6
ediciones
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→Season 2024/25
==Season 2025/26==
'''2026-02-03 to 2026-02-10 / 8 days/ Hiking/ WEBO/ Options 3, 2B (Refugio Viejo)/ Isabelle & Sander
There’re some great recent report so we’ll just stick to some short additions.
In general: great mountains in Argentinean part and beautiful forested valley in Chile. We expected busy trails but mostly just met one or two groups per day. Maybe because the first day had a little bit of rain. Only 1 tabaño in 8 days, of which 6 were sunny. Trails are very well maintained.
Day 1 - Colonia Suiza to Refugio Italia, short day. Took the bus at 8 am from Bariloche, wanted to buy some fruit in Colonia Suiza but everything still closed (all shops and restaurants seem to open at 12:30). A handful of day hikers. Some rain. Refugio wants you to reserve camping spot before, some spots are well sheltered. Windy night.
Day 2 - Refugio Italia to osm wild camp between steep passes at -41.17616, -71.64804
Walking the shore of Laguna CAB was almost possible with dry feet, low water levels?
The osm wild camp -41.17616, -71.64804 is very nice, many sheltered places, a little pool for bathing. One other group of Argentinians.
Day 3 - to little lakes 2 km before Laguna ilon
At steep path just east of Lago creton: stay close to cairns. Easy to miss the path. A ‘negative’ sign of two bamboo sticks in a cross also helped us when we took a wrong turn. Between the little lakes where we camped you’ll find many flat sheltered spots, perhaps better to continue to official camping at laguna Ilon, but we didn’t reserve beforehand.
Day 4 - short day to Pampa Linda
Camping Rio Manso is very nice. We hoped for some better resupply but could just find lots of cookies and snacks. At camping vuriloche they had some fruits and also batteries and gas. Although Argentinian Gendarmeria is open until 9 (?) you can only get stamps between 8 am and 6 pm.
Day 5 - long day to Refugio viejo del tronador
Chileans carabineros were super nice. Explained its for them a privilege to stay at this pass and do it only once for one month. Although they looked a bit surprised we could leave some stuff in their shed which we didn’t need at the Refugio. Refugio viejo is spectacular. It was Saturday and spent the night with 6 others from Bariloche, felt a bit like hanging with the locals. Most were camping but it seemed hard to get any stakes in the ground. We understood it’s often empty during the week.
Day 6 - down to Settler {21-02} [92.9/592]
You can camp at this settler for 10k Chilean pesos per tent.
Day 7 - long day to Camp {21-02} [120.0/323]
Termas vuriloche super nice and hot. Just when we jumped in a helikopter landed across the hanging bridge at the Refugio. We’re expecting some fancy tourists but turned out they only dropped off some gas canisters for the Refugio.
Later in the forest a cool tarantula dragging a frog behind.
Beautiful flowering big Ulmo trees! Blossoms everywhere.
This camp at the lake is nice and you’ll find some shelter but the water tasted rotten even after filtering (although our filter froze one night so it might not filter properly…). The spot 200 m more south just across the river is probably with better water but less views perhaps.
Day 8 - to Ralun
After one hour hiking it started raining which didn’t stop till the end of the day. We got soaking wet and the trail extremely muddy but still ok to walk. Also quite windy at the lake so we didn’t stop and just continued to ralun. To our surprise one family was making a daytrip in the pouring rain and picked us up on their way down with their car and brought us to Cochamo where we stayed two nights to prepare for gpt 22. Hostal Mauro (23k) was 45k for two person room and had a kitchen with a burning stove, but not really clean. Hostel bicycletta is really nice but dorm was full and double room was 55k and no heating to dry clothes.
'''2026-01-26 to 2026-01-29/ 4 days/ Hiking/ WEBO/ Options 3, 2, 2A/ Greg Carter
Not much to add to Stiina’s and Bailey’s notes, which I agree with.
I did this route due to limited time and at the end changed my plan due to bad weather. However, apart from some sections of poor trail mentioned by Stiina and others, it was a relatively easy way to experience some wonderful mountain terrain in the Bariloche area.
Following Bailey’s experience I didn’t pay for a park pass and no-one checked me either.
