Revisión del 11:50 16 feb 2026

List of all GPT sections

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* '''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''

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* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''</span>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

Overview

Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions

Season 2025/26

2026-Feb-12 to 2026-Feb-15 / 3.5 days / Hiking / EABO / OH-4, OH-2, RR, Variant A, OH-1 / Emily

Beautiful section, easy and clear trail with frequent markers. I hiked with a friend, and while the section could easily be completed more quickly, we found it well worthwhile to take extra time to enjoy the vistas and forest. Recent trip reports reflect current conditions, not much to add.

At Border/Pass {16-01} [40.4/1788] I ascended the hill along the border. Highly recommend - an easy climb for great 270 views of the five volcanoes.

Camps Night 1: -39.458210, -71.978402. Highly recommend, incredible sunset. Space for 1 tent in trees, with another spot around the corner (with small rock wall) and more potential spots 20m before to the left in a small depression. Estero Nilfe was near dry and opaque, however there was a clear flowing stream shortly before at -39.45496, -71.98198.

Night 2: -39.455667, -71.822334. Along a disused pull-out road, plenty of space and well-protected, next to small river. We checked out Chinay but as per previous reports, it appears semi-abandoned and had an odd vibe. If looking to camp here, follow the road along SOBO after the OSM marker, and you’ll come to a bridge and road. The following morning we passed a better camp spot with picnic table just after the CONAF office {16-04} [31.9/996].

Night 3: Lake, Camp [40.2/1597]. Several spots among the trees. Three other hikers camping here. Some trash around unfortunately.

• GPT16 | 2026-02-05 to 2026-02-08 I 3 days | hiking | SOBO I Route: Option 4 (Villarrica Traverse) - Option 2 - RR | Michaela

Day 1: I took an Uber to the Ski Center parking area (8.400 CLP). I forgot to ask the driver to stop at CONAF, but I had already bought the entrance ticket for Parque Nacional Villarrica Norte online the day before (11.000 CLP) - in the end it was never checked. I started hiking at about 10:00. Easy trail with very good views. I camped at Estero Aihue, nice spot with clear water: -39.476814, -71.885906

Day 2: Easy trails, water available along the route. I registered at "Park Ranger {16-04} [31.9/996] (Chinay)". They did not ask for my entrance ticket. Camped near the waterfall: -39.511992, -71.750355

Day 3: I woke up at 03:30 due to strong wind. I had to secure my tent. The wind continued until morning. The campsite was actually very nice, but not recommended in windy conditions. I planned to climb Volcán Quetrupillán, but the forecast announced heavy rain soon and I wanted to reach Puerto Fuy, so I skipped the ascent. I reached Laguna Azul before noon. No other people and no trash. I took a swim break. The rest of the trail was straightforward and I saw many interesting birds. Planned campsite - Camp {16} [62.0/486] - appears to be private property. There is a fence and a locked gate, so I continued. I camped hete: -39.684141, -71.856855 . It's not a perfect spot, but at least hidden, near the MR next to a stream.

Day 4: In the morning my tent was completely wet from condensation. I was super lucky then, I only walked a few minutes , then a car passed and I could hitchhike all the way to Liquiñe. I had breakfast there and continued with Section 17.

Attractiveness: 5/5, Difficulty: 2/5

• 2026-1-29 to 2024-2-1/ 4 days/ Hiking/ SOBO/opt 4, 2, RR, A, 1/Tomas Martinec

A beautiful section that is not too difficult and well marked. I really enjoyed the changing volcanic and forest landscapes.

Day 1 I tried to pre-arrange an Uber the night before, but the price was quite high (14,000 CLP). So I left it for the morning, and the price dropped to 9,500 CLP. The Uber took me to the ski resort parking lot (39.3816607S, 71.9710225W). We couldn’t go any further because there was a barrier down. However, some cafeteria workers were driving by and kindly took me directly to the beginning of the Villarrica trail. Be careful — after this water point (39.4358367S, 71.9954842W), the next reliable clean water source is about 15 km later at Estero Aihue. Campspot: Pichillancahue (39.4685929S, 71.8576455W) – one spot on both sides of the bridge.

Day 2 I met a friendly CONAF worker in Chinay. He warned me that storms were expected from midday. About 100 m after Chinay, there is a nice campsite. Next water point: 39.4716573S, 71.8263066W The storm started at 11:00 and finished at 19:00. I stopped walking at 13:00 and waited at the edge of the forest. As I was wet and cold, I decided to set up my tent and stay there for the night. Campspot: 39.4772464S, 71.8250824W (forest, no water — chosen because of the storm).

Day 3 Nice possible campsite: 39.5030120S, 71.7647070W Other possible campspots without water: 39.4842887S, 71.8155280W (sheltered by stones) 39.4898674S, 71.7983452W I had planned to climb Quetrupillán, but when I was passing by, the summit was covered in clouds. So I continued to Laguna Azul. I had a beautiful night at Laguna Blanca — a really nice place to stay. The only downside was that the water was very still and didn’t look very clean. Campspot: 39.5393546S, 71.6964447W

Day 4 A very nice walk. It was easy to see all the volcanoes. The trail ends in the forest. I think it’s big advantage to walk this final section with a lighter backpack. Hitchhiking from Puesco to Currarehue.

* '''2026-01-15 to 2026-01-18 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Villarica Traverse / OH 4, OH 3, OH 2, RR, OH A, OH 01 / Lucie Vrat* '''

This was my first GPT trail section, and it was absolutely amazing. I had perfect sunny weather, except for strong winds on the final hiking day. As I went shortly after Greg, the information he provided still applies.

Day 1: I took an Uber to the ski center for 8,200 CLP. The CONAF office was closed, so I did not register there (I had bought the national park entrance ticket online the day before). As there was no wind, I camped on the plateau about 1 km before Estero Aihue [24 km]— definitely a very nice place to spend the night and take water.

Day 2: I descended to the CONAF station at Chinay and then continued up to Mirador Los Pinos. I slept cowboy-style at an unofficial spot shortly before Camp Estero Mocho [31.2 km] - another really nice place to stay with water.

Day 3: I continued on OH-4 towards Laguna Azul and decided to climb the Quetrupillán crater since conditions were perfect OH 3 CC A. I left my large backpack hidden behind a rock. The upper section had some falling rocks but was not too complicated. The views from the top were stunning. On the way down, I crossed a few small snowfields, but they were easy to walk on. I finished the day camping at Laguna Azul, where I met two groups of Chileans who were also camping there.

Day 4: I walked past Laguna Blanco and Laguna Las Avutardas all the way down to Puesco. The descent was quite tiring on the knees, and in the lower part of the trail I had to avoid or step over many fallen trees, but nothing major. Tabanos and cows were everywhere:) There is a cool café/restaurant right where the trail meets the road. I got a hitch to Curarrehue and then took a bus to Pucón for 2,000 CLP.

Overall: An easy and very attractive section A5/D3.

2026-01-12 to 2026-01-16/ 5 days/ Hiking/ SOBO/ Options 4, 3, 2/ Greg Carter

Overall The Villarrica Traverse is a wonderful hike with immersion in spectacular volcanic terrain, and beautiful Araucaria forests. Although the hike is well-known I saw only 2 other hikers.

Attraction: 5/5 Difficulty: 3/5

Day 1 (Monday) I started from Villarrica early afternoon by taking an Uber to the parking for Centro de Ski, for CLP 10,000. On the way up there is a ranger station for registration. However it was closed so registration was not possible (the park is closed on Mondays). I prepaid an online entry pass (11,000 CLP) starting on Tuesday, but this was never checked.

The trailhead/ start of the GPT is approx 2km uphill on a dirt road from the car park. Despite the park being closed I was not stopped from starting the trail.

There are many streams with heavy volcanic sediment which would be difficult to filter. It’s best to bring sufficient water for at least the first 10km (from the carpark) to the spring/ water point described below (**which may not be reliable later in summer**).

I camped at a major trail intersection here (-39.43578, -71.99362), close to a signed water point (-39.43583, -71.99545) fed by a spring, connected by a hose to a tap and water trough.

Day 2 Hiked to camp at Pichillancahue campsite (-39.46838, -71.85740). Note there is a no camping sign. Whilst there is a river here the water has volcanic sediment which I filtered after straining through a fine cloth.

Along the way there is a small clear lake and a good camping site at -39.44683, -71.98701.

Further along the only other good source of clean water is the Estero Aihue at -39.47765, -71.88646. I highly recommend you fill up here. This is also a good camping spot.

Day 3 Hiked to camp 3 (-39.51371, -71.75336) at the intersection with Option 3, where there is a good clear stream. There is also a fairly big waterfall nearby, and possibly a flat area for camping above it, which I saw from above but did not investigate.

Early in the day the rangers at Chinay {16-04} [31.9/996] required registration but did not check my pass. Shortly after the ranger station, where the trail turns to the right, there is a good stream to fill up. The trail then climbs steadily through Araucaria forest to reveal increasingly better views of Volcán Villarrica. On the way up there is a good flowing spring (signed, 20m downhill from the trail) at -39.47179, -71.82628.

Above the treeline there is an easy path to a scenic pass, followed by a spectacular ridge walk, with views of Volcáns Villarrica, Quetrupillan and Lanín.

Day 4 Hiked Option 3 to the N/S intersection, left my main pack and climbed Volcán Quetrupillan. This was a little challenging, as it required skirting several snow fields on the GPT route. However micro-spikes were not necessary. Some careful scrambling is required (due to loose rock and scree) to gain/ descend the summit ridge, and to climb/ descend the summit itself. There were amazing views from the top, including Laguna Azul, and Volcáns Villarrica and Lanín.

Afterwards I intended to continue east to connect with Option 1 (Rio Trancura), but I accidentally fell over when I wasn’t concentrating and broke a pole soon after setting off (insert expletive!). I repaired the pole but decided it was best to return to Pucón (to buy new poles) by the easiest route, which was Options 3 and 2. That night I camped at -39.52414, -71.80216, on a disused side road, uphill from a bridge with a good flowing stream.

Day 5 I hiked out on Option 2, which is an easy dirt track. At -39.51765 -71.83974 there is a big double gate system (?!) just before a bridge over a running stream. I found a gap where there is a missing fence post on the right hand side (facing west), which I squeezed my pack and myself through. It would be very difficult to climb over the second gate.

I then hiked to the road at Termas El Rincón, where I hitched almost immediately to Coñaripe. Then I caught 2 local buses, first to Villarrica, then to Pucón, (from memory) for CLP 2,300 and CLP 1,500, respectively.

I understand that the Termas El Rincon has wifi if you need it.

GPT16/ 2025-12-31 to 2026-1-1/2 days/ SOBO/RR/Denis, Robert

Stayed in Currarehue for two nights in Maxmafram cabañas for 40000 pesos for night. Bought gas in ferretería close to the bridge. First night we slept next to Laguna Blanca. No problems all the way.

• 2025.23.12 to 2025.25.12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt. 4 (Villarica Traverse) + Opt. 2 + RR / Kris and Stiina, Alex and Tim, Bailey

Day 1 - Morning transfer from Pucón to Ski center parking lot with Hans. His site: travelaid.cl and phone nr. +56 9 7744 6664 Passing the ranger station 8am there was nobody there to check us in, but Hans managed to do it on his way back. We were 5 GPT hikers together which is quite unusual for the GPT but a nice change once in a while to have it a bit more social on this otherwise very solitary trail.

We drove through the cloud and could appreciate the Volcán Villarrica and some sunshine as we set off. But as the day progressed it got more overcast and cold once again, especially in the windier places. Does it seem to be a bit more rainy and cold summer this year? Due to ample amounts of rain the days prior, water was not an issue. A well established straightforward trail all the way. We camped here: -39.46092, -71.83637 about 2km before Park Ranger {16-04} [31.9/996] (Chinay).

Day 2 - Despite there being no rain in the forecast the day was rainy, cold and miserable at times. We stopped by the park ranger in the morning for a toilet break. He asked if we are all good and we had to write down our names. Most of the day we spent in a cloud without any views. The ridge before the plateau was pretty cold with the rain on the open bits, but luckily there were also plenty of bushes for wind shelter along it. Once we got to the plateau of Volcán Quatrupillán and joined the Option 2 the weather improved a bit but we were still in a cloud until the Pass {16-02} [2.5/1924]. After that the cloud lifted a bit and the views improved. As we got to our planned camp by Laguna Azul the weather kept improving and later in the afternoon even the sun came out so we could dry all of our wet stuff. The camp was nice and sheltered from the wind. Some trash here and there especially where everyone went for the toilet but not too bad. Water in the lake was clear and not too cold.

Day 3 - The sun was finally back and it was warm once again. Alex an his son Tim departed in a different direction. Bailey took off while me and Stiina were still faffing around getting ready and we only saw him again in the evening when we camped together again. Don’t expect any road to appear here: Road End {16} [44.6/1288]. It does start but later and for us was it was very muddy due to all the recent rain. No bridge here: Settlement, Bridge {16} [58.5/440] (Huichahue), it seems to have collapsed. There is a log across that might be tricky when wet, but we managed fine otherwise ford seemed easy. We got a hitch to Liquine from around: Camp {16} [62.0/486] which pretty much seemed where the road got really dull and boring. We drove along the road - variant B There is a gate here: -39.69204, -71.85995 but Bailey said he could open it and walked through without any issues. Since it was 25th of December we were lucky that a few shops were still open, but unfortunately everything else was closed, no restaurants or cafes for us. After some refreshments we continued on to section 17…

(Continued in section 17)

For more stories, photos, videos on the trail and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on IG: @smallfootprint_bigadventures

• 2025-12-06 to 2025-12-12 / 6 Days / Hiking / SOBO / OH4 (extra stop Pucon) OH1 OH2 / Isabelle & Sander

As our first hike in Chile we incredibly enjoyed the vulcanic landscape and the Auracaria/Nothofagus forests. Because of bad weather, a problem with our gps and food we made an extra stop in between. All trails very clear, just some remarks that might be of use to others: + We camped our second night next to the Rio Llancahue (OH4) which was grey from erosion of vulcanic rocks but was clear in the morning and easily went through our water filter. + we walked down OH2 to Coñaripe, but the trail after Termas Geometricas has a big sign ‘forbidden entry’. Two men from the Termas told us it’s private property and didn’t let us go and we took the road back. It seems the development of more Termas and Cabañas has made it more difficult. So we changed plans, stayed on the mountain and are camping at El Ranchi de Palito, 20k two people, there’s no one else and it is pouring rain so he let us stay in some kind of common room with a fire place, electricity and WiFi. Very kind! Also serves food. + Many cool flowering plant species now up on the vulcanic plateau. Also, on the villarica traverse we met two people shooting drone footage for a new BBC documentary called Home and it is coming out in a few years. It’s about a top secret animal, but we’re guessing it starts with a P and ends with uma.

