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Reiseart: Wander- und Studienreise: Fotografie - Geologie & Vulkanismus - aktive Vulkane
Schwierigkeitsgrad: Leicht bis mittel
Gruppengröße: 6-10
Dauer:

Reisetermine:

zur Zeit keine Termine

Preis (pro Person): 3750 € $£¥

Im Preis enthalten:

• Accommodation in shared double rooms as per itinerary
• Tent & camping equipment during camping nights
• Meals as per itinerary marked with B(reakfast), L(unch), D(inner)
• Private transportation Mercedes Benz sprinter or similar
• Entrance fees to national parks and hot springs
• Solar Eclipse watching glasses
• Accident insurance and all activities according to the itinerary
• Professional English speaking local tour guide
• Accompanying volcanologist from our team

Reiseleitung:

The tour will be guided by an expert local guide fluent in English. A volcanologist / geologist from our team will also join the tour.

Wichtiger Hinweis:

Early booking is essential on this trip! As flights to / from Chile will be difficult to find later on, we need to decide whether to run the trip by end of March.

For the Total Solar Eclipse 2020, up to 1 million people are expected to visit Pucón. (During the high season in February, they normally get 250.000 people, which ends up in long traffic jams).
You must consider traffic jams and longer waiting hours at Restaurants and shops during these days. We are trying to avoid the most common roads and places, but still cannot guarantee a service as usual. On the Eclipse day we recommend only getting around by foot (or bikes).

Upon your arrival at Temuco Airport, a private transfer will bring us to the center of Temuco. After check-in at the Hotel we will visit the Volcanic Observatory of the southern Andes OVDAS (Observatorio Volcanológico de los Andes del Sur), where we will get a lot of background information about the volcanic activities in this region.
In the evening we enjoy a nice welcome dinner with our local team.

In the morning we will be transferred to a small quaint mountain village called Malalcahuello. This village is part of the UNESCO Araucarias Biosphere Reserve.
We'll take a warm-up hike to the incredible Christmas Crater.
We continue our ride to the Escorial Lagoon, the youngest lagoon of Chile. On this stunning ride you will be able to see four volcanoes!
Lunch will be served from a local Mapuche Pewenche family. The lonko, head of the Mapuche communities will welcome you and after lunch you get time to chat to the family during a typical Matetún (a typical mate ceremony, which is a special tea served in a traditional cup).
The local staff will be setting up the tents for the overnight stay. Dinner at a nice restaurant in town.
Hiking: 1-3 hours (depending on the routes taken)

The Kütralkura Geopark is a leading tourismdestination at a national level, providing visitors with the opportunity to interpret remarkable aspects of their natural history, which covers more than 200 million years, registered in their rocks and landscapes. Italso provides access to different ecosystemsand a unique culture, shared by the Mapuche and the settler communities.
Today, we are hiking towards the Cerro Coloradito, a natural view point of 4 volcanoes: Lonquimay, Llaima, Sierra Nevada and Villarrica.
The hike is quite fun, with fantastic views and almost no other people on the trails. We’ll be surrounded by an ancient forest of araucaria trees, some of them dating over 2.000 years old.
Lunch will be served at a nice Hotel and dinner with the Mapuche family.
In the afternoon we are going to visit the nice viewpoint Pata Choique where we can see the volcanoes Llaima, Sierra Nevada, Lonquimay and Tolhuaca.
Hiking: 3-5 hours

Today, we'll drive towards Conguillío National Park. This park is one of the most attractive and outstanding parks in the Lake & Volcano District.
At the entrance of the park we will visit a lookout point with a wonderful view of the northwestern part of Llaima Volcano. You can also see different geosites: a large lava flow expelled from the Llaima Volcano dated back to 1957. This huge eruption ejected lava from two different sources, located in the eastern side of its southern peak and the other one on the north side. The lava flow down from the valley to the Captrén River, and traveled as far as 12 km. This is a basaltic-andesitic lava with a thickness of up to 8 meters at its head, where small vegetation islands can be found.
Further south we find the 2008 Lahar of Llaima Volcano. This geosite is located alongside the road and you can see the deposits originated from the lahars formed in the upper part of Llaima Volcano, on January 1st, 2008, due to the quick melting of large ice masses in the aftermath of the largest eruption after the 1955-1957 cycle. There are large blocks carried by the lahar flow, which exceed 2 m in diameter. This site has a high educational value as it shows the huge energy and impacts that lahars have on the landscape, which are one of the largest volcanic threats of Llaima.
At the main beach at the Conguillío Lake, there is an excellent view of the south side of the Sierra Nevada Volcano and its geomorphology shaped by huge glaciers. The lakes origin is from a water reservoir of the Sierra Nevada Volcano, caused by lava expelled from several parasitic cones of Llaima about 770 years ago. This site is quite beautiful, with the remarkable presence of millenary Araucaria forests on the slopes of Llaima and Sierra Nevada
volcanoes. Conguillío Lake also has a high cultural value, as archaeological remains found in the area reveal the presence of ancient inhabitants who used pottery manufactured materials. The word Conguillío means “settling by the pine seeds” or “water with pine seeds” in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche.
In the afternoon, we'll hike a very beautiful trail called the Woodpecker’s trail, where you can spot the Magellan woodpecker, which we will see searching the tree trunks for insects.