Attraction: 5/5
Difficulty: 3-4/5
Day 1
I caught a local public bus (MiBus) from Bariloche to Colonia Suiza. Very easy and you can pay with card on the bus (approx ARS 5,000 depending on where you get on).
I hiked to and camped at Laguna Lluvu (aka CAB). Very nice camping by the lake.
Day 2
I hiked to and camped at Laguna Ilón. To avoid the crowds at the huge campground I camped north of the lake on a nice flat grassy area off the OSM trail connecting Option 3 to 3A (at -41.18572, -71.73849). This is a dry camp so collect water beforehand.
Day 3
I intended to hike Options 3A and 2 but the weather became rainy and cloudy so I hiked on the autobahn (love that description by Stiina!) trail to Pampa Linda for rest, beer and wifi, whilst awaiting expected good weather the next day.
Note the public WiFi is weak/ poor at the information centre, and best/strong at Albergue Pampa Linda. There you pay for camping at Rio Manso (ARS 14,000/ noche) which is located 100m to the south on the other side of the main car park.
Day 4
This day the weather was perfect. I hiked Options 2 and 2A to Refugio Otto Meiling, return. Spectacular views of the waterfalls, glaciers and surrounding mountains. However, until the last section going up the open rocky ridge, the trail is relatively boring, being mostly road and autobahn trail.
Late that day I hitched most of the way from Pampa Linda to Bariloche, then caught an Uber. Note that due to the narrow dirt road from Pampa Linda, outbound vehicles are not allowed to leave until 4pm. So you have a captive audience for hitching. If you can’t get a hitch, buses leave at 5pm, and cost around ARS45,000.
In Bariloche I stayed at a friendly hostel for ARS 24,000/noche. Casa Central Hostel at 1266 General Antonio Tiscornia (-41.13951, -71.29268). The manager is Nelson, who is on WhatsApp: +54 9 2944 24‑3261'''
*''' 2025.07.01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / NO/EABO / RR + Op. 2 (Tronador) + Op. 3 (Lago Nahuel Huapi/ 5 Lagunas) / Kris and Stiina'''
We combined sections 22N and 21 from El Manso to Colonia Suiza - 8 days total - 3,5 days for section 22N from El Manso to Cochamó via La Junta.
A resupply in Cochamó and hitch to Ralún (El Cruce) for Section 21. 4.5 walking days for section 21 options 2 & 3.
(Continued from section 22N)
Day 4 - After the lunch and resupply in Cochamó we opted for the magic thumb once again. There was supposed to be a bus at 15:30 going through Cochamó towards Puerto Mont, but our thumbs summoned a ride before the bus arrived, though the bus was running a few minutes late.
We got a ride to El Cruce - X, Bus {21} [76.9/64] and when we were stepping out of the car the bus passed us.
We called Miguel +56 9 9866 2101 (nr. provided previously by Dorota) and he wanted 20k CLP for the 10km ride, so we decided to walk.
In all honesty, after the few previous days of walking in a deep, dark, muddy forest on anything but a flat ground it felt great to finally be walking again, despite it being on a dusty +28C gravel road. There were even views behind us of the Estuario Reluncavi fjord and Volcán Yates. No cars passed us on the way up though some came down seemingly with people coming from the Lago Cayutué. When we got to the lake we met an Argentinian couple camping that had just done the hike from Pampa Linda so they shared some useful information about the upcoming. Later a bunch of youngsters came to the lake for camping aswell. For the most part they all behaved nicely. It is an excellent campsite by the lake with views of Volcán Puntiagudo and the water was a perfect temperature for swimming.
Day 5 - A bit of a green tunnel most of the day, from Lago Cayutué to Termas Vuriloche with some openings in the meadows however that’s where all them tabanos were hanging out. All fords were easy and there was plenty of water en route, we didn’t carry more than half a litter at a time. The nice thing about the forest was that it kept things cool while it was very hot out in the sun.
It seemed like a popular traverse, we met 3 guided groups and some other hikers along the way, mostly Argentinian.