• 2025-12-04 to 2025-12-09 / 6 Days / Hiking / SOBO (east, then south) / Villarica Traverse + RR / Michel & Lisa

Day 1

Had a late start since someone (not gonna tell you who xD) lost their spork and so we had to wait until the outdoor Stores in town opened at 10. Paid the entry fee for Villarica sector norte in advance online (10200CLP pp). Took a taxi up to the Centro de ski, although our taxi driver was hesitant at first due to bad road conditions he eventually agreed to take us up for 18000CLP. The road was fine and there were no problems at all in his standard sedan with 700'000km on it. Stopped at the CONAF office en route (not the center de visitantes) and registered - pretty straight forward. Show your proof of payment, get a tag for onto your backpack (so guarda parques can see you've registered for the Villarica Traverse) and write down your name and contact info in the list. At the centro de ski we had to walk the first ~1.5 km to the start of the trail (i.e. where the track file starts as well). From there it's pretty easy walking on a well maintained trail. Only got as far as lagunitas XYZ where we camped (-39.44708, -71.98718). Water is clear but lots of algae growth in the lower of the two. There was no water whatsoever between the centro de ski and this place (-39.43584, -71.99550) that is shown as a source of water on the OSM map as well (the lack of water surprised us somewhat as we are early in the season and had expected meltwater to result in some water availability). However, if you read the last entry about the traverse, there can be more water.

Day 2

Had a slow morning and late start, enjoying the calm and quiet in the forest close to the beautiful laguito. Filtered some water from the lagunita and treated it with micropur tablets on top, just to be sure. Turned out to be fine that way. Estero Ñilfe had really grey water, just like 6 years ago when I was last here. Back then we drank it and were okay but I was glad not having to drink it again. Would definitely avoid that if you can. Then it was really sunny and dry for a while. The next water we found was Estero Tralco which was almost equally grey and therefore not good for drinking, though probably also not deadly. Continued all the way to Estero Aihue where the water is crystal clear and really cold (7 °C). Found a not really level campspot closeby, if you search longer you might be able to find something better. The ground is mostly pretty soft so we put rocks on all tent pegs. Lots of fine dust that gets everywhere which was a bit annoying. But the views are stunning here so it's worth it!

Day 3

Woke up to an almost full moon just above Volcán Villarrica and a calm, cloudless sunrise. People in the valley must have missed it due to the cloud cover visible from up here. :P Next water source was at Río Pichillancahue (Llancahue on my map [-39.46842, -71.85767]). Shortly after that the trail joins a dirt road. We checked out the Chinay (marked as China on my map, lol) Camping [-39.45935, -71.82974] that turned out to be an abandoned camping with huts and lots of defunct infrastructure. Weird. We continued to the guardaparque [km 31.9] where there was nobody. Continued along the road until the trail turns off again, walked it for about 5 minutes where we found a wonderful camp [-39.45839, -71.81611] just next to the river. Sun, shade, water, it has it all! B-) only the tábanos are a bit of a lastima.

Day 4

Started earlyish to do as much in the shade as possible, which turned out to be a good idea. Water at [-39.46171, -71.82039] where one could also camp (but I wouldn't recommend it, it's dark and completely forested) and at [-39.47165, -71.82632] where you should definitely fill up. Then nothing until the end of the forest at [-39.50218, -71.76623] where there's a small stream and a couple of camping possibilities with reasonably flat ground. We continued on until [-39.51272, -71.75385] where we camped on nice flat ground next to the trail. A pretty tough day with our heavy backpacks but the views up here are again amazing! The area here with a few meandering streams is really beautiful. The only downside today were the tábanos everywhere and the extreme heat. We apologize for all the dead tábanos en route and confess we had a little competition going on. If you find a few dead ones on the ground, it'll be a spot where we had a break (of which there were plenty). Lisa won 47 to 36, if you were curious. xD

Well. It seems mother nature, karma or whoever was not happy with the trail of dead tabanos we left behind. At least if you believe in this kind of stuff. Just after sunset a group of 7-8 bulls showed up and mooed loudly, walked in our direction. They seemed to have lost a buddy of theirs and we were kind of on their trail. Or they were curious or both. Anyways, some of them came really close and they were absolutely massive, which both scared us, especially since they were very vocal as well. After a while they continued on over the hill and we thought they had left, but they came back after about 10 minutes and so we decided to pack our stuff together and left in a hurry, back over the creek and to a slightly less flat camp spot with no grass [-39.51135, -71.75112] where we thought they wouldn't follow us. At least that was true. But then a gust pulled out one of the tent pegs in the middle of the night and our air mattress had a puncture. So... Not a great night! >:~|

Day 5

We woke up to a somewhat cloudy sky and stronger winds. After packing up we hiked to Laguna Azul which is really pretty, especially seen from the pass above. Great spot for a break. The camp at the laguna is really a bit dirty (trash, pots and pans left there) and smelled of fish so we didn't stop for long. If you want to stop there, continue to the ford where there's nobody and it's not dirty/trashy at all. We continued, joining the RR of the GPT which first is a trail and later develops into an abandoned road. Many a fallen tree on the trail/road which have to be climbed or walked around. The trail/road is frequented by dirt bikes so there's always a pretty good trail. I'm not sure what Road end [44.6/1288] wants to indicate as the road only starts much further down, where the RR actually becomes MR, i.e. X [49.6/997]. There are lots and lots of really good camp spots along the MR, not just where it's indicated [52.2/794]. But they're all without water access. We decided to search for an option with water and finally found a place which had a really nice flat grassy spot: [-39.631233, -71.834371]. It looks like it's used as pasture for cows, but there were none present when we were there (yay, if you read about our experience the night before). You can walk down an old, unused road towards a broken bridge (about 500m, maybe 5-10 min) where there's access to the river. The river is rather difficult to access since its banks are steep (everywhere, not just at this spot). But at the bridge it's possible, if slightly complicated. If you don't feel comfortable climbing down over some fallen trees and rocks to the water, this might not be your spot. We quite liked it. The punctured mattress was fixed in little time, shining a headlamp through it from behind while checking the front really helps to find small punctures! There was a big thunderstorm at night which kept us awake again, at times it got pretty close (600m?) but mostly stayed up in the mountains.

Day 6

After another night of bad sleep thanks to the thunderstorm, we skipped breakfast in order to get going soon. Just before reaching the settlement [58.5/440] we had to cross a deep trench (about 2-3 m deep, 2-3 m wide) that cut through the road and there was only a wooden plank which was a bit scary to cross over. You might find a way around the trench though. The river after we had to ford, the bridge seems to be gone. After the settlements came rather boring road walking and we were happy to be picked up by a local who drove us all the way to the road towards Liquiñe. We went to the shop across the road [66.4/237] which had a nice selection (even some veggies!) and stocked up for 17P.

Season 2024/25

• 2025-03-10 to 2025-03-13 / 3.5 days hiking / NOBO / Villarica Traverse (OH 04 + OH 02 + RR + OH A + OH 01) / MiaimZelt

Summary: Very pleasant stage with nice trails, posing no real difficulties. Didn't met a lot of people.

Day 1: Took a Uber for 10k to the Centro de Ski. It was raining and it's necessary to walk the last 2km to the beginning of the starting point of the trail. Started on monday, although the NP Villarica us officially closed. Prepaid the fee online for tuesday. Trail was very easy, but the first 3 hours were hard because of rain and the cold. Camping options for example here: -39.435913, -71.993726 and -39.447416, -71.987115 (sheltered). Camped here exposed but with brilliant views: -39.472071, -71.957839. Water was easy to find, but don't take it from Ñilfe - very dirty. The small streams were the best. Met only one guy on horseback.

Day 2: Sunny wether all day long. Again easy hiking, met a group on the way down. Water at Río Pichillancahue was clean. Needed to register at CONAF Sector Quetrupillán and showed my payment. Take water before ascending, the next sourse comes here: -39.471659, -71.826306. The next 3 hours i didn't see water before this point: -39.503012, -71.764707. Camped there at the last possibility with shelter from the wind before Laguna Azul.

Day 3: Sunny, but very windy. Great views at Pass {16-02} [2.5/1924]. Hiked CC until i could see the milky lagoon nearby. At Laguna Azul i met local people camping and fishing with campfire at this spot. He gave me Piñones but asked strange questions, prefered to carry on. Ford {16} [36.6/1652] was posible dry feet. Water was greyish, better take from the small stream directly after the small pass before Laguna Blanca. Laguna Blanca was incredible! Camped near Lake, Camp {16-01} [33.6/1456], but wasn't the best choice because of tons of condensation. It's better to camp in the forest.

Day 4: The next km had a lot of fallen trees - very often it's necessary to walk around or climb over them, but always doable. Came across some streams. Hiked on the trail until Sector Puesco Park Ranger {16-01} [22.8/731]. Here i had to sign again and waited to get a hitch. Lot's of cars, but it took some time until someone stopped.

• 2025-02-23 to 2025-02-26 /4 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH02 + OH04 (villarica Traverse) / Chloe and Mathieu

We took the bus from Valdivia to Coñaripe at 2:2PM and slept there at the Küñul Pukuñil campground, really nice owner and 8000p per person.

Day 1 : we hitchhiked up to "settlement, shop{16}[66.5/237] and started walking from there. Gravel road easy to walk. We pitched our tent at the camp without water 52.3 but there are many places all around to camp. Good water spot at 51.1.

Day 2 : we walked up to Laguna Azul, easy trail in the bamboo and Araucarias forest. Then we took option 2, still some snow at the pass but easy to cross. We camped at S 39° 30.550', W 071° 45.530'. Lovely spot with water.

Day 3: the route up to the park ranger 31.9 is easy but no water in between. We refill there. Then we walked on the option 04 where there are no much water. Water from Rio Llancahue is dirty. The next clean water was at Estero Aihue (S 39° 28.618', W 071° 53.171') where we camped.

Day 4 : we continued until Villarica ski station. No clean water all along, hopefully we had enough water for the whole day. No public transportation at the station so we hitchhiked up to Pucon.

• 2025-02-13 to 2025-02-16 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Vulcan Villarica+OH4+OH2+RR / Dorota

Day 1: After finishing stage 15, I took a micro from Curarreuhe to Pucón. I have found a good hostel, Raiz, for 15000 clp in a room of 6 persons, but you need to pay cash to avoid IVA. In Pucón, I bought shoes, but only for men. For women, there is no big choice. It is a very touristic place. I have decided to make a volcán Villa Rica with an agency. When I was buying shoes, a woman said to me that she was trying alone (she is from Pucón) and paid "multa". I paid 150.000 clp. The price includes full equipment (shoes, icepeak, crampones, jacket, trousers, gaiters, gloves, casque, backpack, mask, parque fee, and transport and equipment for sliding down it). They took my backpack, so after that, I could start Travesía Villarica from the Ski station in Pucón. Important: the ranger said to me that Puesco is closed because of a fire. I took water from "banos" near the Ski station and made camp at km 1 of OH4.

Day 2: Continued Travesía, very spectacular views of volcanoes and valleys. I did not have problems with water, but very often it was dirty. In the forest trail, it was clear. Water: 6.5 km Zanjón Vaipoi - dirty 12 km Estero - dirty 16 km clean water Camp at km 26 - Río Pichillanchahue. Place for one tent.

Day 3: I met two people from Czechia. They went from Nobo. The The Ranger had not allowed them to go to Laguna Azul. Then I met a family from Chile who were doing Travesía from Puesco. They bought tickets before closing Puesco, so they were allowed to start from there. The The Ranger was very polite. I was not registered officially on the trail. But when I was doing Volcan Villarica with an agency ranger who was there, he took my datos and made me a photo, so the ranger at point 31.9 km knew me. Of course, it is not standard:) After 31.9 km, the trail was going up significantly. In the forest, the trail was clear. I took water at km 36.5, then till km 42, there was no water. After the trail was following a ridge with views and then again, no views. I camped at km 43 in the place where there is a table "Mirador of Quetropillán". Water was near. It was an amazing place. There was no wind but very cold.

Day 4: On the km of 44.5 of option OH4, I joined option OH2. In the morning, at the height of 1800 m n.p.m. small streams were frozen. After passing there, there were some patches of snow very easy to pass. Laguna Azul espectacular, but I have met people on motocross there. Here I joined variant RR (km 40.2). Ford near Laguna was very easy to cross. In the forest trail, it was clear, sometimes I needed to go around fallen trees. At km 59.9, near a destroyed bridge, there was something like a bridge, but I crossed the river a few meters after, in the deepest place, the water level was to the knee of my height ( 1.64). Then till the village Reyehueico, there was no place for a tent. In the shop of the village, there were a lot of things to buy. I asked the owner to put my tent in his garden. He agreed. He gave me a table and I had water. He allowed me also to take my dog, who followed me. The dog was sleeping in my tent.

• 2025-02-07 to 2025-02-11 / 4.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 04 (Villarica Traverse), OH 03 (Volcán Quetrupillán), OH 02, RR / Peggy

I started from Molco, where I had spent the night, following a trail along the Río Correntoso (note: this river is dry). It took me about 3-4 hours to reach the ski station.

Villarica Traverse

I really enjoyed this traverse. The first part alternates between lava fields and forests, offering beautiful views of Villarica. Be mindful of water sources—rivers in the first kilometers are dry. The first water source I found was at -39.42548, -71.98709, but the water was whitish and carried volcanic sediments. A better water source was available from a faucet at km 36.3.

There's a beautiful forest section before reaching the park ranger station (31.9/996). Afterward, the trail climbs through a stunning forest of araucarias and other trees I couldn't identify. There are two notable water sources:

Km 24.1, which appears on maps (Locus and others).

