Saltos del Petrohue, wonderful South of Chile

Vicente Perez Rosales National Park is located in the Tenth Region, covering Todos Los Santos lake zone; in one of the most beautiful places of chilean south. This park was the first natural reserve created in Chile and is a perfect picture of the zone of forest and volcanoes.

To reach to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park you can take the way from Puerto Varas, a town located at 64 kilometers away from Petrohue, where the park is located. The distance of the road is almost imperceptible because of the amazing beauty of the valdivian forest, which offers greens of every tone, the Llanquihue lake which looks like an ocean and the impressive Osorno volcano.

When we are ascending through this winding road, we can watch Calbuco volcano, which has intermittent activity and a double fumarole. In its crater are red rocks, corresponding to the remains of the old eruptions, the last of them in 1996.

The road ends in the beach of Todos Los Santos Lake, located at 76 kilometers from Puerto Varas. This is other of the wonders in the zone, with its turquoise waters reflecting Osorno and Puntiagudo volcanoes. The waters of this lake aren’t cold in spite of its location in the mountain, because of the volcanic presence, which also give to the waters a pristine aspect and some minerals such as copper and sulfur

If the navigation continues for 20 nautical miles to the east, you will get to Peulla, a little town which is part of the Cruce Andino circuit, just as Petrohue. This circuit links Puerto Montt with San Carlos de Bariloche and Nahuel Huapi lake in Argentina and there is no terrestrial route between these two points, so the boat is the only way to get there. The navigation through Todos Los Santos lake is also an ecological adventure, where the visitors can observe the incredible nature of the zone, as beautiful as unforgettable.

This lake has two rivers, Peulla river and Blanco river, which drain in the Tronador hill. The Todos Los Santos Lake has its drain in the Petrohue river, which creates the famous Saltos del Petrohue, a capricious waterfalls which falls from three meters of altitude into the geographic accidents of volcanic rocks. This is a place for adventurous tourism and you can practice rafting and jet boat.

Vicente Perez Rosales National Park is surrounded by three impressive volcanoes: Tronador volcano, located right in the frontier with Argentina, which is covered by seven glaciers; Osorno Volcano, with more than 2000 meters and an almost symmetric cone but a treacherous climate which makes dangerous the descending of the mountain, and the Puntiagudo volcano, with 2400 meters of altitude and a summit that cannot be reached yet, because of its sharp slope and the unstable ground.

Because of the volcanic activity, next to the national park there are hot springs zones, like Vuriloche and Ranco. The park also has different climate conditions inside of its 220 thousand hectares, produced by difference in geography. Some zones has more rains than others, allowing the growing of different kinds of flora like ulmo, radal and coihue, trees covered by lichens and a deep forests with murta bush.

In the park there are also different species of fauna such as lizards, rodents, puma, pudues, culpeo foxes and others, besides of insects and frogs. In Todos Los Santos lake and Petrohue river the visitors can find rainbow trouts, chilean pejerrey and carps, and fly fishing is allowed.

Vicente Perez Rosales National Park is also surrounded by amazing places such as Ensenada and Petrohue, the magical shores of Llanquihue Lake and the wonderful towns of Puerto Varas and Frutillar, where you can watch Osorno and Puntiagudo volcanoes in all their splendor. You can take a tour to Llanquihue and Todos Los Santos Lakes to discover every corner of one of the most beautiful places in Chile, where every zone is an adventure.

Find excellent lodgings in puerto varas hotels, to enjoy even more your stay in this wonderful natural paradise.

Ski in Chile: Termas de Chillan, the best slopes and hotels

17:30 in the afternoon, and Santiago melts under more than 31 degrees. Our trip starts in a train and after 4 hours will get to a place that’s still in the center of our country, but it feels like south, warm and paradisiac. We are heading to Nevados de Chillan Mountain Resort, which is, at the same time, an excellent project, a mountain hotel and a dream of relaxing, rest and adventure surrounded by a wonderful natural landscape.

