Pucón is a great base to go hiking and do many other outdoor activities. The main reason why many travellers go to Pucón is that you can climb the volcano Villarica.
I started my days in Pucón with a trip to the Parque Nacional Huerquehue where I hiked the trail Los Lagos. The park is really pretty, contains many different types of trees, including the funny-looking araucarias and a lot of bamboo, and the lakes are beautiful! It was quite a long and tiring walk, so that when we got back to town tired and exhausted, we rewarded ourselves with a nice big ice cream J

Parque Nacional Huerquehue

Parque Nacional Huerquehue

Parque Nacional Huerquehue

Trying to catch a turkey for dinner in Parque Nacional Huerquehue ;-)
Monday was supposed to be the day with the best weather during my stay in Pucón, so I decided to try to climb that volcano. Of course you have to do this with a tour; they provide the equipment needed and you go with professional mountain guides. Our group consisted of 9 people and we had 3 guides, which I found very adequate. It was an amazing day. They were right about the weather. The whole day there was not one cloud in the sky, it was warm but not too hot and there was no wind at all. This means that we were able to climb all the way to the top of the volcano (which you cannot do when it rains or it is too cloudy) and were able to stay up there for a while (which you cannot do when it is too windy because the toxic fumes coming from the volcano get blown at you then). The hike up was difficult, but not too much. However, the part where you climb over snow and ice was very scary. It was very slippery in parts and we were walking on a very steep part of the mountain. So we needed to use our ice picks as well as we could to keep our grip on the ice and be ready to use it to hang on to in case we would fall. This part was not just scary, but also very tiring because you had to concentrate on every step. It was all worth it though when we got to the top of the volcano, we could look into the crater and we could enjoy the amazing views from up there. You can see all the way to Argentina on one side. The way down was an adventure too. Instead of walking, you slide down the snow (and ice…) most of the way. This was scary again at first as it is easy to go too fast or lose control of where, how and how fast you are sliding down. However, once you know how to do it right, it is so much fun!

Climbing up volcano Villarica

On top of the volcano

Made it to the top of the volcano!

The crater

The view from the volcano
I stayed another day in Pucón, which I used recover from all the hiking by doing some more relaxing activities. In the morning I walked around the town, along the lake and the beach. Very pretty!

Pucón

Pucón
In the afternoon I went to the natural hot pools Termas Los Pozones. What a coincidence that I was on the bus there with 3 other people from the ferry again (I kept meeting people I knew all over Pucón, and also the Dutch girls were staying at my hostel again). The pools are really nice and located in an amazing surrounding! There are 5 pools with water of different temperatures ranging from lukewarm to too hot for me to get in. It was a nice relaxing afternoon and the English girl I knew from the ferry and I met a very nice American couple who even gave us a lift back into town with their rental car, saving us the bumpy bus ride and giving us 40 minutes more to enjoy the hot water.

Termas Los Pozones 1

Termas Los Pozones 2
That night I left Pucón and got the night bus up North to Valparaíso. Looking forward to the warmer weather up North and to seeing a different area after all these glaciers, mountains, volcanoes and lakes.