-39.288052, -071.492708, where a small spring is located. This spot is also a great place to camp if there's no wind, with a breathtaking view of Villarica. This water source isn't marked on maps but was indicated by the park ranger.

Volcán Quetrupillán

The OH 03 connecting to the volcano is marked as CC but is quite manageable. There was still a lot of snow on the ascent, making it pleasant and easier to climb. The summit offers incredible views of the crater and surrounding volcanoes (Villarica, Lanín, Mocho, and Choshuenco).

There are two routes to the top. I first followed the GPT route to the crater, but when I tried to climb higher, I stopped due to a steep, slippery section that made me uncomfortable. On the way down, I decided to try the other route (further left) and managed to reach the highest point, crossing snowfields and finishing with a steep, rocky slope.

I camped by a beautiful green lake on my way down toward Laguna Azul, but I barely slept because of the strong wind. Thankfully, my tent held up!

The next day was spectacular—I was completely alone. Even at Laguna Azul, where there's an excellent, wind-sheltered campsite, I saw no one. Laguna Blanca was absolutely stunning! A must-see!

Descent to Curarrehue

I followed the RR down to Curarrehue. I camped near the Estero Huililco on private property, being respectful of the place (as always, of course).

From -39.238782, -71.394307, there are several gates and enclosures to pass through, but the path remains accessible. A local man told me that the trail the track follows had been closed by "los indígenas", and he wasn’t sure if it was still passable. However, I had no issues. Just follow the GPS track carefully at intersections.

• 2025-01-28 to 2025-01-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 1, RR, Option 3 (Quetrupillan ascent), RR / Lucie and Thomas

We came by a bus Temuco 8am - Curarrehue ~11am. From there we easily hitch hiked to Puesco/Mirador (beginning of OH1 SOBO). Day 1 afternoon: mirador to Laguna Arguntas. The path is generally very well marked. A couple of fallen trees on the path and we encountered several groups of cows. Almost not disturb by tabanos. We stoped to camp on the west side of Laguna Arguntas where we camped. Tabanos were quite present until sunset. Better camp with water and view on Lanin 150m above. We regularly found water al along option 1 until we reached the volcanic plateau, and last melted snow water at -39,56982 -71,682110 Day 2: Laguna Arguntas > RR to Laguna blanca and then Laguna Azul > Quetrupillan ascent where we camped at -39,49878 -71,72278 on the ridge (amazing sunset, stars and sunrise views, totally worth it if the weather is good). Amazing and scenic views on the plateau, we highly recomand to hike up from the Laguna Azul at least until -39,53391 -71,73845. End of Quetrupillan ascent following GPT track was easy given the afternoon melted snow. You can also pass by by the west of the summit and ascent by the more used NW path. Day 3: Way down from Quetrupillan summit to the broken bridge at 58,6km following RR (very good camp site before the broken bridge). Easy path, beautiful first part through araucaria forest, the rest through regular forest. Day 4 morning: minor road during 10km (worth hitchhiking) until the crossing with 201. We walked to Quilimo camping for the packrafting section 17P through rio Cua Cua.

• 2025-01-22 to 2025-01-25 / 3 days / villaria traverse middle part hiking in-out / Steve Behaeghel & Katrijn + kids Lotta (9ys), Bosse (6ys), Pelle (3ys)

We did a 3 day trek starting at fundo porvenir (-39.476849 ; -71.786063) where we paid 15000CLP to leave our rental car with the very hospitable farmers (there is also a little campsite here with them). We did not buy a national park ticket and as expected we did not meet any ranger. We did only meet 4 small hiking groups during those 3 days. We hiked up to the saddle between Villarica and Quetrupillan where we set up camp at (-39.476849 ; -71.786063) where there is still melting water from snow fields on Quetrupillan. A lot of fallen trees in the hike up via Estero Mocho. From there we hiked up and back to Laguna Las Avutardas. Still some snow fields to cross above 1700m. We hiked down via the alternative exit from the summit route of Quetrupillan.

• 2025-01-09 to 2025-01-11 / 2.5 days / NOBO / RR / Mara and Tobias

Day 1 - walked 7.3 km from the Settlement, Shop {16} [66.5/237] to Bridge {16} [58.6/440] where we camped. Easy roadwalking, 2 hours. Day 2 - walked 24 km to Laguna Azul without difficulties. The trail is in a good condition, since people with motorbikes cross the park illegally. There were 6 other persons on the camping. Very beautiful spot. Day 3 - 32 km to Catripulli. Last Kilometres we got a lift. I sank up to my knees in the mud at Laguna Blanca. Watch your steps! We count 8 people on motorcycles that day. There are several Conaf signs indicating that motorcycles are illegal in the national park. Anyway, it was a nice section with various vulcanic rock formations, stunning views and beautiful araucarian forests!

• 2025-JAN-05 > 07 / 2,5 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 16-A > RR > 16-02 > 16-03 > 16-02 > 16-02A > RR / Pierre-Marie ​​

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19 | Meteo : soleil | Eau : plutot rare | Neige : oui beaucoup | Intérêt : 5/5 | Difficulté : 3/5 | Danger : gouffres sur le sentier

J'ai fait quelques achats a Curarrehue. La montée se fait bien même si certaines clôtures ne sont pas facile a passer. Il y a un ford au point (39.470744° S 71.631158° W). Il n'y a pas autant de point d'eau que d'habitude, et moi qui aime marcher sans eau, c'etait parfois limite. Il y a encore beaucoup de neige dès 1600m. Je campe au lac a 1830m et il est en grande partie glacé et recouvert de neige. Volcan Quetrupillan facile car beaucoup de neige ce qui evite les pierriers, puis grande boucle dans la forêt. Il y a de l'eau mais l'accès est difficile. Quasiment tout le chemin est en bon état, même si des moto-cross et des quad sont passés et l'ont abimés. Il y a des gouffres sur le chemin. Au km 58,6 le pont est detruit. Un arbre couché par les locaux permet de passer.

2025-Jan-07 to 2025-Jan-10 / 3.5 days / Hiking / Eastbound / OH04, OH02, RR, OH01 / Sean & Neele

TLDR - Had to pay entrance fee and was checked by a ranger in day 2, plenty of water at this time of year due to snow melt, still some snow patches but not a problem at all.

Got an uber to the ski resort. A ranger stopped our uber and made us pay 10k each entrance fee.

Camped at 22.1km

Park ranger 31.9km - no one here but met a ranger further up the climb

34.6km - met a ranger clearing the trail. He checked we'd paid entry.

36.3km - last water until 42.8km. Trail is a bit overgrown/lots of blow downs between these two.

Camped at 42.8km

Took option 2 to Laguna azul patches of snow around pass 2.5km but all manageable.

RR Ford 36.6km just a stream at this point dry feet crossing.

Took variant A - water on this section at the moment.

Option 01 - passes 40.4km and 39.1km little snow patches but never a problem.

Camped at the lake 33.6km

We got a hitch from CONAF Puesco to Curarrehue in about half an hour and took the bus from there to Pucon.

• 2025-JAN-02 to 2025-JAN-04 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel

This tranquil section of the trail offers stunning highlights, including the plateau beneath Volcán Quetrupillán, featuring a two lakes and breathtaking views of Volcán Lanín.

Between kilometer 6 and the bridge at [14.3/500], there are several gates you’ll need to climb over. At the settlement near this bridge, locals kindly allowed us to refill our water from their tap. Note that at coordinates -39.4708371, -71.6312554, there is a ford that is not marked on the track files.

While ascending through the forest, we encountered many cyclists going down the trail on mountain bikes. Once above the tree line, the landscape changed dramatically, revealing the majestic Volcán Lanín. On the plateau, patches of snow still covered several hundred meters of the trail in some areas.

The first ford in the Los Ríos region [36.6/1652] can be crossed dry-footed by stepping on rocks. From the crystal-clear Laguna Azul, we descended again into the forest, largely dominated by araucaria trees.

A great camping spot can be found just past the gate at [51.8/805]. Note that the old bridge at [58.6/440] no longer exists. However, a temporary log bridge has been installed, allowing for a safe crossing of the river.

21-12-21- 24-12-24/ 4 days / WEBO / OH01, RR, OH03, OH04/ Volker

Day 0: I went for cherrypicking and skipped gpt13-15. Bus at Liucura (end of gpt12) to Victoria at 7 a.m., direct connection to Temuco and from there to Pucon. Pucon is very touristic, I didn‘t like it and continued to Currarehue - nice town, everything for resupply, I recommend Hostal Quechupehuen (25k with breakfast)

Day 1: Very good weather forecast for 2 days. So instead of the long RR I took OH01 from Puesco (few cars on the road this morning, a local offered to give me a ride for 10k, fair offer). He would have brought me to the point, where OH01 leaves the PR, but I got out at the entrance of the Nationl Park. I think it‘s fair to pay the entrance fee (10k), untouched nature has a value. You don‘t have to walk along the PR, go 500 m to the east and you will find a path, that brings you to OH01 at S 39.549907° W 71.576084°. Relaxed walk to Laguna Las Avutardas (many broken trees on the last 2 km). On the way to the pass first 1/3 swamp, 1/3 snowfields, later most parts of the trail covered by snow (flushy in the afternoon). Very, very scenic, most impressive section after many very beautiful others) Camped 1km before Laguna Blanca. Day 2: Started early and left the RR at the ford at 36,6 (few water, snow bridges, take care) to go CC on the snow (99%} in the direction of Quatrepillan. Joined OH03 at S 39.502659° W 71.730390° and left my backpack there. While I was approaching the summit, the sun had melted the surface of the snow, what alllowed for a secure ascent to the summit on the steep slope with mini-spikes (last 200m some easy rock climbing). No clouds, no wind, stayed more than an hour on the Seat of the Gods. Back on OH03, , then OH04 (Villarica Traverse). Camped at a protected place on the ridge before the trail starts to go down to the ranger station. Day 3: From 1750m down to 1050m (no Ranger there), up to 1250m, down to 1150m, up to 1500m. After leaving the forest zone very easy and scenic. Camped at S 39.459022° W 71.978801° Someone should explore, if it‘s possible to follow the „Panorama Route“ (Conaf signs and on the OSM) and from the point, where this trail touches the glacier of Volcan Villarica go CC downhill to rejoin OH04.

Day 4: Tried to get to the Villarica summit. The southern side is less steep than all others, but local hikers had told me, there are many cleavages, moreover you see a bergschrund from below. Instead of going to the ski station (down from 1600m to 1400 + the ups and downs, I left my backpack at S 39.454841° W 71.982446° and went CC. The plan was a traverse to join the normal route from the ski station at around 2400 m. But when I arrived at the first snowfields at around 1800m it turned out, that even at 11 a.m. the snow was very hard. Just impossible without crampons. So I went back to my backpack and completed OH04. No summit, but very scenic, saw a puma. Lots of people at the ski station, many organised tours to the summit, all with complete equipment (crampons, ice peak and helmet). Hitchhiked down to Pucon.

• 22Dec2024 - 27dec2024 / hiking / OH4 - OH3 - OH2 - RR - varA - OH1 (Villarrica traverse + summit quetrupillan) / 4,5 days / Clara

From Pucon, took uber in the afternoon to get to pucon ski station. 10k. Didn't stop at conaf so didn't pay anything.

Camp : - -39.42611,-7198716. (Zanjón Voipir). Close to good water flowing. Nice spot with great views, almost flat spot on confortable soft sand. - estero aihue (-39.47717,-71.88487). So nice spot with view on 3 volcanoes : villarrica, mocho y lanin. Incredible sunset. - end of OH1, just under quetrupillan. Crazy high wind comming during the night that broke one of my tent pole. Better to find a wind protected spot, even if sunset up there was incredible. - laguna azul : a paradise with shade, beach around the lake, can swim, really nice camp.

So nice traverse with great views all along.

No navigation issues even if the trail is a bit overgrown between 34 and 42km on OH4 and even more when descending on OH1 on kms before and after laguna las avutardas. Often slowing down.

No one at the conaf quetrupillan as it was Christmas.

Snow : few patches but nothing problematic. On quetrupillan volcan, was possible without spikes during morning (snow not too strong and neither to melted). The end is really steep climbing on snow. So nice view up there. Easy ski descent. Water : all rivers flowing well at this time with snow melting.

Return : Hitchhike to Pucon was a bit hard (lots of cars but no one stoping). You can go down to the conaf point after end of the trail, good spot to hitchhike, there is free wifi, water, possible camp spot (the guy of conaf that was sleeping here told us it was ok if we couldn't find a car) and buses 1 or 2 times per day.

• Start 2024-11-18/ 3d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo

Bus Liquine from Santiago to Curarrehue, after short part PR, MR with quite some fences to jump over, snow starting higher than 1400m, hitched to Liquine on MR and PR after crossing. Some small supermarkets and restaurants in Liquine

Season 2023/24

• 2024 Apr 10th to Apr 13th / 4 days / Eastbound / Hiking / Villarica Traverse (Opt 4 + Opt 2 + RR + Var A + Opt 1) / Maddi and Tom

Day 1: Got an Uber right up to the ski centre so didn't pay the entrance fee. Started walking along the side of the volcano with high winds blowing us over every time we gained a ridge - seems we started on the same day as Michael and Kasia but we didn't see them unfortunately. Small trickles of water available at a few points along the route but filled up all our bottles for the night at the marked tap (-39.43584,-71.99555). We persevered through the high winds but still only made it about 15km for the day before setting up camp just beyond Estero Nilfe (not really any water in it) in the outcrop of trees. Plenty of little camp spots out of the wind, with awesome volcano views. Lucky the wind completely died off as we were setting up and we had an awesome fiery sunset over the lake. Went to bed and had an eerily quiet night. We couldn't work out why until we realised this was the first time we hadn't camped next to running water for 3 months.

Day 2: Awesome sunny and windless day walking along the volcanic landscape. Water a bit scarce along here but managed to fill up from some smaller trickles until we got to Estero Aihue for lunch - plenty of water flowing. Steep descent down into the forest, crossing Rio Llancahue (plenty of running water) before getting to the 4WD track. Pichillanchue has no camping signs around now so not sure if it is still a camp spot. We continued up the road, did a quick side trip up to the glacier (probably not really worth it unless you haven't seen a glacier yet) then walked along the road to the CONAF office at Sector Quetrupillan. Set up camp just after the bridge (-39.45825,-71.81663) and had a very frosty night. Water available from stream under the bridge.

