest, aquamarine lakes and glacier-topped mountains that straddles the border with Argentina. Originally founded in 1854 by German settlers, Chile’s “city of roses” retains its traditional, wood shingled architecture and pretty churches and now brims with bars, hotels, restaurants and tour agencies. Close by, Volcano Osorno offers excellent walking, rafting and fishing as well as access to Bariloche just across the border via the breathtaking “Cruce de Lagos” lake crossing, a series of boat and bus trips that cuts through the heart of the Andes. Further south, punctuated by the towering, granite peaks of the Cochamo Valley, lush temperate rainforest competes with millenary Alerce trees, giant redwood like conifers, in the Alerce Andino National Park before the landscape splinters into a myriad of islands and vertical Patagonian fjords, inaccessible by road.
Puerto Varas – Luxury Collection
Futangue Hotel & Spa$$$$$
Tucked away on the northern fringes of the Puyehue National Park, the Futangue Hotel & Spa is a stunning private nature reserve overlooking Lake Ranco surrounded by magnificent Andean forests, mountains and tumbling waterfalls. This idyllic setting is matched by Futangue’s striking contemporary architecture inspired by the traditional windswept barns and stables of southern Patagonia. Inside, the spacious wooden interiors are bathed in natural light through oversized picture window...
Puerto Varas Hotels
Hotel Awa$$$$
Set amidst 20 hectares or prime lakeside real estate that overlook the magnificent Osorno Volcano, Awa is an eye-catching, modernist structure of polished concrete, shimmering glass and angular metal work. Inside, native wood flooring and volcanic stone are drenched in natural light that softens the hotel’s urban factory feel while water features add yet another natural element to the design. Admittedly, Awa may not be to everyone’s taste, but for those interested in modern design and who...
Casa Molino$$$$
Casa Kalfu$$$
Hotel Enjoy Puerto Varas$$$$
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