Horseback Riding in Pucon, Chile -4 day trail-riding on horseback in Chile

Volcano Trail - four day trail-ride in National Park Villarrica

The trail is guided by an Chilean arriero (as the Chilean cowboys are called) and an English and Spanish speaking guide. We sleep in tents, all our luggage we take with us on the horses. Cooking, putting up the tents etc., will be done together by the group. Everyone should to their own ability, take care of their own horses. This pack trip leads us to some unique and amazing landscapes: from dense rainforest to sandy, desert like high mountain areas to swampy high planes and over snow covered passes. This is a ever changing landscape, almost impossible to catch it in photos, you turn around a corner, cross a pass and you see one mountain ridge behind another, covered with the immense rainforests of the northern Patagonia. This landscape to is fragile, plants grow extremely slow in these heights of the Patagonian Andes, ecological systems are very fragile, and should not be interfered or altered by e.g. bringing in other species. On these trail rides we work closely with the administration of this part of the National Park in order to establish rules and regulations which allow us to do this ride minimizing the possible damage. For that reason the number of excursions as well as the number of riders per tour is limited.

Itinerary four days trail-ride National Park Villarrica

DAY ONE
We pick you up in Pucon at 9.00 am, have breakfast, and then take off for an initial three to four hours ride crossing the Mapuche Indian Community Quelhue, decide which horse matches with which rider and which horses we will take with us. Either this evening or the next morning we move to our Villarrica base camp at "Paraiso Escondido" Valley.

DAY TWO

We enter Villarrica National Park by riding through dense forest, but after gaining elevation we leave the woods and arrive to a hilly area populated by lower vegetation and bushes. Around noon we reach the the dramatic lava and snow fields in the shadow of volcano Quetrupillan. This is the kingdom of the condor and there is a good possibility we will meet one of these giant birds. About three hours later we arrive to Laguna Azul, a deep, blue lake, where we will set up the tents on the edge of the forest overlooking the lake.

DAY THREE

From Laguna Azul we head towards Laguna Blanca, crossing a huge field of volcanic stones and riding around an ancient side-crater of Quetrupillan. After we arrive to the flat, black beach of Laguna Blanca, the landscape changes to a desert-like area with volcanic lava sand, interrupted by fields of snow. We ride on towards Laguna los Patos, with the mammoth volcano Lanin ever-growing in the distance, and return to our camp at Laguna Azul in the evening.

DAY FOUR

Leaving Laguna Azul, we ride back to the "Paraiso Escondido” valley and in the evening a Chilean Barbecue, "al Palo" and "choripan," is waiting for us at the Farm. Returning to Pucón after dinner. You may opt for another night at the ranch if you'd like.

Facts about the Andean Lakes Trail

Meeting point

Pucón, 9.00 am first day

Duration

four days, three nights, four days on horseback.

Kind of trip

Pack trip, no accompanying car

Number of Riders

two to six riders

Riders Qualification required

Intermediate physical condition, some experience on horseback is helpful. We ride up to seven hours a day with breaks

Accommodation

One night in double in guest-house on the farm, two nights in tent camps. In the tent camps two riders share one tent. We always try to match adequate persons and try to give solo travelers a single tent. Because of weight issues this will not always be possible.

Sanitary equipment

Shower, water toilet on the firs and fourth day;
on the second and third day the camp is beside a clear mountain lake.

Food

Complete food and soft drinks from dinner on the first day to the farewell BBQ on the last day. On the trail we have breakfast, a snack at midday and dinner at the campfire.