Day 3: Really picturesque day walking up the ridgeline along Sendero Los Venados - probably our favourite day. Super clear views of all the volcanoes including our first glimpse of Lanin. Fill up with water before gaining the ridgeline as we didn't encounter any after the spring at (-39.47151,-71.82642) until our lunch spot (-39.50227,-71.76688). A few tree obstructions and some steep bits down into the valley but awesome views! Had lunch below Quetrepillan and was debating whether to climb it. By this point it was engulfed in cloud so we decided to continue on without the summit (very sad). Took the detour out to the cool green waterfall in the middle of the volcanic landscape. Then began the climb up and over to Laguna Azul. Some snowy patches but overall fine to walk along. Started getting very windy in the afternoon. Lots of tents at Laguna Azul (and lots of waste, pretty gross). We found a spot in the trees but had a very windy night.

Day 4: Woke up to high winds and clouds so decided to leg it out of there. Good views on the descent to Laguna las Avutardas but Lanin unfortunately in cloud. Walked all the way out to the road and tried for a hitch for about an hour. First time on the GPT so many cars flew by us - normally we get a hitch straight away! Finally got a ride in the back of a pick up to Curarrehue where we got the bus back to Pucon.

• 2024 Apr 10th to Apr 18th / 7 hiking days & 1 zero day / Eastbound / Hiking / Villarica Traverse (Opt 4 + Opt 2 + RR + Var A + Opt 1) / Michael and Kasia

TL:DR The Villarrica Traverse was one of our favorite sections this season; we were really happy we did it in the fall because the color change in the leaves was really beautiful; going eastbound it definitely gets more beautiful as you progress; we had less trouble finding water than we anticipated given previous reports; we caught a hitch all the way to the ski center and so did not pay an entry fee, and we also did not encounter any guardaparques during the 9 days in the park.

Camp points:

Night 1 - (-39.39748, -71.96793)

Night 2 - Estero Nilfe (-39.45876, -71.97840)

Night 3 - Rio Pichillancahue (-39.46861, -71.85707)

Night 4 - Camping Chinay (-39.45898, -71.83026)

Night 5 - below Quetrupian (-39.50221, -71.76620)

Nights 6 and 7 - Laguna Azul (-39.54443, -71.74855)

Night 8 - after river (-39.334752, -71.393837)

Water points - we found water often in this section. Around Volcan Villarrica we would sometimes see just a faint trickle across the path, but by going above or below the trail just a few meters we would find pools of clean water.

Day 1 April 10th

We left Pucón around 09:00. It was sunny, but pretty windy. We walked to Camino Al Volcán since it was more likely that cars on that road would be going to the park. It took two hitches, the second took us all the way to the ski center ticket office. This bypassed the CONAF office which is located at the bottom of the hill, so we did not pay or register. The ski center was closed and the road from the ski center ticket office to the beginning of the trail is gated off to cars, so it was about a 2 km road walk on a dirt road. Right at the entrance to the trail to the left are two buildings, one looked like a garage, the other a kitchen/dining room for the ski center workers. There were some people there working. I stopped and asked if they could fill a bottle of water for me and they did. We started on the trail, but the wind was very strong. We got about 1.5 km into the trail before we decided that we wouldn't make it very far since we were spending almost as much time standing and bracing ourselves against the wind as we did walking. We backtracked to (-39.39748, -71.96793), where we had spotted a somewhat wind-protected spot in a small forest. The site can accommodate 1 tent, and is a little on an angle, but not too bad. Wind protection wasn't amazing, but much better than being out in the open. We found water a little further on the trail. It looked like just a trickle coming across the path, but 3 or 4 meters above the trail there were a couple of pools of clear water deep enough to ladle out water with my mug. It was a cloudless night and a really amazing, long lasting sunset, and we could see the red glow of the volcano reflected in the smoke coming out

Day 2 April 11th

A sunny, windless day. There were nice views of the valley below and it was a walk through a classic volcanic landscape, up and down the various zajons, and through some forests. Overall a beautiful day. We also collected a lot of chaura, the little white, pink or red berries. I called them foam berries because they have a kind of airy consistency, but they were sweet and enjoyable, vaguely apple/strawberry flavored I guess. They aren't really filling, but we enjoyed eating something novel and wild harvested.

We camped at (-39.45876, -71.97840) at Estero Nilfe. There was a flat space big enough for one tent. It just barely fit our Durston X-Mid 2, but we managed to squeeze it in. The sunset view was absolutely amazing. The water in the estero was nearly gone for the season. I had to walk about 25 m up the gulch until I found a trickle like a faucet that wasn't fully turned off, and it was still cloudy. I would recommend filling up at (-39.45497, -71.98195) for drinking and cooking before heading there. This was our favorite campsite of the section, not necessarily because of the site itself, but the views. Highly recommended, but also recommended to get there early if going in high season.

Day 3 - April 12th

We had a nice sunrise in the morning. The landscape for the day was almost entirely volcanic until the end. Kasia was very taken by it and enjoyed it a lot. We had a very interesting experience as well. At about 14:00 we crossed a dry river bed at Estero Tralco. We were standing part way up the hill on the far side. We were listening to a sound that we couldn’t tell if it was wind or water. We were looking up the river bed and finally, about 30 m up we saw running water. We kept watching and the water started getting closer. Within 10 minutes the water had gone past us, and the river bed, which had been dry when we crossed it just minutes before, suddenly had a stream probably a meter wide and 6 cm deep. It was very impressive to see a stream just appear before our eyes.

The path down to Rio Pichillancahue was in the forest, steep but in pretty good condition. We camped at (-39.46861, -71.85707). There were flat spots with space for two tents above the path and another one or two below, with decent river access. There is a sign that says “No Camping”, but it obviously had been a campsite at some point. We arrived nearly at dark so no one was around.

Day 4 - April 13th

We had a slow start. A few hikers passed by as we were wrapping up camp. I was surprised when we arrived at the road. I had anticipated a road that was too damaged to drive on, but there were a variety of vehicles parked or driving on the road throughout the day (it was a weekend). There were also a fair number of hikers along the road as well.

At (-39.46156, -71.84584) we encountered a wooden cross standing in a clearing just off the side of the trail. It was unclear if it was a religious thing or art. A little further back there was a short path going down and a water spigot that worked. The water seemed good, though I would probably filter it.

We camped at Camping Chinay (-39.45898, -71.83026). There were 10 or 12 campsites with picnic tables and benches. There were also a number of buildings, several of them clearly intended to be bathrooms. There is no running water, but the river is just a short walk back toward the main path. I'm not sure what happened there, but my best guess would be that it was a concession that started to build a campground and went bankrupt and just abandoned the project. It was a good spot for the night.

Day 5 - April 14th

We passed the CONAF office around 7:30, we didn't see anyone there. We filled up water at the first river crossing. It was a cloudy, still morning. The trail up for the first few km was in good condition and easy to follow. There were a few more water points on the way up. The one marked with a sign saying ”Water 20 m” was the last one we saw until we camped that night. We didn't need water, but I went down to check it out. The path down was very steep and there wasn't really easy access to the stream which was piled over with blow downs. A mug or something small would be helpful to ladle water out. There was also a huge araucaria that had dropped a ton of piñones there and we spent nearly an hour collecting. It was the only really good piñones score that we encountered during the section.

Immediately after that were a few problematic blow downs. The trail went into and out of forest sections with some amazing views in between. By the time we reached the pass it was mostly clear. The pass had an almost 360 view, and from one point we could clearly see to the east Lanín and Quetrupian ahead of us, to the north Volcán Llaima in PN Conguillio just to the west of GPT13, to the west Volcán Villarrica behind us, and to the south Volcan Coshuenco and Volcan Mocho in RN Coshuenco adjacent to GPT18. We had lunch at the pass.

The route down was very steep in some parts, and at times felt a little sketchy until we were back in the forest. I would not want to be doing it on a windy day, and I would definitely budget a little extra time. There were some tricky blow downs on the way down as well. We arrived at a water point at (-39.50221, -71.76620), a stream, and decided to camp next to it. There was a clear, flattish spot and the remnants of a past campfire. There was one more possible campsite 100 m or so on that we saw the next day.

Day 6 - April 15th

We awoke to Quetrupian completely covered in fog. We got a slow start hoping that it would eventually clear, but it remained that way throughout the day. We passed by the Volcán Quetrupian camping spot and were glad we had stayed where we did the night before. It was completely barren and exposed other than a couple of low rock walls. It started to get windy as we made our way down to Laguna Azul. We had seen on the weather that it was supposed to start raining that evening and rain the whole next day, so we wanted to get a good campsite to sit it out. The Laguna was very pretty, but the camping area is, as others have mentioned, kind of trashed. Additionally it was not so easy to find a good spot. Most of the flattish areas were essentially the bottom of a bowl that would accumulate water fast, and there was a lot of cold wind coming directly off the lake. We found a spot around (-39.54443, -71.74855) near a small beach on the way towards RR going south that was more wind protected. We set up two ponchos to have an outdoor cooking and eating area and did some extensive trenching around the tent and built a low rock wall on the water side.

Day 7 - April 16th

Rain, wind and fog all day. The trenching turned out to be very useful. The rain was heavier and lasted longer than the weather prediction, and the trenches filled multiple times throughout the day. Some water found its way into the tent, but not too much. We managed to stay dry overall. We spent the day cooking and peeling piñones in the outdoor area. It was very wet and very windy, but we were grateful to have a fairly protected spot.

Day 8 - April 17th

There were clear skies and sun in the morning. We took extra time getting the wet gear as dried as we could, anticipating that we might not have a good opportunity later. Ford [36.6/1652 ] was dry foot crossable. The water was milky. On the way down to the branch in the trail toward Laguna Blanca there was a good, clear stream that looks like a permanent feature given all the plant growth around it. We dropped the packs and walked to Laguna Blanca. Kasia liked it very much. It didn’t do much for me. There were some great views on the way up to the passes.

Once over the second pass and back into Chile, there were absolutely stunning views in the evening light. The whole valley had a magical quality. Along the route down much of the landscape is essentially wetland, so it was a little slow going to not get our feet wet. We camped at (-39.334752, -71.393837) just on the other side of the river. The spot was above the path tucked away in the trees. It was a fairly large clear spot, though on somewhat of an angle. Going back out to the path, we had an exceptional sunset view over the mountains.

Day 9 - April 18th

We had an amazing sunrise in the morning. The route down continued to be wet and boggy in many places, requiring careful choice of footing. There were great views on the way down with the fall color. The trail through the woods above Laguna Las Avutardes was better, though there were some blow downs. We did not make the detour to the lake. There was a very nice forest further on with some very large trees. We hiked down to the highway and tried to hitchhike from the rest stop just across the street from the cafe, which was closed when we were there. After a bit with no luck we started hiking the highway down. After about 30 minutes a Mapuche man in a truck stopped without us even trying to hitchhike and offered us a ride to Currarehue which we gratefully accepted. He dropped us off on the main street in town and we caught a bus a few minutes later to Pucón.

• 2024-Mar-24 to 2024-Mar-28 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 04 02 RR B / Matthias de Austria

No snowfields, Tabanos, Mosquitos and only very easy fords. Clean water is limited in some parts. Water markers flowing. Laguna Azul nice for a swim.

Started in Pucon, going for 04 Villarrica Traverese, the one Uber on Sunday forenoon does not want the job up to the ski center, and hitchhiking is harder then expected on this sunny, blue sky sunday. So first lots of road hiking, got 3 short rides later on. Rangerstation at -39.349925,-7196941 Entry fee is 8k, friendly ranger, you get a map, not that useful though. The ranger paints the possible campsites on it.

Water at -39.435836,-71.995461 Next clean water at -39.454973,-71.981950 camp here or take water for camp next to Estero Nilfe.

First camp at Estero Nilfe, very brown, sandy, fast stream: -39.458163,-71.978453, camp: -39.458755,-71.978396 Next water again very brown and sandy at -39.476059,-71.924327 Tiny stream of fresh clean water at -39.474726,-71.891417 Bigger clean stream at -39.477181,-71.886020 Further at -39.475188,-71.874056 Bridge over not so clear water at -39.467944,-71.857586 Next clean water at -39.461168,-71.832391

Second camp at ranger camp -39.456630,-71.817651 (noone around there). There are toilets, access to river 5m southeast at the bridge -39.457709,-71.816879 Soon next clean water at -39.461418,-71.819858 I think there is one more fresh water soon after, but not sure. Take a bit, there is non for a while until -39.502209,-71766203 Next at -39.507045,-71.754523

Few km after park ranger 04 31.9 on 04 is partly overgrown and lots of fallen trees, especially on ridge on downhill from ridge to the east. Third Camp nearby close to the waterfalls around -39.511782,-71.750506 some stonewalls for tents but no larger vegetation. Shortly after last water until lake azul. Amazing viewpoint south of pass 2.5/1924. Ford 40.3/1593 should be dry feet crossing now, I built some stone islands into the stream.

Quite dense forest afterwards, next possible camp where 02a ends, but not so nice and no water. Afterwards regulary patches of meadows but without water. Path at -39.652889,-71.843811 impassable but wacky lodge bridge at -39.652985,-71.843994, just a few meters west. Bridge at 58.6 is gone but easy ford a few douzen meters southeast. Camp after ford, asked the guy from the settlement, he is super chill and say I can choose wherevee I want to put my tent. Meadows full of shit though. Around 8-9pm massive blast of Bumm-Bumm music from the settlement, easy to hear even 200m away next to the river and with earplugs.

Gate at RR eastwards at junction B. Got a lift there to Liquiñe. Panderia, pasteria, minishop and cafeteria at -39.741773,-71.855479. I said I take 10 eggs if they cook it hard, they do so for 1k. +3k for the eggs.

Parts of Villarica Traverse is really beautiful. Southern parts of RR it's long, long boring road walking.