Our journey starts and the landscape keeps changing while we are heading away from Santiago. The supermarkets and the house are gone, while brown and green mountains cover all our sight, so the sunset is the only way to recognize the cardinal points.

Four hours later and close to midnight at the Train Station of Chillan, starts the real adventure. The trip continues through a winding road to the mountain, into the darkness to the volcanoes Chillan Nuevo and Viejo. The stars in the sky and the shadows of the hills which cut the marine blue of the night, are an overwhelming and unforgettable picture.

Nevados de Chillan hotel is located in Termas de Chillan, a privileged place which offers hot springs and mountain with the best slopes for unforgettable ski and snowboard adventures. The ski center is equipped with excellent infraestructure in elevation media, tracks, coffee shops in the mountain, an iglu bar and terrace to observe the incredible landscape of the Cordillera de los Andes.

The paved road ends, but the trip continues in a dirt road, with a thick forest around. Lights announce that our destiny is close and soon we see the cozy facade of a building, made of wood and stone. A big Saint Bernard dog comes out to say hello and we enter to the hotel and the warm rooms of its two floors, with view to the swimming pool or to the forests, with a space very well distributed, which shapes a minimalistic environment, but without losing the mountain style.

After sleeping in those comfortable beds, the morning comes quickly and when we open the window, we can see the incredible thermal swimming pool and of river water, surrounded by mountain forest. The sun rays lights their waters, giving them a green tone because of the vegetation, but their real color is grey, because of sulfur and many minerals with curative and therapeutic proprieties for illness like rheumatism, anemia, allergies, asthma, among others.

If you watch to the hills, you will see the fumaroles of thermal waters, contrasting with the clear sky above. The thermal waters of Nevados de Chillan can be used on summer and winter and they guarantee relax and harmony for everyone who submerges in them.

After this relaxing awakening in the thermal waters, the next step is a breakfast in the dinning room, a place decorated with mountain style: wood and stone. Here, the passengers will delight themselves with the gastronomy of the zone and its cakes, lemon pies, kuchen, jam and milk jam, delicious fruit juices, fresh fruits, bread, cereals and infusions.

With the energy from the breakfast, the passengers can keep resting in the swimming pool or take one of the funny activities prepared by the Entertainment Department of Nevados de Chillan. There are interesting excursions to the surroundings, like visit the Gruta de los Pangues or Mirador El Regalo, places full of flora and natural wonders such as waterfalls.

After that, the hotel wait for its guests with an exquisite buffet lunch and a aperitif in the bar. This place is as cozy as the living room of your own house, with sofas, carpets, soft lights and a big chimney with open fire during the whole winter, the perfect room for rest of the daily activities.

The lunch offers a salad bar, three varieties of hot plates, soup and the best selection of desserts, which go from fresh fruit to wonderful cakes of local confectionery.

After a lunch blunt, the next activity may be rest at the exterior, in the thermal swimming pool, enjoying the sun and the nature, or in winter, stay inside the bar. There are also summer afternoon excursions and one of the most exciting of them is the Canopy. Counting with 10 stages at more than 38 meters of height and metallic ropes of 130 meters length; the passengers who take this adventure literally “will fly” over two mountains, in the middle of amazing cliffs, waterfalls, rivers and forests. The activity counts with the presence of experts instructors, who guarantees a completely secure experience.

The hotel also counts with other adventures, like climbing to Chillan volcano and to the fumaroles. The guests can do trekking into the forests that surround the hotel and watch the beautiful fauna of the zone such as woodpeckers, rodents and other birds.

Nevados de Chillan counts with an incredible Bike Park full equipped with bumps and other obstacles to create an exciting ride. In the winter, that tracks are covered with snow, are ski runs for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers. There are also Ski School, where every person, no matter their age, can learn to practice the white sport, enjoying the best view of the mountain.

To enjoy of gastronomy even in the middle of the mountain, Nevados de Chillan has two spectacular coffee and cake shops: Otto and 2.0, where the skiers can taste delicious sandwich, hot drinks and the specialty of the house, the Turbo Sour, an special cocktail prepared with pisco, lemon and a secret ingredient.