Termas Vuriloche:
Ford {21-02} [101.3/351] - can be avoided if you go through the settlers yard and follow the osm trail that leads to a suspension bridge: -41.24813, -72.04719 across the river. Right after the bridge there is a trail going up and a trail going down. Following the upper trail brings you to the meadow with campsite described by Clara. And the trail going down brings you to the river. And some termas? We didn’t go down this trail our selves we used a different one.
The settler (“Jose/ Coche”? - Peggy) was at home and saw us, we greeted him an asked if it’s ok if we pass here to go to the termas to which he said yes, no problem.
The trail then goes by the newly built private refuge - Nana Roth that is owned by a company called Expediciones Petrohue -41.24847, -72.04779. A little googling showed that guests are brought there by helicopter to enjoy the termas and stay at the Refugio, it did look very fancy and a really unexpected out of place building when it suddenly appeared in front of us.
We camped here -41.24555, -72.04866 in a meadow, but as described by Clara, there is an established campsite, sheltered in the forest with fireplace and tent sites, however there was already a guided Argentinian group camping there, mostly older folk.
Looking at the campsite from the meadow there is a trail on the left (south) side leading down to the river where there are a few termal pools, one is built with concrete walls but very private, comfortable and perfect temperature, we didn’t want to leave.
Another more natural looking terma just on the rocky beach, a bit warmer.
But as I said there are probably more termas that could be accessed from the trail leading down from the suspension bridge because we saw people going there in swimming outfits when we took the upper trail (the one marked on the OSM)
Day 6 - From the Termas Vuriloche to Pampa Linda still a lot in the forest but finally some views of Tronador were opening up.
The trail passes Settler {21-02} [92.9/592] and crosses Rio Aguas Turbio twice, before and after the settler there are bridges on both sides.
Another new Refugio Baguales being built here -41.22699, -71.96225 by the same company that had constructed the Refugio Nana Roth. Refugio was similar design, built from the same materials on the outside.
Ford, Camp {21-02} [88.9/802] - there are two streams and both have hanging bridges, but a bit sketchy ones. The fords possibly looked easier and quicker.
Not really a place for a camp. A picnic table was there but I didn’t see a place for a tent.
Puesto {21-02} [86.9/1030] (Huenchupen) - as mentioned by other is supposedly a refugio. There is a small stream right before it with a flat spot for a tent, another spot a bit after and probably one by the refugio or just inside it like Dorota did.
No problem at the border, make sure your passport is stamped with exit stamp and they give you a paper slip (a double /copy paper) that you have to show to Argentinian border control.
The place and the campsite there is very nice but also very tabano infested. Tap water available.
Camp ? {21-02} [78.1/1241] - not really, didn’t see a spot for a tent, like Peggy mentioned too much vegetation.
If really in a need of camp on that stretch of a trail then here was one: -41.23509, -71.80915 - there is a ford and some flat, bushless spots for a tent I believe the spot that Peggy meant.
After arriving in Pampa Linda we went straight to the border control. Supposedly since covid Argentinians don’t stamp your passport upon entering. However last time (2024 Jan.) we had a stamp and still had some issues when leaving the country, because we were “not in the system”. Due to this we asked them if they could do it so that we could leave the country with less hassle. They stamped the “copy side” of paper slip that we got when leaving Chile. Which we then needed when we were leaving Argentina again.
We camped at Auberge Pampa Linda Camping / Rio Manso camping. 14k ARS pp, shower 15k ARS pp, we washed in the river like any other day.
Dinner at the auberge, fast food, papas fritas is what we have been craving. Card payment accepted and Fernando working there was the friendliest and nicest guy in Argentina.
We camped on the spot nearest to the camp entrance and were “catching” some of the public wifi in our tent. It worked pretty well by the information building (closed) making the wifi, even some tables outside for longer surfs.
Camping Los Vuriloches 30k ARS pp, with shower included. Also has a nice restaurant with some healthier food options and a small shop, not really a resupply, but enough snacks and drinks, fresh fruit. Cash only!
Day 7 - From Pampa Linda we took the option 3 (Lago Nahuel Huapi) however the actual name for this trail is Cinco Lagunas.
