About two kilometers north of town on the Osorno road, Swiss-Chilean Puerto Octay Hostal Zapato Amarillo has become a destination in its own right as much as a place to stay.

It provides transfers to La Picada for a five-hour hike to Petrohué (US$30 pp for a minimum of four people, with stops at Saltos del Petrohué and Ensenada on the ride back), hiking excursions from Lago Rupanco to a nearby hot springs (US$30 pp), and guided climbs up Volcán Osorno (US$180 pp). Spanish, German, and English are all spoken.

Comfortably stylish hostel-type accommodations on ample grounds, with kitchen facilities but without breakfast, cost US$13–15 per person with breakfast and shared bath October–April, slightly less the rest of the year. Meanwhile, it has added several doubles with private bath (US$45).

In addition, Zapato Amarillo (tel./fax 064/210787, www. zapatoamarillo.8k.com, shiela [at] telsur [dot] cl) offers initial transfers from Puerto Octay, information, Internet access, laundry service (US$8), rental bikes (US$8 per day) and canoes (US$15 per day), and a small sailboat (US$28 per day).