The Mountain Resort also offers activities for the guests who don’t practice ski or snowboard, like ascensions in to the summit of Chillan volcano and other excursions. The kids also count with entertainment activities in the Club de los Exploradores, games room or watching movies in the bar of the hotel. For adults there are also billiard tables, more games and a gym.

In Nevados de Chillan hotel the relaxing is the most important activity, so it counts with an excellent thermal spa with many therapies such as hydro massage with thermal waters, sauna, different kind of massages, hot stone massage, cosmetology, mud treatments and much more.

After a day full of activities, the best thing is enjoy an exquisite buffet dinner in the dinning room with salads, hot plates and delicious deserts. After dinner, the amusement continues in the bar of the hotel, which offers different shows like live music, magic, karaoke night, among many others.

Our trip ends when the sun rays are falling and it’s time to return to Santiago, but Nevados de Chillan Mountain Resort will be waiting for the passengers that climb up to the hills to enjoy for some days of a paradise in the mountain, ideal to experience the Chile’s ski season this year.

Elqui Domos Hotel, to the infinite and beyond

For those who want to experience something different while on vacation, where natura is everywhere and the sky is the protagonist, a worthy choice is to visit Elqui Domos Hotel, in the middle of the Elqui Valley in Northern Chile.

The hotel is part of the “Unusual Hotels of the World”, which brings together the most bizarre hotels in the planet, some of which feature rooms at the top of a tree or inside an old train wagon. Domos has its place amongst them, between the most unusual, because of its infrastructure and singular offer.

To get to Elqui Valley, the place where the hotel is located, you must reach first La Serena, a beautiful nothern city that you can also visit by taking La Serena tours. It also offer great hotels and lodgings in La Serena, where you can rest one day before start your adventure to the universe.

In the middle of Elqui Valley, land of desert and a clear-blue sky all year, Elqui Domos is located. As its name tells you, the hotel is composed by a series of domes set in the middle of the desert, and immerse in one of the most unique tourism complex in the world.

Elqui Domos is the first astronomical hotel in the southern hemisphere, being that quality its most interesting characteristic, and one of the seven astronomical hotels in the world.

The “rooms”

The domes are built out of noble materials and they feature two floors. In the lower one you can see a small living room and the bathroom, while the upper floor or second floor is for the bedroom, with a big bed under an opening in the dome’s ceiling, so you can admire the stars all night long.

Each dome also features a terrace, where you can sunbathe in the day and also have BBQs. The hotel’s administration has grills available, as well as other utensils you may need to have a nice meal under the moonlight.

To know more about the stars and the constellations you can see on this side of the world, the hotel’s administration also has books about the subject in each dome, as well as a small lecture on astronomy that is taught by an expert.

You can go on excursions, led by a guide that will tell you all about the stars and its stories. The excursions can be done by foot or horseback, at day or night, which are interesting and wonderful options.

At the same time, each room or dome has its own telescope, an easy-to-handle artifact that is not really necessary to look into the sky and feel closer to the universe above us. You just need to relax and feel the magic around you.

The hotel is brand new. It opened its domes in February of 2005 and, since then, has become a quality alternative for those who want to go to northern Chile and the Elqui Valley, but with a unique element added, not just because you get to see the stars but because you can sleep under them inside a dome and in a hotel with a unique philosophy and environmental conscience.

The domes are limited, there are only six of them, and that quantity is enough to make sure that you get the best personalized service by the administration, which is handled by the owners, the former regional director of the national tourism service and his wife.

Elqui Domos also offers other complementary and free services, such as tea and coffee as well as specialized literature about astronomy. There is also a frigo bar for you to use.

The hotel keeps on growing and for the upcoming season the administration is preparing the opening of a huge wooden bathtub installed under a forty feet dome. To relax and be pampered, the owners have already announced that Spa services are just around the corner, and available soon.

So now you know, hotel and nature await you with, literally, all the universe at your disposition.

If you want to discover another amazing locations, think about your next vacations in Chile.