Chile sleeps on a bed of volcanoes. And some days ago it woke up with the new eruption of one of them, Villarrica. The umpteenth and never last manifestation of fire and lava in the second largest and most active volcanic chain in the world.
The Villarrica is a majestic volcano (2,400 meters above sea level) which dominates the landscape of Pucón, one of the major tourist areas of the Chilean Araucanía. We were fortunate to visit Pucón and Villarrica few years ago and we are sure that, when this eruption ends -highly warned by the growth of seismic activity for weeks and therefore very controlled to minimize human harm- it will end up being one more attraction in this beautiful area of Chile.
As you can see from the photos, Villarrica is the perfect volcano: frustoconical shape, lonely and isolated in the middle of the plain, with an ever smoking crater from which even in dormant time we see flashes of incandescent lava and a perpetual snow glacier covering the summit as a scarf ice.
At its foot it was formed a giant lake full of blue water and volcanic ash beaches where you can swim, surf or fish formed. Pucón is a paradise for nature lovers!
So far 4,000 people have been evacuated and inhabitants of the region are crossing their fingers for the fury of the volcano to not get worse. When this eruption finishes we absolutely encourage you to include this area if you plan to travel to Chile. There are lots of possibilities for hiking and mountaineering (one of them is rising the Villarica crater, which for obvious reasons will be restricted for some time). In winter (July and August in the Southern Hemisphere) you can ski in the resort located in the very bottom of the volcano. You can also go rafting on Trancura river -which flows into Lake Villarrica- or take a relaxing bath in some of the numerous hot springs, such as Geometric Hot Springs in Coñaripe.
Anyway … wild nature as it is only found in Chilean Patagonia.
Photos: Andrés Otárola, MarwinMarwin, Ignacio Platero and César García.