• 2024-Mar-05 to 2024-Mar-08 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + summit Quetrupillan / Juliet and Martin

Day 1 Cararrehue to (-39.47055, -71.63177)

We left Cararrehue after sleeping in a campsite (altitude 360) for 7000 pesos per person. It's a good idea to stock up on water, as the rivers are milky. We filtered the water with our water bottles and it was fine. Lots of gates to climb. We slept in the forest near a river at the entrance to the national park. We recommend it.

Day 2 from (-39.47055, -71.63177) to Laguna Azul

We reached the laguna blanca, which is also milky. Magnificent. Great bivouac spot at laguna azul, which is finally transparent. Several places to shelter from the wind. There are a few people and garbage, but it's easy to get away from them and set up camp.

Day 3 ascent of Quetrupillan volcano

A long day's walk to the summit of Quetrupillan volcano and back. Lots of wind. Magnificent views, a must! We decided to do the grand tour, following the marked path (track on gaia) and not the GPT tracks after reading about other experiences on wikiexplora. We didn't encounter any technical difficulties. Long climb and very steep at the end. We recommend following the Gaia trail. Back to laguna azul where we had left our gear to climb lighter.

Day 4 laguna azul a ruta 201 CH We finally finished this section in one last day due to bad weather (continuous rain). Last day in the forest. No interest beyond that. We rejoined ruta 201 CH, where we were quickly picked up and hitchhiked to Conaripe. We stayed in Conaripe at the Hotel Chumay, which is very good and not too expensive. There are buses in Conaripe, and we took one to Licanray as we'd missed the direct one to Panguipuilli, but it runs once a day. From Licanray we reached Panguipuilli and then Valdivia.

• From 2024-03-06 to 2023-03-08 // 2,5 day // Hiking // NOBO // RR + summit Quetrupillan // Quentin Clavel

After a long, smooth and easy to follow ascent, threw gravel road then nice and large forest track, and finally lovely little path, I reached the volcanic plateau.

It was very windy when I arrived at Laguna Azul, and I really hesitated to go up to the volcano Quetrupillan. I finally put my pant and jacket on, and start the climb, without my bag that I left at the campsite next to the Laguna.

Even if it's windy, I think the first part of the climb is definitely worth it, to have this amazing view on Villarica on one side and Lanin on the other ! Stunning !

Then I continue, but didn't follow the GPX track, and just cross country threw different snow patches, and loosing rocks area, to reach the crater (east part). I stayed there less than 2 minutes I guess, the wind was just that crazy that thought I'll be blown away.

The view up there is pretty nice, but from where I was on the crater, I've got the summit part in front of me that hide the Villarica volcán. Anyway, with these conditions it wasn't doable to go to the summit safely. So I just went down, sliding on volcanic little rocks and snow patches, lot of fun !

I found back my bag and spent the night at Laguna Azul campsite, enjoyed to be sheltered from the wind on this tiny forest.

Before leaving the area make sure to fill your water as you'll not have clear/clean water for a while.

The next day was very hard because of the harsh weather. It was rainy a lot, very windy and so cold. I even was into a snow storm on the volcanic plateau and all the length until the entrance on the forest. That wasn't fun at all ! I struggled a bit on the turn around laguna blanca, as the water from the heavy rain created some small rivers that I had to cross.

Then as the altitud decrease, snow became rain, and it finally stopped to turn into blue sky at the end of the day.

From the volcanic plateau, you'll alternate between forest trail, gravel road and asphalt road. Mostly very easy to follow. Few time you'll pass kind of residentially place, all the people that I met were absolutely lovely !

Between PK 12 and PK 8, you'll have few gates and fences to jump. I met Don Carlos at PK12, he's the owner of the property where you have to climb 2 fences and pass a gate, very nice and kind man, he even escorted me to pass the first gate and the fence and explained me the way very precisely.

Then after PK8, you reach a gravel road, it was longer for me because I stopped very regularly to eat looooot of blackberrys and plums that I found on the way. Finally, you'll reach the internacional road, and the city of currarehue.

Currarzhue is kind of a big city, where you'll find easily places to resupply (there's at least 4 supermarkets and 10 minimarkets), foodplaces and accomodation (cabanas, hospedaje and hostel (at the end of the city)). Didn't checked in all supermarkets, but there's a good chance to find Gaz in this city I reckon, if not in supermarkets, probably in ferretería ?

• 2024-Feb-23 to 2024-Feb-25 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 02 +03 + B/ Joscha

Day 1: RR [0.0-34.6]

Bus from Pucon to Curarrehue leaves frequently from the terminal Vipu-Ray (-39.27753, -71.97265) and costs 2000 Pesos. I had to climb a locked wooden gate (8.6), locked barbed wire gates (10.1 and 11.4.) and barbed wire fence (9.8 and 11.7) while following the RR. Other than that the first 20 km are pretty easy to walk and relatively boring. There was a little stream next to RR at km 11.2. At km 15.7 and 18.3 it's possible to acces Estero Huililco. The RR crosses a small river at km 23.1, which is the last water source until Laguna Blanca. There is plenty of flat space for camping all around Laguna Blanca.

Day 2: RR [34.6-40.2] + to Volcan Quetrupillan and back on OH16-02 + OH16-03

There are still some big snow patches on OH16-03, but they can be avoided with some rock scrambling. Just before the Summit of Quetrupillan I had to use both my hands for climbing up. On the way down I took the OSM trail that leaves the RR at -39.49735, -071.72325 and rejoines the RR at -39.50155, -071.72667. It's pretty steep, but I didn't had to use my hands to climb down. But I had to maneuver around some snowfields to get back to the RR. There are a few water sources during the first 2 km of OH16-03. The view from Volcan Quetrupillan is amazing and the hike to the summit isn't to hard.

Day 3: RR [40.2-64.5] + OH16-B

The Bridge at km 58.6 is gone, but its an easy ford. Possible camping spot just south of water marker at km 44.2. I took OH16-B down to the main road and hitched from there to Conaripe. There is water at all water/ford markers on the whole RR.

Outside of the area around Volcan Quetrupillan the RR is pretty boring. A traverse from the ski area (OH16-4) over Quetrupillan to Puesco Norte (OH16-1) is the more scenic route.

• 2024-Feb-02 to 2024-Feb-06 / 4.5 days / Hiking / Westbound / Villarrica traverse / Gerald

Since i came from Argentina i wanted to start at Puesco. In Curarrehue i couldn't find a Gascontainer with a screw. GYG had none and the Ferreterias have only the long one or the one without the screw.... But there is a bus going to Pucon every 20min for 2k. Run out of time and camped at the Puesco Cervezeria. Nice beer and good spot next to the river. CONAF couldn't give me any information about water sources along the trail. If you start in Pucon they do incl. a Map.... I always found enough water, but i don't need that much. Camped at Laguna las Avutardes (bad weather was coming), Laguna Azul (really nice, almost no litter), Rio Pichillancahue (only spot for maybe 2 tents, water was cloudy but drinkable aber you let the soil (?) settle, in the morning it's cleaner) and 6km before the ski center since i wanted to see the volcano glowing at night. Camping on volcanic gravel was not smart but didn't damage my tent :) I had a lot of luck with the weather, since i could descent right before the big rain. Beautiful trail, landscape is unreal. Just keep in mind if you wear trailrunner, the vulcanic rocks will eat them :) In Pucon is a shoe repair shop between Uruguay and Peru street called "clinica de calzado". They seem more specialized in leather boots, but tried their best on my trailrunner. Have Frankenstein shoes now :) There are tours going up to the volcano villarrica, but they are not allowed to summit right now. They charge around 100k. Maybe with some planing it is possible to get the gear from an tour operator at the ski station and continue the journey. In the area around Villarrica is cell reception.

• 2024-Feb-07 - 2024-Feb-10, NOBO, Hiking, 4 days, RR, 16-01, czimahi

from Liquiñe by road and the direction Trancas Negras; Join RR, Bridge 16 (5 - no bridge; night in camp without water. Next day to Laguna Azul and by 16-01 to laguna Avutardas (camp before 34,7) lots of water on the way till the last indicated. next day to Puesco camping on road (with artesanal beer), then going back to Conaf to 16-01. by the level of camp Puesco there is a bridge but closed by gate, easy to cross by left side, i decided not to go but then I was in that place, the way is just here. Just one spiny fence without any gate on the way.

If you go just the larger "road" for a car you will get join to the 16-01 which in some case is marked by some horse trail or something like this - I returned thinking I'm lost but I would get the route. In Trancura a car stopped me and took me to Curarrehue.

• 2024-01-28 to 2024-01-31: Fangwen and Tobi / 4 days Villarrica traverse

Like many others, we chose to do the scenic Villarrica traverse. We skipped the first day around the Villarrica mountain and started from CONAF Chinay (by taking an Uber -- until 1km before CONAF it's 2wd friendly). We left our stuff at the somewhat abandoned looking campsite at S 39° 27.571', W 071° 49.815' and went for a short hike up to Glaciar Pichillancahue. Nice, but not really a must in our opinion. The next day we hiked to the refreshing waterfalls at S 39° 30.715', W 071° 45.147' and camped there. The third day, we went up to the rim of the Quetrupillan volcano -- nice views! This involved hiking up some snowfields (but no technical gear was required). The peak itself involves scrambling up a short route. Not difficult but the rock is incredibly crumbly and so we turned around. Fun descent via buttsliding down the snowfields. Hike to the very scenic Lago Azul. We pushed on along the very scenic trail and camped at S 39° 33.759', W 071° 39.654', a bit after the getting back across the border to Chile from Argentina. The argentinian side would make for an awesome campsite with a great sunset too (in our case, there was also water from snowmelt), especially at S 39° 34.315', W 071° 40.548'. The fourth day was simply a hike out with a short stop at another lake. Easy hitchhike back to Pucón.

• 2024-Jan-12 to 2024-Jan-16 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Villarrica Traverse / Alex & Lotti

We liked this hike a lot, especially the diversity of the landscape with the forests, volcanoes and lakes. We were happy that we did it in eastbound direction, because this way the landscape got more and more beautiful towards the end, and transportation to and from trail was easy. Trail conditions were very good, only the trail from "Cafe Villarrica Traverse" to the Puesco CONAF office (part of Option 1) was overgrown and sometimes hard to find.

Camping: Estero Nilfe (Beautiful view, no clean water), CONAF camp Chinay (weird abandoned construction site, but river close), Laguna Azul (beautiful campsite, but clearly used by many people, not much trash when we were there), Laguna Las Avurtardas (beautiful lake and campsite, lots of cow and horse shit, so water has to be filtered)

Transport to start: We took an Uber to the Ski Center and paid 12000 pesos (more than what the driver asked for, but he had to wait for us while we did the registration at the CONAF office, so we paid a little extra).

Transport from end: Bus at 5pm from the CONAF office in Puesco to Curarrehue, then bus to Pucon. (There is a river with nice swimming sites very close to the CONAF office to make waiting for the bus enjoyable)

• 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 5 days / Hiking / (eastbound?) / Villarrica traverse RR - {16-04} - {16-02} - {16} - {16-A} - {16-01} / Andrew

This was my favourite hike so far. I did it in 5 days, but I wish I'd added an extra day to do the 2 side trips mentioned by Nat and Tomas (Quetrupillan summit and glacier Pichillancahue). Notes for logistics if you're doing the traverse and plan to return to Pucon: Chili Kiwi hostel won't store bags during the high season while you hike, but Gecko hostel will (for $5.000 CLP).

Day 1 (trail start to Zanjón pino Huacho):

Two rides got me up to CONAF station. I registered for the hike, $10.000 CLP, and they gave me a map of the trail and a tag for my backpack. I only saw the park rangers once however in the final 2km of the trail. Officially no wild camping. I was eager (ok maybe impatient) to start so I started hiking up to the ski centre after about 15 minutes without success hitchhiking. In hindsight I wished I waited longer, as the 8km uphill to the ski centre is not that interesting. I ate lunch at the ski centre, refilled my water bottles, and started the trek.

Incredible landscapes, going back and forth between barren volcanic rocks spotted with wildflowers to tall grasses. I found a stream that looked clear at ( 39°24'57.16"S, 71°58'18.54"W), so I drank water from it. Otherwise no water until Zanjón pino Huacho where I camped.

Day 2 (Zanjón pino Huacho to near Chinay):

Started with Araucaria forests, and then back to volcanic landscapes. First glimpse of the twin peaks of Choshuenco/Mocho and later on Lanin. After Valle de Fuego, you up and down over a couple valleys, the last one had a stream and that's where I had lunch. Long uphill stretch, a stand of Araucaria trees, and then windings paths through tall grasses just above the treeline. Many day hikers walking up from Pichillancahue to the mirador del volcan. River Pichillancahue looked like it had some nice places to camp, but marked with no camping signs. With so many people going back and forth I decided to continue onwards. I camped at an official looking campground with a water spigot and a thunder box close to Chinay.

Day 3 (near Chinay to Quetrupillan waterfall):

After Chinay there is a long uphill but worth it for the views. Partway up the hill there's a sign for water 20 m downhill. Tricky to get to, but this is the last water for several hours. I was carrying 1.75L and that wasn't enough. Amazing views up high, then a slow descent. Found some muddy pools, and then finally a clear stream at (39°30'25.70"S, 71°45'15.91"W). Lots of blackflies, but there was a cool moment where a lizard crawled onto my shoes and started hunting them. Camped at Quetrupillán waterfalls, stunning landscapes and view of the fire from Villarrica at night.

Day 4 (Quetrupillan waterfall to Laguna Avutardas):

A couple spots where the trail is covered in snow and you need to find your own way down. Stopped at Laguna Azul for lunch. Sad to see the state of the campground there, so much trash. If you're doing the traverse make sure you don't start following the main GPT trail after the lake like I did. And then it's worth going back to the main trail even if you have to cross the river at a difficult spot. I tried to find another crossing, and then made my own way through the lava field which was difficult, would not recommend. Continued onwards, more snow. Laguna blanca was worth a detour. More amazing views, and then the last snowing section followed by a long muddy descent to Laguna Avutardas. Several other Villarrica traverse hikers camped on the beach.

Day 5 (Launa Avutardas to end):

Coldest night by far with frost on my tent in the morning! Easy hike to the road. First sighting of the park rangers. Hitchhiked back to Pucon.