Hiking: 4-5 hours

Today, we’ll head towards the principal geosites of Kütralkura, starting at Playa Linda located at the shores of Conguillío Lake. There is the beginning of our hike along the Sierra Nevada trail surrounded by native trees of Nothofagus type. We'll also be able to spot endemic birds such as the chucao tapaculo and the noisy slender-billed parakeet.
We will also pass by the small Arcoiris Lake (rainbow lake), also formed by the buildup of
small water currents. This event happened about 320 years ago, based on radiocarbon
dating of wood carbonized by the lava. The reservoir in Arcoiris Lake resulted in the flooding of an ancient Nothofagustree forest. The remaining tree trunks can still be seen through the transparent waters with beautiful and varied blue and green tones.
We keep going until one of the most outstanding places in Kütralkura Geopark: the
Truful Truful River Canyon. This Geosite, with its own lookout point and informational
plaque, has a huge scientific and landscape value. It encompasses a remarkable 75 m wall which has been exposed to the erosion of Truful Truful River, revealing an important part
of the layered record of the intensive eruption history of Llaima Volcano in the last
13,000 years. The oldest events are recorded in the lower section, while on the top section the deposits of progressively more recent volcanic events can be seen.
Along this trail, you will see many blocks of different size and composition, which were carried with great energy by old lahars. There is also a beautiful lookout point of Salto Pequeño Waterfall at the Truful Truful River, with a height of about 30 m and an approximate width of about 10 m. The waterfall is located over old lavas of Llaima Volcano.
From here, there is an excellent view of Sierra Nevada and Llaima volcano.
After this beautiful hikes we drive to Pucón, Chile ́s capital of adventure tourism. We will try our equipment for the volcano climb the next day.

Ascending the active Villarrica Volcano is without a doubt a once in a lifetime experience, the climb is not technical, but you need to be in good shape to reach the summit.
From the top of the lift, we begin ascending the slopes of the volcano, stopping briefly every 30 minutes, having a longer break to eat our food when we are half way to the crater.
After 4 or 5 hours spent hiking, we’ll reach the live crater (2.847 meters above sea level). The views from the top are absolutely mind-blowing, overlooking five lakes and several volcanoes in the distance such as Llaima and Lanín.
The descent is quite fun, especially when we can slide down the snow on our rear ends.
Dinner on your own – explore the nice town of Pucón with the huge variety of Restaurants.
Hiking: 6-7 hours

On the foothill of the Villarrica Volcano we will join a beautiful trail through native forests until getting to stunning viewpoints. At the top of the trail we will reach the very interesting sites of parasite craters.
Getting back to the beginning of the trail, an other highlight is waiting for us. We will climb
into the huge volcanic caves, getting to know the inner of the Villarrica Volcano. Lunchbox on the way and dinner on your own in town.
Hiking: 4-5 hours

Today is a very special day. We will be able to experience a total solar eclipse right at it ́s epicenter! At 11:00 am the spectacle begins and we will meet a block away from your Hostal, where we will enjoy a nice get together with other travelers and friends. A very typical barbeque lunch will be prepared by the local host family and of course everyone will be equipped with solar glasses to be able to enjoy these unique experience without any issues.
In the afternoon we will enjoy some typical music and good food.
Dinner on your own. (you might not need dinner anymore after the rich BBQ lunch)

Early in the morning, we'll head to the heart of The Andes Mountains, driving to the border with Argentina. There, we'll be surrounded by an ancient forest of araucaria trees. We’ll have an easy hike and be surrounded by native trees (mostly of the Nothofagus family) and with striking views of Lanin volcano (3,780m), the highest volcano in all of the Lake & Volcano district.
After all these hikes during the trip we might need to relax our muscles. The best place for that is at some natural hotsprings. Let's jump in there for a while.
At night, we’ll eat dinner at the restaurant of a famous Mapuche cook, Anita Epulef, which will share their knowledge about food, plants, cosmovision and much more with you.
Hiking: 3-4 hours

Day 10, Wednesday, 16.12.20: Transfer to Temuco Airport
Sadly, it’s time to say good-bye to the beautiful Lake & Volcano District of Chile. According to your flight’ schedule, private transfer to Temuco Airport.
We recommend to book flights in the afternoon due to possible long traffic jams on this day.

Zusätzliche Infos:

Start und Ende der Tour:

The tour starts and ends in La Araucanía International Airport (Temuco airport, code ZCO) in Chile.