It is a very popular trek to do around Bariloche and we met very many people doing it despite it actually being quite demanding in some places with some quite poor sections of the trail in other. But mostly all the locals that we met had a very different philosophy and approach to hiking which we found very interesting. Just one example, by the time we go to Laguna Cretón at around 14:30, the people that camped there the night before were just finishing drinking matte and packing up to start their day. A different approach, for them it’s a camping trip with some hiking whereas for us it’s a hiking trip with some camping. We should try it the other way some time.
It is a very good trail (autobahn of a trail) from Pampa Linda to Laguna Ilón, but after that the trail gradually gets worse and worse.
Ford {21-03} [50.5/848] - has a bridge.
Lots of people camping at Ilón, at least a hundred. (It was Saturday). There you can buy some food, snacks and drinks (Cash only!). And the prices are quite outrageous, Chile felt like a really cheap country in comparison.
A very beautiful location but I wouldn’t want to camp there at least not on a weekend.
Again as mentioned by others the trails going up and down the passes are not in the greatest conditions. There are some cairns and some blue and red markings, here and there but it is still possible to loose the trail because the loose terrain in some places can be engaging and requires full focus.
Up and down - Pass {21-03} [38.4/1942] (Paso Cerro Capitan) was quite simple there was a trail up albeit steep and sandy in places and it sort of fizzled out on the way down mainly because of the rocky terrain, but plenty of cairns to follow.
The Laguna Azul was truly azul in comparison to Jujuy and Cretón, very beautiful contrast with the surrounding mountains.
The Up to the Pass {21-03} [33.5/1911] (Filo Cerro Cristales) was steep and tbh the trail didn’t make sense from the beginning to the end and it is potentially dangerous due to a rock fall that could be caused by others.
First it goes steeply down through some trees and to a wet meadow instead of just traversing from the pass by Laguna Cretón. Then it just goes straight up through the steepest part of the face. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on this super loose trail, below some of the very overburdened hikers with 6 bags on all sides, that we saw plenty of, slipping and sliding down the most simple trail because they can’t see where they are going. The “trail” for some mysterious reason is designed to channel any dislodged rocks above you, right at you. We were lucky and there was nobody above us, but I can definitely see a potential hazard there. This part of the trail could definitely be made a lot safer by adding some longer zig-zags traversing the face and spreading the people out instead of keeping everyone in a “death culoir”
Plenty of blue and sometimes red markings, just need to look for them.
Down on the other side was way less steep and mostly on solid granite.
And then the Pass {21-03} [28.0/1815] (Filo Cerro CAB) was a mirror of the previous pass, first up on lower angle mostly solids granite slabs except for the final bit and then down a steep and loose slope but at least traversing the face for the most part. We also didn’t follow the gpx but just went straight down to the NW bypassing the cliffs on the other side. Not sure whether it was any more difficult than the actual route.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather and the views from all the passes were just incredible, we missed those, all the previous days being in the forest.
We camped on the west side by Laguna C.A.B. / Lluvu (locals call it CAB and also some signs reffered to it as CAB not Lluvu.
A nice swim in the lake after a long day but it takes a walk to get to the deep/swimmable part of the lake. A very few other campers by the lake. Though the 20 people we talked to on the way there all had camped there the night before.
Day 8 - There are no actual trails around the either side of the lake so you have to walk through the lake or potentially do a very annoying BB. The lake has actually a pleasant, flat and hard packed bottom near the shore, very easy to walk on even without shoes, a nice foot massage.
After the lake there is a mierda trail pretty much all the way down to the Ford {21-03} [23.0/1133] (Arroyo la Chata) after which it slowly starts to improve again. There is a possibility to camp by the ford. The “ford” is doable on rocks and logs.
The trail up to the Pass {21-03} [20.1/1780] (Filo del Cerro Negro) is actually not too bad except for a short but very steep and sandy part just before exiting the forest. And then after the pass it’s pretty much back on normal trails, especially oncce past the Refugio.
No card payment at the Refugio Manfredo Segre, solo efectivo, Pepsi - 7k ARS.
A lot of people on the trail afterwards and with every km closer to Colonia Suiza more and more people were on the trail.
