Chile's Los Lagos region offers a rich natural landscape that is much more than a plethora of lakes, but a stunning array of volcanoes, mountains, rivers, temperate forest, fjords, and a Pacific coastline that must have been what a wild California looked like some two centuries ago. Then there is the warm southern Chilean culture, with its mosaic of influences ranging from the Mapuche indigenous communities to German colonists to modern-day Chilean society.
With the sponsorship of Sernatur Los Lagos, through the end of January 2014, Patagon Journal will spotlight some of our favorite trips in the Los Lagos region. 
 
Photo Gallery: Dynamic Chiloé
One of southern Chile’s most dynamic places for its landscape, food and culture is Chiloé, the stunningly beautiful archipelago hanging off of continental Chile, but twisted in some distinctive form. Though the main island can be reached via a short ferry ride across the Chacao Channel from the mainland, Chiloé has developed in large part in insolation, forming a culture unlike anywhere else in the country. Read more..
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photo Gallery: The Cochamo Valley trail
Nestled between mountains, fjords and sea, it is a true natural paradise. Trekking, horseback riding, and kayaking are among the outdoor opportunities here. Read more..
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ruta Lago Llanquihue: Touring the Puerto Octay – Ensenada road

 
 Shaped roughly like an equilateral triangle, Lake Llanquihue is one of southern Chile’s most visited areas, thanks to towns like Frutillar and Puerto Varas. But there’s another part of the lake that gets too little attention: from Puerto Octay, at its northern tip, a newly paved road follows the lakeshore southeast to reach the hamlet of Ensenada, where it meets the road from Puerto Varas. Read more..

 

 

 

Curanto on Chiloe Island


“It’s like the devils kitchen,” says María Luisa Maldonado with a laugh as she stirs her milcao in a large pan of oil. Maria Luisa is quite some lady. Not only is she the pioneer of agrotourism in Chiloé,  a kind of tourism where people visit farms and ranches for a taste of rural life, but she was the inspiration for the main character in Isabel Allende’s latest book, Maya's Notebook. Read more..
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Brewery bike ride in Los Lagos


Love biking? Love beer? It was only a matter of time until someone pulled together the dream combination and made a tour of cycling between breweries. Especially in Los Lagos with its chocolate box scenery and German heritage. What better place for a brauhaus? Read more...

 

 

 

 

 

Trekking at Cordón Caulle

With snow-capped volcanoes, natural hot springs and lush temperate forests, Puyehue National Park in the Los Lagos region of Chile is a prime spot for adventure travel. On June 4, 2011, a new crater erupted, leaving tourism and the normal daily routine here severely affected. Now, two and a half years later, the Puyehue volcano is a thriving tourist destination in itself, catered by an enterprising local tour operator, Patagonia Expeditions. Read more..