• 2024-Jan-17 to 2024-Jan-19 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {16-02} - {16-03} - {16-02} - RR - {16-B} / Lilian

I really enjoy GPT16, walking on the beach beside Laguna Blanca, climbing Volcán Quetrupillán, camping at outlet of Laguna Azul and soaking in hot spring at Liquiñe, they are all so lovely.

Volcán Quetrupillán still covered by lot of snow above 1930m. Also need to climb up a 40° snow slope and traverse to it's rim. Take your time.

RR km0 - km8.9 : dirt road walking.

Km8.0 : clear water flowing beside the road. (-39.38490, -71.63200)

Km8.3 : camping possibilities on grassland at uphill side with no fence.(-39.38470, -71.63648)

Km8.65 : locked gate with barbed wire fence, a house just behind the gate, better ask for the permission first.

Km8.9 : 4 way junction, dirt road become an old trail.

Km9.75 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. 2 holes at fence , one is already covered by bamboo, another one is at (-39.38352, -71.64776), go through it you will connect to an dirt road at other side.

Km10.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Open the gate at top, remains the lock there and big step over, my legs are too short, the barbed wire breaks a hole at my shorts here ;(

Km11.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. At right side there is a small gap let small people go through, but not for backpack, so climb it!

Km11.15 : bridge and a stream flowing good at right side(-39.39046, -71.65845), go over the bridge then you will find a side trail at right side to stream.

Km11.3 : bridge and a stream flowing good, but no way to go down.

Km11.35 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Climb.

Km11.7 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. Houses at (-39.39480, -71.66123), a dog continues barking when i was climbing the fence, make me so anxiety...

Km12.2 : finally, this gate can open it with the chain at middle. But i didn't know it can be opened before i saw the chain, so i climbed the gate...

FYI : RR follow the valley and Estero Huililco climbing up, but no clear water, because the river is milky.

Km16.5 : grassland(-39.42330, -71.65069) with no fence can fit many tents, but i think this spot is just for group hikers, because it is beside the road without any covers, every cars passing here must see you, it is not safe for solo hiker.

Km18.25 : camping spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring beside the river. Some trees and bushes here, very little privacy.

Km18.6 : bus stop here, and i don't know about the bus schedule.

Km18.65 - km19.2 : look like is a paid campground.

Km20.05 : dirt road junction, an old dirt road at left side, flat and without rocks, you can camp here if need. South of RR in this forest also lot spots for camping.

Km23.15 : crossing of a milky stream, just above ankle. It is the last reliable water until Laguna Blanca.

Km26.25 : junction of dirt road and trail, RR is turn to trail now, dirt road will end by damaged and huge blowdown, so turn left and climb up on the trail.

Km27 : information board( with Spanish and English). From the board, RR-CC-A[29.3+5.9] is the official route.

Km29.3 : junction of RR and {16-A}, RR at here is a clear trail, not CC. Easy to follow.

Km29.85 : water spot(-39.51775, -71.65871)! Tiny stream flowing low with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts, easy to collect. No water at downstream, because it just flow some meters then seep into sand. Some more tiny streams also flowing low beside the trail or across the trail by snow melts, but i think this is the best one in some km.

Km30.6 : viewpoint of Lanín! Some snow patch nearby, flat and easy to walk on.

Km32.6 : Laguna Blanca, cross 2 chocolate stream, just above ankle, but the riverbed is muddy in some steps.

Km33.05 : a 80m snow patch, not steep, not difficult, but you'll drop into the lake if slide.

Km35.2 : junction of RR and {16-A}. Tiny stream flowing good with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts beside the junction, easy to collect.

Km35.4 : steep snow slope at east side of the pass. Better go around it at right side (north). Tiny stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, at west side of the pass too.

Ford[36.6/1652] : crossing of a milky stream, above ankle.

Km37.6 - km38 , km39.9 - km40.1 : snow patches, easily go around.

Then i go for {16-02} then {16-03} climbing Volcán Quetrupillán.

{16-02} km0.15 : small stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, easy to collect.

Km1.65 : snow patch.

Km1.9 : junction of {16-02} and {16-03}, {16-03} maybe sometime have rock cairns, but i just find the trail when it is already very close to summit, so mostly CC go by yourself. {16-02} km2.1 to pass[2.5/1924], almost half is covered by snow, it becomes steep when get close to pass, be careful.

{16-03} km0.45 : snow slope steep go down, i go down at a little north, the slope is much shorter.

Km1.15 : due to lot of snow melts, the milky lake become larger than it shows on map. So walk a little east to go around.

Km1.3 : snow start, i recommend just walking on snow to trail junction waypoint at km2.1, it is gentle.

Km2.1 : tiny stream(-39.51478, -71.73556) flowing low with clear water just beside the trail junction (but i didn't see any trail here.)

Then the climbing is covered by lot of snow. You can walk on a dry rocky slope until km2.45, then choose continue finding dry slope to walk (but they are going around and around so the distance are a little longer and some puds, also sometimes block by snow wall), or climbing up on snow directly.

I climbed on the snow slope, because they are stable and not too steep, looks like better than following rock cairns on the dry slope.

When you arrive km3.7(-39.50145, -71.72655), look up to the mountain top. Of course the sharp peak at left is Quetrupillán, and your target is climbing up to the part at its right side, red colour and a little rocky one, that's the pass(-39.49857, -71.72277), also trail there.

Because most of the slope still covered by snow, so go a little southeast, you'll find a dry rock slope, parallel to GPX tracks. Not too much, but at least some places you can stand on easily and take a short break in climbing. Straight climb up the 40° snow slope to km4.05(2265m) (-39.50003, -71.72333), then traverse to the red part, trail is here(-39.49889, -71.72298). When it close to the red part, the snow slope becomes a little icy, kick step and be careful.

Arrive on the red, you can follow the loose rocky trail to the pass. You can continue climbing up to summit or walking on the rim for views.

After enjoying the moments for volcano, i slide down at here(-39.49886, -71.72313), a good way without rocks. Then skiing back to {16-02}. Lot fun!

I took 4.5 hours for climbing up and 2.5 hours for go down back to Laguna Azul. At my first plan, i want to go down to camp beside the waterfall at (-39.51315, -71.74967) then back to the Laguna Azul on next day, but it looks like lot of snow in the valley after the no trail's trail junction, also need a steep going down the pass. So i just take a round trip even i climbed Quetrupillán with my full backpack.

RR lake,camp[40.2/1597] : Laguna Azul, clear water. Can fit 3-4 tents under some short trees, with fire ring and wind protection, but a little crowded.

Ford[40.3/1593] : lake outlet, wet feet crossing, a beautiful camping spot can fit 1 tent just downstream 20m, another crossing point there too.

Camp[40.3/1601] : still covered by snow patch now.

Km41.7 : camping area with fire pit and log seats, covered by many trees.

X[49.6/997] : 4 way junction, some more junctions at south.

Water[51.1/871] : flowing low with clear water.

Km51.6 : 3 way junction, at left, a good road going down at east side of the valley. At right is RR, go down at west side of valley. Road is heavy damage just after the junction, be careful for crossing, the road is collapsing(-39.60354, -71.81894).

Km51.9 - km52.4 : a large beautiful grassland, nice camping spot. Start from here, the "road" becomes better condition.

X[55.6/618] : junction of RR and a good road, looks like coming from other sidecof valley.

Km57.75: grassland, camping spot.

Settlement, bridge[58.6/440] : the road is damaged before the "bridge", a board bridge (-39.65286, -71.84399) for human crossing. The bridge also is damaged, looks like washed away, so crossing at upstream (-39.65410, -71.84389), rock bar underwater, above ankle. This stream's water is flowing good with clear water. After crossing is a nice spot with lunch, well tree shade. Fire ring and log seats under a tree too, but it is in the area of settlement.

Camp[62.1/486] : i didn't notice the spot when i passed here, maybe I missed it.

Km64.5 : junction of RR and {16-B}, i take {16-B} because of shorter distance to main road, also no need to climb up 120m again as RR.

Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)

Then i walked all the way to Liquiñe, no bus and no luck(no successful hitch).

For resupply details read GPT17.

• 2024-Jan-10 to 2024-Jan-12 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 4 +sendero glacier Pichillancahue ( we did a cross country after towards the East to go to the Morador Los volcanoes ) / Yannick & Nolwenn

- Water : easy to find - Snow : still snow left on the Quatrupillen volcano but manageable to go up - Camping spot : easy to find - Weather : Sunny - Resupply : in Pucon to start and in Conaripe at the end of the section

• 2023-01-02/05 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + volcano Quetrupillán / Hermann & Coline

The GPT16 was a really nice experience !

Milagro, who hosted us in Liquiñe, gave us cherries and nuts for the travel ! With that, the sloapses up-hill felt less hard than it was for our legs.

We slept at the Camp Without Water {16} [52.3/794] the first night (and even found water nearby). We arrived at the Laguna Azul the next day.

We stayed there two days, so that I could walk up to the summit of Volcano Quetrupillán.

The ascension was okay. The sunny sky was a bit covered by clouds, but without wind. I just had a headhick after, because of the UVs reflecting on the snow (I guess). There are some places where one's can't avoid walking on it, so I took my time to "read" the landscape (underground rivers etc).

I left the GPT to take the optional road on Locus, that follows the crater at the end. It was scary at the top, but not dangerous.

On the way back, I started by following a group of men on a much easier way going westbound. Then, I went south and it was easy to follow the landlarks I had token outbound (the frozen lake for instance).

There was wind in the mid of the day and two chilians warned us that there would be snow in the night. Therefore, we spend the night at the Laguna Blanca : lot's of wind, but no snow there and even a new glacier river in the morning !

Thanks to the previous posts on Wikiexplora and also to Lukas and Tess we've meet on the way, we took enough water for the next 30kms down-hill. Actually, there was a river (probably due to the storm), even crossing the road at some point, but I'm not sure it was drinkable.

We went to Catripulli instead of Currarehue. We wanted to take a bus to Villarica – where there is a Scotiabank –, and to skip sections 14 & 15, so to join the GPT again at Icalma. This was a bad idea... There's no direct bus between Villarica and Melipeuco ; we had to first reach Temuco. Moreover, there's no bus from Melipeuco to Icalma, so we hitchhiked. (There were not many cars ; it took us a day.)

Food : 1. In Liquiñe, the shop just before the bridge is smaller and more expensive than the others (saying Milagro). 2. There are no piñones at the foot of the Araucanian tree, since the season starts in march (saying a woman who took us in her car). 3. In Catripulli, there's a shop with all you need and more – even argentinian cakes and Malta beers !

• 2024-Jan-02 to 07 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Huella Andina plus new options / Natalie & Tomáš

[Note 2024 November: This is not in the GPT yet at all, but it is in our suggestions in the 2024 Track files. This is a start of an alternative Argentinian route connecting GPT16 all the way to GPT21. In our opinion, for hikers it is probably better as it involes a lot less roadwalking and is very scenic (and the roadwalking there is is mostly easily hitchable). It might be slightly mode difficult than the RR. This is especially useful when coming from the Villarica traverse. What follows is roughly what corrresponds to GPT16 to middle of GPT18, next log is in GPT18H. Look also at Hannes von S report who followed us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1754087775097101/.

Our pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1758304798008732/.]

In summary, we crossed the border into Argentina from Pucon and gained a ridge beneath Lanin's east face and traversed it towards a hiking trail in Argentina known as "Cara Sur Volcán Lanin". We then utilized the Huella Andina (HA) to end in San Martin. It took us ~5 days.

Day 1: Pucon-border-camp 1 From Pucon we took the Pullman Bus ("IGI LLAIMA") heading to San Martin, Argentina. It is the only company going to Argentina and leaves at 11:00am. I figured it would be the easiest way to cross the border and also the most likely way to keep food from being checked. It worked but it was slow and expensive (19 thousand CLP per person). They never ended up asking about food in the end, but the bus driver told us no fresh food was allowed and to make sure to have your PDI paper (a photo of it works too). The bus driver let us out at the National park guards for the Lanin park (we failed to explain we wanted to get off 2 km down the road). Luckily nobody at the park asked us what we were doing. We just continued walking on the road and got a hitch 2km to the start of the route. It took about 4hours to get from Pucon to the start, border time waits will vary. There just so happened to be a locked gate where we started and an old road, we jumped over it and prepared our things under some Aracaurias.

It looked as if there were many options for access but we decided against following any of the side ridge lines and instead aimed for a green bushy bowl at the top of a gentle valley in front of us. The valley is between a highly cliffy ridge to the right (the first one post Lanin) and a slightly rocky ridge on the left. There was an old road that took us to the base of the slope. The road goes along a circle, one might want to go directly cross country. Anyway, then we marched up the first steep slope through low shrubbery. On top we then made an ascending traverse to the left side of the valley, crossing through a fairly recent burn zone and a creek that runs in the middle. Despite the trees down, the walking was still pleasant, there were cow tracks here and there that we could follow. Looking from top of the first hill where the burnt Araucarias are, there was a nice non bushy c-shaped curve on the left of the creek that looked like it would take you in nicely.

To get to the top of the ridge (or green bowl as I say) you will have to cross some shrubbery but it was never terrible, only ~300m of rather easy bush bashing. However, getting from the creek to the shrubbery was rather steep. We followed a sloped washout, it was a mixture of steep rock (mostly solid) and hollow dirt, which seemed to enjoy engulfing your leg at times (postholing through dirt). I wouldn't worry about it too much, but to some it may be uncomfortably steep. We made camp at the top of the ridge in a grassy plateau with water (-39.63637, -71.43107), unfortunately it was very windy.