A massive camp - “Camp {21-03} [16.1/1185]” over 50 people were wild camping there, though when we passed there in the afternoon, most of the people were still drinking matte and packing up in a true Argentinian fashion. I can only imagine how much toilet paper you could find in the bushes around that place. I definitely wouldn’t take the water from anywhere in Arroyo Goye stream.
And btw the pipe from the Refugio toilets went into the gully where the river originates from. There are side streams along the way.
Somewhere else in this valley of surprises a bit lower down there was a school group with about 40 school kids that had camped there. When we were passing there, some of the kids (teenagers) looked quite desperate running around with toilet paper rolls in their hands, one guy was just squatting behind the rock right next to the trail. The shit smell in the air was a direct consequence of a poor planning, bringing so many school kids to a camp-out without any facilities.
Even though we thought we saw many people on the trail, when we got to Colonia Suiza it felt like we had suddenly come to some sort of festival. Supposedly the reason was the Sunday fair due to which the place was extra busy.
We took Uber from Colonia Suiza to Bariloche as after the 28 days of hiking (not all in a row) we were a bit too tired and smelly for the bus. It also started raining shortly after we got back, perfect timing.
Overall, definitely a very beautiful and worth doing section. Bring some ARS if you want some goodies and probably, avoid doing it on weekends if you can.
After 27 GPT sections and over 2000km of trail covered over 3 trips in 6 years we now plan to take a bit of a longer break from GPT. It’s an amazing project and truly a special place to explore and find an adventure and solitude in the mountains that’s not that easy to come by these days. Thank you GPT community!
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
*'''GPT21/ 2026 Dec,Jan 31-4 / WEBO / OH03, OH02A, OH2B/ 4.5 days/ hiking /Bailey'''
General notes -
Incredibly beautiful section
Killed at least 100 horse flies
When entering Chile to bariloche they asked how long i intended to stay in Argentina. I said 5 days. I read a previous comment saying that you can stay for less but not more than the time you say you intend to stay in Argentina. So I would recommend giving yourself more time maybe
Costs - bus to trail head, camping at Refugio (10,500 ars), bus to Puerto varas (2000 CLP,)
Difficulty - 3/5
Attractiveness - 5/5
Day 1
Bariloche felt like a mega city compared to everywhere else
Bus to Colonia suzia pay with card number 10.
Started after noon. Trail was great up until Launga Negra
First ford is a bridge. All the fords were okay. Mostly rock hops, there's a bridge or calf height
I camped on the pass after cab Laguna. The ascent had cairns going in multiple directions but mostly upwards.
Camp 1
Pass {21-03} [28.0/1815]. No water, heaps of flat ground, not really wind protected
Day 2 - Option 2A Refugio otto meiling
I forgot the pass but I missed the cairns for one of the descents and had to do a awkward down climb
The trail from pampa Linda to the top was pretty nice. I found some water along the way. This was between the ford (a bridge) and the steep incline where the trail starts and road finishes. The ford/ bridge had murky water
Camp 2
Refugio otto meiling
Nice spot, heaps of people. I didn't reserve my camping. The person who checked me in recommended people reserve their campsites or if you are staying inside. There's water here.
Day 3 - option 2B Refugio Viejo
Wifi was working okay for me at pampa Linda.
I got my Argentina exit stamp in pampa Linda.
After crossing into Chile the Carabineros were nice, I didn't check my bag for food, I didn't smuggle anything in. There's water here, tables and camping. They wanted me to check in after camping at the
Camp 3
Refugio Viejo - cowboy camped past the Refugio Viejo. There were about 6 people up there. Agree with a previous comment to get closer to the cliff and watch the glacier. Snow melt for water.
Day 4
Checked in with the Carabineros
Big day walking through the forest in the heat wave. Thankful a lot of shade and water. I didn't see anyone until the end of the day
Camp 4
Lago Cayute [63.6/233]. Water from the lake, sheltered. Very busy on the weekend.
Day 5
Walked to cochamo, caught the bus to Puerto varas.
*''' 2025.28.12 / 1 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt. 1 (Laguna Los Quetros) + RR to El Callao/ Kris and Stiina'''
(Continued from Section 20)
Day 5 - While we had the Movistar cell service in Las Gaviotas we wanted to at least make sure that Rudy is at his Refugio Dos Condores to help us with the boat the upcoming day.
