Lago Tinquilco and Huerquehue national park

Close to the busy tourist town of Pucón, but far enough away to find peace and quiet of the forest and mountains is Lake Tinquilco, surrounded by the Huerquehue national park, with Villarrica Volcano in the distance. We are so fortunate to find this slice of heaven on earth.

The bus ride to Pucón took 5.5 hours, following the Panamerican Highway north from Puerto Varas through Osorno and Valdivia before heading northeast into the Andes mountains. We called don Guido Schmidt for a taxi ride of 22 miles to Refugio Tinquilco, a fully equipped rustic lodge at the far end of the lake. Film producer and nature lover Patricio Lanfranco greeted us at the lodge with a warm welcome and showed us our accomodations.

Refugio Tinquilco


Quincho at the refugio, a place to barbeque and serve food on special occasions.

Lake Tinquilco is 2,400 feet above sea level and covers only 272 acres, fed by water from a dozen lakes in the mountains above. A strip of private land surrounds the lake, where a variety of services is offered to tourists. Early settlers, many from the German families of southern Chile, arrived in 1927. The first tourists arrived by horse about three years later.

Beth & Rusty at park entrance

Huerquehue park encompasses 48 square miles of mountainous terrain rising to 6,600 feet above sea level. At the higher levels of the park are numerous Araucaria trees. It is difficult for me to identify tree species, but these are easily distinguished by their spiney branches.

Araucaria tree at Lago Chico

From the lodge is a magnificent trail into the park which leads to a group of small lakes at the higher elevations. These red Estrellitas del bosque (stars of the forest) are abundant.

Beth in front of Estrellitas del bosque


Lago Chico



Lago Toro

Except for one cloudy day, the weather has been dry and warm, with intense sun. After four nights at the lodge with excellent meals, we returned to Pucón for a 3-hour bus ride to Valdivia where we had a lunch overlooking the river. Another bus ride took us south. I said farewell to Beth and Rusty in Puerto Varas and I continued on to Puerto Montt for three nights. As the sun went down around 9:30 pm, the almost full moon was rising in the east, highlighting a view of four volcanos: Puntiagudo, Osorno, Tronador and Calbuco. What a sight!
After three nights in Puerto Montt I will fly to Punta Arenas on the Straits of Magellan, then board a ship for a 4-day cruise around Tierra del Fuego, arriving in Ushuaia, Argentina on the Beagle Channel. The plot thickens!