Day 2 - Camp 1 - lanin Traverse - Lago Paimun The next day we ascended a bit above camp and then followed underneath a ridgeline and made a long traverse with mild up and downs to the main pass before the ugly moraine part near one of Lanin's SE glacier's (-39.66646, -71.47695). The traverse before the moraine was easy, one could take many ways, the terrain was simple and there was lots of water. The moraine however had more obstacles and the hanging glacier up high made crossing in the mid day heat feel a bit intimidating. My main worry was crossing Arroyo Rucu Leufu near the end, my plan was to cross it high but since there was still solid snow covering it, we crossed it easily (breaking through was not a worry but if it happened it would have terrible consequences, therefore maybe aim to cross it higher than where we crossed, when snow is gone, fording should be easier). For the moraine crossing, one could traverse it high or low. My plan was to cross low where the moraine walls were less steep but we did a bit of both, Tomáš traversed closer to the 2000m mark and it was fine for him, I dropped down to see how the lower slopes were and I was happier on them. However if you go low you will have to climb back up no further than the moraine rib ~ here (-39.67443, -71.48657) as it is the one before Arroyo Rucu Leufu. Once we hit the lookout trail on the other side the 10km decent went very fast. Apart from the unnecessary river crossing we did twice; the signage and gps are misleading and make you ford the river twice but there is a trail now that stays on the west side of the river, no need to cross. Near the end of the trail we took a dirt road on our right to get to camping Mawizache faster. I was told this camping had good food, but I wish we had just gone straight to the boat crossing and camped on the other side. However, bcs of this we never crossed the park entrance so noone ever ended up asking questions...

At Mawizache we had our first taste of bizarre Argentina currency exchange. The camping was an okay price (2mil each) but the dinner ended up costing us a lot more than expected. I had changed a 50us bill to Argentina pesos in Pucon but it was such a terrible rate (25000pesos for a 50, almost half of what I should have gotten) that I could not even afford to buy the dinner. Because of this we had to pay with a 50usd bill or 100usd bill bcs anything less cannot be exchanged in Argentina. We got the change back in pesos at a rate around ~1usd:650pesos. Long story short, it sorted itself out and it was nice to have a dinner on the lake, the trout and wine was excellent but she forgot to make two other dishes we ordered. We bought some white bread loafs from the man at the camping for 1mil each.

Day 3: Lago Paimun - Termas Camping As for the next day, we crossed Lago Paimun by the little boat with a bell (-39.74619, -71.52482). It cost 3mil each bcs we were not staying at the campsite. Another reason we should have crossed the night before (hours for the boat bell system are 8-13:00 and 15:00-20:30). The camp there is run by a large family, they had bread and probably other food as well. We had to register our names and then the elder showed us the start of the Huella Andina trail behind her house. The Huella Andina trail was signed and easy to follow. The first half of it on the way to the road was super fast and then near the end it became more slow and slightly grown over, but never terrible. Only one river ford. The border road that this trail shoots you out on is closed for car traffic, it seemed. There is a barricade at the border checkpoint and no one stationed there. After the checkpoint the road becomes very much a "road" and seems to see a lot of vehicle traffic. We arrived at the hotsprings almost too early as there were a few groups. The hotsprings were once taken care of, now abandoned. There is this incredibly annoying wooden walkway that takes you to them (~800m) and then if you continue on it you get to the camping. The walkway is falling apart in places and there is a small suspension bridge that I hope does not collapse on somebody. We had dinner and got water by this suspension bridge and went back to the hotsprings when everyone was gone. The main one is bath water temperature (it is the largest and with a wooden patio like feature). There is another one maybe 30m before that is more dirty but warmer. The other ones that exist are way too hot, I think they are 60-70 degrees. Instead of walking back we followed the broken walkway to the Termas camping and slept there. Didn't realize untill the morning it was payed camping, so we payed 2mil each.

Day 4: Termas- Achen Niyeu area -camp near pass The road was not so bad, we got a hitch for the last 5km. Lots of cars going up to the hot springs but it was a bit too early for downward traffic. Laguna Verde is very popular and we thought they would charge us a day rate so we tried to cross the lagoon where it was narrow - that was a fail, too deep. They didn't charge us anyways so it was a waste of time but they did need us to register. Apart from trying to avoid Laguna Verde, it actually was a nice place in the end. The owners are a young and easy to get along with couple, their shop had lots of treats like pizza, bread, muffins and other basics. The rest of the day was slow for us as we were trying to plan an alternative ridge traverse but then the weather started to move in so we just hid our bags and went up Achen Niyeu quickly. The way down was probably the closest I will get to skiing this year. The plateau around Achen Niyeu was an incredibly beautiful volcanic landscape, easy to sit and admire for some time. Due to weather and Tomáš 's leg acting up we made an early camp in the trees on the other side of the pass. There is a tarped shelter set up where we camped, either for emergencies or for someone else (-39.88473, -71.54229).

Day 5 pass camp- bush camp We may have missed the rain but we definitely had to deal with the consequences the next morning. The trail is still in good shape down from the pass but since it is still bushy and muddy in spots we got drenched from wet grass and leaves. The refugio Rincón de los pinos would have been a nice place to camp and so would have Auquinco. We went to Auquinco thinking it would be abandoned, but we wanted to see the state of the trail that supposedly goes around the lake, we were hoping there was a chance one could cross Lago Lolog to get to the other trails on the opposite side. It does not look like this is possible without weeks/months worth of machete work. There was a man, a citizen park-ranger or something like that, who was called Juan and based at Auquinco for the summer. He had a funny character and was very welcoming. He offered coffee and a place above his fire to dry our things and also told us no one has used those trails around the lake for at least 10 years.[November 2024: Tomáš has since removed that noexistent trail from OSM, it went west along the northern shore of Lago Lolog.] We enjoyed the pretty surroundings and then headed to the end of the trail near "bush camp" (40.0211644S, 71.3612525W) for our final night. The bush camp is just a few spots in the lake shore, no services, since it is free, but it is far nicer than the paid camping (7.5mil). Next day we hitched back to San Martin easily.

• 2023-29-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 1 and 4 / Jens

Hitchhiked from Curarrehue to the trailhead of Option 1.

I didn't pay any entrance fees.

Lots of water until Villarrica volcano. Around the volcano good camping but little water. Water was clean.

Hitchhiked from the ski resort to Pucon. Lots of people in the resort for daywalks.

Season 2022/23

• 2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-01 & 02 + Quetrupillan summit + Villarica traverse / Martial.

Puesco - Pucón Villarica traverse is indeed an interesting alternative for GPT16. The views on Volcanos are gorgeous and trail in good conditions for the all trip. My personal camping recomandations are Laguna azul, volcan Quetrupillan waterfall (on osm : -39.51160, -71.75365) and estero aihue (39.47713° S, 71.88582° W) or Zanjón pino Huacho for clean water access and sleep under the stars ✨ Although siphon water from the bucket in the zanjon was hard but should be better after recent rains.. Water from the various glaciar rivers is way cleaner in the morning to be drunk. An interesting combo for people in need for a treat would be stopping in Termas Geometricas wich looks to be one of the best attraction of the region.. (20mil or so) I luckily was granted with nice weather for Quetrupillan climb wich for me is really worth-it. Hopefully you get a lucky ride for the long descent from the centro de ski to Pucón. Take plenty of water if you start nobo !

• 2023-Feb-22 to 2023-Feb-26 / 4 days / Hiking / OH-01 +03 Villarrica traverse (West-bound?) / Natalie & Tomáš

We did not end up following the GPT but instead ended up doing the Villarrica Traverse (so options 01 and 03 of GPT and then some more). It was our last trip before flights back home so ending directly in Pucón made the most sense, just sad that our last hike wasn't actually on the GPT...

Thoughts: Really beautiful, surprisingly diverse and not as many people as expected. The busiest place was at Laguna Azul and the glacier lookout. We are both very happy to have walked it and since it was our last hike, it was a pleasure to be on trails that allowed one to reflect rather than think about the next step. Highlights were the ease of the trails, vistas, Araucaria sillouettes, a return to volcanic landscapes, the crater of Quetrupillan and the forest canopy.

Access: Bus from Curarrehue to Puesco leaves at 5pm, just once a day. It leaves from here;-39.36321, -71.58433 and is white and green. Probably easier to hitch as it only goes to Puesco (aka CONAF). It leaves Puesco to Curarrehue at 730am supposedly.

Description: The traverse is well documented and therefore I will only explain two different side trips. Note that if coming from Puesco the last section between Chinnay camping and the ski hill is scarce of water because most water available is recommended not to drink due to high levels of ash in the melting glacier. The two good sources are; estero aihue; 39.47713° S, 71.88582° W and Zanjón pino Huacho, which is actually just a tap over a bucket; 39.43604° S, 71.99502° W. There is also an app you can use to follow the traverse; https://villarricatraverse.cl/

Camping at Laguna Azul is crowded (in the minds of a GPT hiker) so one can camp on a different beach or up high in the trees on the south side of the lake. Wild camping is supposedly illegal but does not seem to apply for the section of the traverse between Chinnay and the ski resort, there are many bivy spots.

Side trips: First side trip, Volcán Quetrupillan: If one is doing the traverse and wants to summit Quetrupillan easily and quickly I recommend following the osm trail on the NW side of the summit, there is a good trail, however we both did something different. Tomáš was successful at making a traverse of the summit and I was not. From lake Azul we followed the GPT option03 until the base of the col where one goes straight up to the crater. I continued on the GPT trail and turned back ~2m from the true summit due to the terrible rock quality but at least the way to the crater was easy (if you are there know that the red dirt is soft and not that steep). Tomáš on the other hand went one ridge further south and was able to easily follow it up to the summit, traverse south on the summit and come down on the osm trail. He notes there were only two bits of simple scrambling but was still easy despite having his bag. After my failed attempt on the summit I just went straight down the West side of the mountain to hit the normal Villarrica traverse and met back up with Tomáš [November 2024: Tomáš'es version is now in OSM and also in our suggestions to the Track files].

Second side trip, glacier Pichillancahue to above "glacier mirrado" and back to normal trail (the route is on OSM): When coming from Chinnay there is a very obvious trailhead for Glaciar Pichillancahue. Tomáš used this to make a small but high traverse to somewhere near Estero Aihue and therefore avoiding the last bit of road walking and elevation loss. I was lazy and hungry and opted to have lunch at the camping Pichillancahue instead which was a terrible decision because the water there was barely drinkable (ash and dirt) and Tomáš supposedly had nice clean water up top [November 2024: it is in OSM,though you do no want to follow it all the way going west; you want to stay higher and traverse a bit, it is included in our suggestions to track files].

If it wasn't for bad weather I think this traverse could be done easily in 3 days, even two if you are efficient. We took 4 because we had one morning of rain and were in no need of rushing and did the sidetrips. However it would have been nice to have one more free day to rent gear and try to climb Villarrica, but the information on whether or not the summit is open all the way to the top was very confusing. Locals told us it was closed but you could go up most of the way if you had gear but then again there was a mountain guide who said we could go, so it will be a mystery. We both would love to come back to this area with simple glacier gear and climb Villarrica and Lanin and also go back to Sollipulli to traverse its glacier. For now it will have to wait :).

• 2023-Feb-02 t 2023-Feb-05 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Quetrupillan + OH-01 / Yannic & Mirjam

Very beautiful and easy stage. We hitchhiked from Panguipulli to Liquine and then via option 16-B to the camp at Laguna Azul. Very pleasant path in the forest with a slow ascent. We stayed at the lagoon for 2 days and made a day trip to the volcano. The trail was not always easy because of the strong wind and the occasional snowfields. East of option 16-03 there is another way marked on the map, a little more to the east could be good, because then you avoid the two big snowfields that you see at the top.

From Laguna Azul we continued via Laguna Blanca on the Villarica Traverse (Option 16-01) to Laguna Las Avutardas. The road is well maintained and the landscape after the second pass is fascinatingly different from the previous one. Very nice camping spot at the lagoon. From the primary road we caught a car to Curarrehue and from there a bus to Pucon.

• 2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maks & Gabi

Started in Catripulli and hichhiked to 16km of RR. We found it as a good solution to skip road walking as it is not so attractive. Remember to take enough water with you because on ascent to Laguna Blanca there is only one silty river. This part is not so hard unless the temperature is high and you are walking like us in the midday. Probably the ascent road is going to be worst cos they are destroying the trail to build a road ( most probably - it doesn't look nice and it's quite annoying ) There is quite a new gate with old sign on 18,5km ( it looks like entrance to some private propertie with seperate plots), it was open so we just walked through and we didn't meet anyone to ask.

Plateau is really amazing, worth seeing and there are a lots of tiny streams near Laguna Blanca with clean water. At Laguna Azul there are a lot of tourists sleeping there. Descent was plesent until the road started. The entire trail is well visible. Down there there is community of mapuche, they are really nice and talkative. There is a chance that when going NOBO or sleeping on their land you will have to ask about permission to go through but it shouldn't be a problem. We hitchhiked with one of them last 3 km of RR.

• 2023-Jan-27 to 2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Quetrupillan / Will

I also came in through Catripulli. I caught two quick rides but was still left with three hours of hot uphill road walking. If you aren't worried about connecting footsteps I bet you could find a better start/end point. The other hikers out there (on the Villarrica traverse) were mostly ending at Puesco, I heard rumors of a bus there. Sounds like a much better route if the bus exists. This is marked as option 1.

Coming out of the woods the alpine section was beautiful but short. I spent two nights at Laguna Azul, taking a side trip up Quetrupillan. There were a lot of fun snowfields to navigate. My new shoes were grippy enough to get me through easily even though I didn't bring my trekking poles. Most of the water was chalky.

The final scramble up to the summit (after reaching the snow filled crater) was treacherous. Might not be worth it. I went up around the right because it looked like a more gradual climb but I had a few big solid looking boulders come loose and tumble down. The route straight up seems better.

Laguna Azul was bustling, both nights I was camped with a few Europeans doing the Villarrica traverse. Met a crazy dutch couple biking it. I even heard that there were some people visiting by helicopter, before I showed up.

At the end I walked down to Liquiñe, lots of food places along the road. I camped at the Termas de Punulaf (decent, 15000 pesos) before continuing onto section 17H (highly recommended!).

• 2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-24 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna & Christopher

Catripulli - Reyehueico Short and easy section!

From Pucón we took a bus at 19:30 to Catripulli (Buses Currarehue, last one leaves at 21:00). From there we hitchhiked to km 18 of the RR. We camped next to Estero Huililco (silty water as the others mentioned).

The next accessible water source is the ford of Estero Huililco at km 23. The walking until the plateau is easy (dirt roads and good paths), no navigation issues at all. Around Laguna Blanca there was still some clear water of the snowmelt. Here walking got a bit tougher due to the sand, but the plateau really is beautiful. After Laguna Blanca there is a good, visible path again until Laguna Azul. We camped at the Laguna and had the first rainy/stormy night.

