Parque Nacional Huerquehue

Fast becoming one of the region’s most popular parks, thanks partly to its proximity to Pucón [1], Parque Nacional Huerquehue comprises 12,500 hectares of scenic Andean precordillera with alpine lakes, rushing rivers, and waterfalls set among dense native forest. It also has a small but accessible network of hiking trails, another part of the reason for its popularity.

Accommodations and Food

On Lago Tinquilco’s eastern shore, near the park gate, Conaf’s 18-campsite Camping Tinquilco (US$17 per site) can accommodate up to five persons on each of its wooded sites.

Just beyond the park entrance, near the Lago Verde trailhead, the rustically chic Canadian-Chilean Refugio Tinquilco (tel. 099/5392728; tel. 02/7777673 in Santiago, www.tinquilco.cl [2]) charges US$13 for hostel-type bunks (with a US$2 surcharge for sheets, if necessary); it also has rooms with king-size beds (US$37 d with shared bath, US$46 d with private bath). Set on densely wooded grounds, it has its own private beach and offers fixed-price breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to guests or nonguests; more elaborate multicourse dinners include aperitifs and wine.

En route to the park, on quiet grounds west of the Pucón–Lago Caburgua road from a turnoff at kilometer 18 (follow the signs), the three-room, German-run Landhaus San Sebastián (tel. 045/352360 or 099/4431786, US$27 pp) can be an ideal escape from Pucón [1]’s hyperactivity. In addition to accommodations, it has a restaurant that serves exquisite onces and desserts.

Information

At the Lago Tinquilco entrance, Conaf’s Centro de Educación e Intepretación Ambiental is open 10 a.m.–8 p.m. daily in summer. Rangers at the park gate collect a US$4 admission fee (US$1 for children). Refugio Tinquilco is also a good source of information for hiking alternatives beyond the main Lago Verde route.

Thanks to increasing demand, Buses Jac now offers summer service from Pucón [1] to Huerquehue (US$3) four times daily; the rest of the year, though, it’s just twice daily. Most Pucón [1] travel agencies also offer Huerquehue excursions.