If you can hike up it, jump off it, raft on top of it, swing from it, bike down it or climb it, they’ll have it here in Pucon. This small but perfectly formed town has earned itself the title of Chile’s adventure capital and rightly so as the range of adrenaline rushes on offer is endless. The landscape is extremely varied offering lakeside beaches, forests, waterfalls, hot springs and volcanos. The town is admittedly touristy but utterly charming. The town has been constructed on an easy to navigate grid system with Avenue O’Higgins filled with shops, restaurants, cafes and tour operators running through the town centre.
Tag Archives: Latin America
Buzzing Bariloche
11 Jun
San Carlos de Bariloche is a resort that buzzes all year round with world class skiing during the Winter and a whole host of lakeside and hiking opportunities during the warm Summer months. The town has a distinct alpine feel to it with wooden chalets, chocolate and ice-cream shops and even Saint Bernard dogs patrolling the plaza looking for tourists to have their picture taken with.
Chiloe – exploring Chile´s largest island
5 Jun
Chiloe is an archipelago of 40 islands off the coast of central Chile, the biggest of which is Isla Grande de Chiloe. The island is very green and fertile with rolling hills and views down to the sea – for us the island bore a strong resemblance to Wales, especially the rain we encountered! The East and West coasts are very different – the East is sparsely populated and filled with wild sandy beaches backed by dunes and temperate rainforests, while the West is home to the majority of the island´s population with several major settlements, countryside cultivated for farming and many islands and inlets sheltered from Pacific storms. Island life has strengthened cultures and traditions on Chiloe with many local superstitions and elaborate stories of ghosts, fairies and witchcraft being lapped up by the tourists.
Chaiten – experience the lows to appreciate the highs
28 May
Sometimes when you travel you have to experience lows to appreciate the highs. When you’re on the so called ‘trip of a lifetime’ you unconsciously put yourself under huge pressure to have a fantastic time all of the time but when you travel over a longer period it’s just not possible to be on cloud nine all of the time and sometimes you can hit rock bottom.
The adventure is the road – Carretera Austral
23 May
The Carretera Austral is a Chilean region of snow bound mountains, creeping glaciers, stunning fjords and emerald cut rivers. The area was only linked by road to the rest of Chile in the 1980’s which has meant old traditions have remained untouched for years and fiercely independent locals continue to rely on farming for self-sufficiency. The pace is unhurried with locals keen to stop and talk and offer their hospitality. The Carretera Austral, which is also known as the ‘Southern Highway’, stretches 1,200km from Villa O’Higgins in the South to Chaiten in the North, and can be completed with a combination of boat and road travel. There are plenty of activities lining the road for the adventurous traveller but many will find as we did that the real adventure actually lies in the road itself and the experiences it offers. Frequently described as one of the most beautiful drives in the world, it wasn’t difficult for us to understand why this route is swiftly becoming the Holy Grail for so many independent travellers
Mind Blowing Perito Moreno Glacier
11 May
At 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high (equivalent to a 15 storey building) – the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina’s Parque National Los Glaciers is a special place guaranteed to give you goose bumps.
Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
10 May
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and magellanic forest. The park which, has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is over 180,000 hectares in size and is considered to be one of the best trekking Mecca’s in the world.
Buenos Aires – city of seduction
18 Apr
Buenos Aires lived up to our every expectation. Fine European architecture gracing the city could almost persuade the untrained eye that this was Paris or Madrid but a closer look at the bustling streets, frenzied traffic and pride and passion of the residents, left us in no doubt that we had arrived in Latin America.
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Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and […]
latin chattin' 