Because of the bad weather we didn't climb the volcano the next day and went down directly. It's a good path the whole way. Around 4 km before Reyehueico we got a ride directly to Panguipulli :)

• 2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica

Route: Catripulli - Laguna Blanca - Laguna Azul - summit of Volcán Quetrupillan - Reyehueico

I found this section beautiful, and quite easy, since most of the time you are on 4x4 tracks or well-maintained CONAF trails. No navigation issues whatsoever.

Pucón is a bustling hiking town, great place to get new gear/shoes and resupply. I stayed a few days at Chili Kiwi Hostel there, highly recommend! Buses from Pucón to Catripulli and Curarrehue are very frequent, I did not have to wait.

I started in Catripulli because the road walk is shorter from there. I was very lucky and ended up getting a ride (without even trying) up to the end of the gravel road beyond Rinconada, where a wooden gate marks the start of a lovely forest trail. As others have mentioned, Río Huililco is quite silty, and although the trail follows this river a while, I didn't collect any water there. The first night I camped at the treeline before the final climb to Laguna Blanca (before the start of the CC section). I found some good water in the ravine east of the trail, but it required some bushwhacking down a steep hill covered in vegetation.

The plateau up by Laguna Blanca is beautiful, there are multiple creeks feeding the lake — some of them are silty, but others are clear, just pure snowmelt. The cross-country section had a nice path running through most of it, so navigation was very easy. Between Laguna Blanca and Laguna Azul, there are still some snow patches, but they are easy to walk across or around.

I dropped most of my gear off at Laguna Azul to climb the volcano. I started around 11 a.m. and got back at 4 p.m., this included an almost hour-long break at the top to take in the spectacular views of Volcán Villarrica and Volcán Lanín. There's still a fair bit of snow on Quetrupillan, and instead of following the GPS I went up my own way to the rim, avoiding most of the snowfields. The crater is filled with snow, it's awesome! Coming back down, I half ran, half slid down a giant snow field, which was a lot of fun. That night I went for a swim and camped at Laguna Azul, a beautiful spot. For the first time on the GPT, there were other people (local tourists) camped with me there!

The rest of the trail down to Reyehueico is easy, downhill through a mature forest. Once you get to Trafún Chico, the trail becomes a gravel road. I was able to hitch the last couple kilometers to the main road, and get a ride to Panguipulli to resupply and head down to GPT19 after.

Season 2021/22

• 2022-Jan-01 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + summit of Quetrupillan / Molly og Melissa

5 days - including a very short day due to bad weather We were passed by a car on the gravel road shortly after Reyehueico. They told us that the place marked as camp on the GPS was closed, but we could camp on their land a little before on the place marked bridge. They wanted 5000 pesos per person, and there are no facilities, so we found it a little expensive but didn't want to discuss in the rain. They also sold us freshly baked bread which were huge and the best we have had so far, as well as sopaipillas. The gravel road here was pretty, but a lot of aggressive dogs who could easily crawl under their fences to follow us. We only had to climb one gate which seemed to be more to keep in cows than to keep out any hikers. At the waypoint gate there was nothing. We camped right before the waypoint water before Laguna Azul. At Laguna Azul there are two camp waypoints, the first is a little spot on the river bank, the second is the "real" camp with lots of spots in a little forest right next to the lake. It's nice, but there have been left a lot of garbage.

From there, you follow the Villarica traverse trail for some kilometres through very beautiful landscapes. When you reach the valley where Lago Blanco is (it really is white), you leave the trail for some fairly easy cross-country around the lake. On the far side, the whole valley was covered in water and we had to walk barefoot, but it was after three very rainy days. Finding the path at treeline was a little difficult, but we just made sure to be right on the trail on the GPS and found it. Then followed a short trip through beautiful aucaria forest, followed by a gravel road. Here, we saw several "no entrar" signs meant for people going towards the national park, but there was no one around. We even asked for water while still in the no entrar-zone as we didn't know, and weren't told off. It was difficult to find a campsite, but at La Rinconada there was a house saying "Es bienvenido aquí", maybe you could ask there. We accidentally walked to catripulli instead of currarehue as we missed the turn off and realized too late.

Water: Until Laguna Azul, no problem. At Lago Blanco we didn't find any streams that weren't chalky, though we thought that some streams running down the mountain on the far right side might look better. We didn't investigate, though, as we thought we had enough. However, Estero Huilinco was the same, so we ended up asking at a house if we could get some water.

Summit: We basecamped at Laguna Azul and followed the nicely marked trail up. Be aware that the summit route diverges after about a kilometre, with no trail to be seen. We followed the GPS for a while but decided to walk to the crater rim somewhere else, as the summit seemed more difficult and the height difference isn't that big anyway. The volcano itself looked a lot like Volcan Puyehue, but the views were different of course, and the crater had a lot more snow. It was great to spend an extra day above the treeline.

• 2021-Dec-05 to 2021-Dec-07 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villarrica Traverse / Alex Abramov

We made Villarrica Traverse here. This traverse is an excellent variant to go in (out) to (from) GPT.

Season 2020/21

Season 2019/20

• 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Matthieu

From Liquiñe to Catripulli Following the RR, I personnally never had to cross any barriers of barbed wire or closed portals. It is all an official CONAF trail. I used Lago Azul as a base camp to do the ascent of the summit. Awesome place. A little cheer to Ty, America and Sanita with who we had (I assume) the biggest GPT hikers camp of the year !

-The ascent: Better use your head than your GPS, avoiding the snow to go up. The path I took was finally closed to the OH 002, going between the snow fields, but I never crossed any trail road. The very end is quite steepy and the rocks easy to break, and you have to climb a little bit to arrive to the final cairn. Better do it with good weather conditions and without your big bag ! I wasnt confident with going down the same way, so at the cairn I just took directly west down the rocks and actually found a downhill of good sand, really easy to do, fast and safe. No climbing down this way. I joined my previous tracks after, near the OH 002.

-Water supply: As Ty say, No water between the end of Lago Blanco and a little bit before the Estero Huililco. The track is easy and fast thow in the forest, and I didnt take more water supply going down.

I didnt do the final forest part just before Currarehue, hitchhiking to Catripulli.

• 2020-Feb-27 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Catripulli Start & Optional end to Conaripe / Ty & America

We started at Catripulli because it was a bit shorter road walk compared to Curarrehue. Be aware of the big waterless start. You do have (mostly) friendly people on the road who are more than welcome to help with water. After Comunidad Rinconada (maps.me) don’t expect any water (besides the extremely chalky river water) all the way up to Laguna Blanco. Small Water falls on the right side of the lake have great clear water. We camped at Laguna Blanco by said falls a bit off the track file to find shelter from the wind. Then camped at Laguna azul the next day to summit the following morning. Beautiful place. Actual summit is sketchy, so we hiked to the rim and were perfectly content with that. I don’t recommend taking the optional OH-TL-V@16-02-#002 over the pass. It looked sketchy/snowy. The optional a bit further was perfectly fine. On the way down to conripe on OH-TL-V@16-02-#003 there is a good place to camp by water with plenty of wood ~1.5 km after the marked water source. We had luck hitching a ride from the termas at the bottom right to Conripe.

• 2020-Feb-7 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina & Ivo

3 days for this amazing section. Trail in good condition, no navigation difficulties. At 39°23'11"S 71°37'48"W, where it says "se vende leña eucalyptus", we didn't climb the huge locked gate to our right but just continued the minor road. We passed two unlocked gates and got back to the regular route after 1km. Shortly afterwards we arrived at a high fence of seven strands of barbed wire, where we turned left into the forest, following an almost invisible path, and after 500m finally found a gate and got back to the regular route after 1km.

• 2020-Feb-06 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank

Came from GPT15, resupplied @ 2 supermarkets in Curarrehue. Going up from Curarrehue they are logging in the forest but track still clear. Went over the fence with 7 strands of barb wire. Later there is a wooden gate saying 'No Entry Residents Only' went over it onto track, no one around. When you cross the Estero Huilico fill up with water. You can wade it but if you go down on the left about 20 metres there is a footbridge hidden in the forest. Later you are near the river but it is in a gorge with dense vegetation so it's not accessible. Made a dry camp high up in the forest before the lakes. Hardly any snow left on the route.

Near the end of the route there is no place to camp at 'Camp 119' but continue a little down the road & there is a tiny field just before 'Bridge 51' where you can camp. Just before it the road goes round in a loop, on the lower part of the loop are two houses next to each other. Ask there if it's OK to camp by the bridge. Just after the bridge I continued straight to the main road (marked bus, shop) to resupply. However, it's not necessary to do that, if you continue on the RR you will find shops in Liquine.

• 2019-Nov-13 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liquiñe to where the trail joins the S-947 / Sophie & Hendrik

We were 7 days on the trail, of which 2 were just camping out bad weather (23 walking hours) . First day we started late and went to what the first camp on the map. Next we went to the camp without water from the track files (We found some stream there. After filtering amd treading it with chloride we were able to drink it.) We stayed there one day, waiting for better weather. Next day we went to the Fort at Laguna Azul. However, we did not cross it until two days later, as we first waited for better weather conditions. Then we crossed the volcano and camped below the treeline on the other side. Last day we hiked to S-947 and hitchhiked to Pucón for some Food and a real bed.

What we liked: Sudden changes of landscapes, beautiful Araucaria forrest, remoteness (didn't meet people for 5 days), breathtaking views and scenes on the volcano, the snow was beautiful (obviously depends on the season), the many plushy chilean tarantulas on the north side.

What we did not like so much: The gravel roads on both ends of the section.

• 2020-Jan-22 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom & Maddie

No issues, trail in good condition and cross country section is not hard to navigate. We took a bus out to Panguipulli at 08:00 on a weekday. We decided to skip 17 and 18. We then bussed to Los Lagos and then Futron and then to Rininahue. We then got a hitch back onto the regular route of 19 37km in. Less than 8hrs off the trail to skip 17/18.

• 2020-Jan-31 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH-02 Start from Termas el Rincon (Conaripe) to Currarehue / Jean & Virginie

To start the option track (16-02) after el Rincon termas, we have to pass a gate closed but it was possible to pass on the left. We didnt see anyone inside. After few kilometers on the minor road in good condition, we pass a small house where the guy explained us the track (turn on thé right at the arrow marked Laguna to get on the trail - track a little bit different from the gpt route but that join it further). After we went up on Quetrupillan volcano with amazing view. Trail in good condition and easy to navigate. This option join the regular route at the laguna Azul, nice site to camp. After the cross country section was not difficult to follow and the end until Currarehue was alternation of (a bit) overgrown trails and minor roads (+ some barbed wire). Bus to Pucon every 20 min from Currarehue.

Season 2018/19

• 2019-Nov-18 / Sophie & Hendrik

90% - 95% of the area from 1500m upwards are completely covered in snow. Think about snow shoes and be careful as there are melting streams covered and hidden by snow. Also, unlike us, keep in mind that snow reflects the sun and can cause burns from below on your nose and chin.

Season 2017/18

• Kara Davis

Follow the main road, 199-CH, south out of Curarrehue until the gravel road turn off, S-981. After several kilometers, the road transitions to single track through a eucalyptus forest. Be careful to not follow one of the several other tracks that wind through the forest. The trail exits onto a gravel road, S-947, that follows Estero Huilico. Turn off onto a 4WD track, but be aware there are several other 4WD track spurs. The trail narrows into an obvious single track as you enter Parque Nacional Villarrica. Be prepared for the possibility of snow during this section at higher elevations. At treeline the trail ends and the cross-country traverse begins. This cross-country traverse follows the volcanic landscape at the base of Volcán Quetrupillán. During high snow years, Laguna Blanca may be frozen and snow covered. Be aware that snowpack may make parts of the GPS route difficult, and keep safety in mind when choosing a route. Instead of following the recommended route which ascends through a chute, snowpack forced us to climb up to a pass further to the left and then rejoin the route. Depending on the time of year, Laguna Azul may also be frozen, but water is available at the stream crossing at the southern end. After beginning the descent into the forest, try and find a well maintained trail. The trail joins a dirt road, T-447, which continues until the paved highway, 201-CH, to Carringue. Town: Carriringue. Carriringue is a tiny town with a small market which offers snacks but is difficult to resupply out of. There are also several signs advertising Cabañas.

Resupply and Accommodation

Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns

• Pucón:

About 30 minutes bus ride off trail. A hiking tourism town that has everything a hiker might need. Very good resupply option in Pucón if you're doing the Villarica Traverse option: República Granel. They have a big selection of dry foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, spices, etc. Really valuable for hikers and not too expensive!

• Catripulli:

A little down the road from Currarehue. Has two small shops which probably sell pastas and other basic stuff

• Currarehue:

You can rent a cabin for 50 000 pesos (ask at supermercado Katty) (February 2025 - Peggy)

Resupply and Accommodation along the Route

Quentin : Currarehue is kind of a big city, where you'll find easily places to resupply (there's at least 4 supermarkets and 10 minimarkets), foodplaces and accomodation (cabanas, hospedaje and hostel (at the end of the city)). Didn't checked in all supermarkets, but there's a good chance to find Gaz in this city I reckon, if not in supermarkets, probably in ferretería ?

You can buy bread and sopaipillas at the house right before the "bridge" waypoint just before Reyehueico.

A house in La Rinconada sells eggs

Some Aucaria trees

Transport to and from Route

2022-Jan: Busses go from Panguipulli to Reyehueico on weekdays, and from Valdivia to Panguipulli (two hours bus ride) every day. Hitching was quite easy for us even though it was raining.

The bus from Currarehue through Catripulli to Pucón leaves approximately every 15 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on weekends - goes in both directions - about 30 minutes

(2020-Feb)

Bus Pucón - Curarrehue

Mo-Sa 11:00

Su 12:15

Operator Igi Llaima, Terminal, Palguín 550

Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues

Links to other Resources

Retired Section Article GPT16 - Volcán Quetrupillan

Images

Volcán Lanín from GPT16

Volcán Quetrupillán from GPT16

Greater Patagonian Trail, section 16