When we tried to call him the call didn’t go through, we tried different phone nrs.
We didn’t guess it then but what Rudy told us later is that you should write him a WhatsApp message instead, because he has internet there but no cell service.
Don Rudy Yefi phone nr. +56 950 180 447 as mentioned earlier.
So, we googled boat services on Lago Todos Los Santos and we found this website with 3 different phone numbers for different ferries www.lago-todoslossantos.cl/informacion/
First we called the Elizabeth III, there was no answer, then we called the Catamarán (a fast express boat between Petrohué and Peulla) +56 942 623 484 and a man answered. We explained that we want to be picked-up from El Callao the next day to which he said yes no problem and that the boat will be there at 9:30 and that’s it, no further information was given. So oblivious to our faulty arrangements we continued on to section 21.
A lot of the following information we only learned the next day because we didn’t read the trail notes careful enough.
Even though we thought that we spoke with someone who operates the Catamarán boat, it later turned out we spoke to the captain of the Elizabeth III as he himself confirmed.
What we didn’t know at the time but learned later was that - in El Callao there isn’t actually any ferry port or a dock, just a sandy beach.
And the main cherry on top of the cake that we somehow missed was that to actually board the Elizabeth III you have to have your own independent boat arrangement for a boat that will actually take you to the ferry that just passes El Callao from a distance. This somehow very “obvious” information wasn’t even mentioned by the captain of the ferry. However I spoke to him about it once we were on the ferry that next time some extranjeros calling for a boat pick-up to please mention this little detail.
Long story short, we were simply lucky that Rudy himself and another settler from the valley had to go to the Puerto Varas the same morning that we had to go. Otherwise we would have waved to the ferry from the coast watching it go past without stopping, scratching our silly heads.
The 5min boat ride to the ferry cost 10k CLP pp, the 2h ferry with toilets and wifi to Petrohué cost 660 CLP pp, all makes sense.
So once we “”arranged”” a boat transfer from El Callao for 9:30 tomorrow we went on to join the Option 1 (Laguna Los Quetros).
On the way along the road 3 dogs started following us and those weren’t some street dogs they all had collars and they looked very groomed, at least when they started following us later they were completely dirty like dogs. No matter how we tried to stop them from following us they just continued all the way to Laguna Los Quetros which was a bit annoying. People that we saw along the way kept telling us that the dogs will return home, sure. We had this happen before in Armenia, hiking the TCT where we became known as foreigners that stole the dog.
Anyhow, when we go to the Quetros lake there was luckily an ariero who had a horse tour with some people whom he had brought to the lake for lunch. We asked for his help with the dogs and he tied them all to a tree until we left, to later make the dogs follow them back instead. Because when we tried to continue on from the lake the dogs kept following us again, instead of hanging out with the people who were actually giving them food. We didn’t give them anything except some swear words, however we did name them - Chikito, Negrito and Goldie.
We met Isabelle at Rudy’s termas, she works for Rudy and was there with 3 other foreigners preparing the hot tubs she was very nice and friendly. The termas were two bathtubs carved our of logs with a pipe of warm water filling them up. And it was all inside a shed, which is presumably locked when nobody is there. We just did small talk and kept walking.
Rudy is a lovley old gentleman, we explained to him that we had arranged a boat for tomorrow and that we will be heading to El Callao for the night to avoid the very early morning hike the next day to which he didn’t say anything, just nodded so we though all is good!
We also bought some pan amasado from him, a really delicious dense, homemade bread 400 CLP per piece a bargain!
The trail from Don Rudy’s place to El Callao was slightly undulating and took us about 1.5hr even though Rudy advised us it will take about 3h.
We camped not far from the harbor on a meadow we saw on the satellite that had a stream running by. When we were setting up our tent, we heard some people talking. Behind the stream and the bushes were a few houses and the people were at home so I went to ask if it’s ok that we camp there. We talked a bit and I explained about the GPT, the man was nice bus asked me not to disclose their location as they value their privacy.
Day 6 - Cows started blaring from around 5:00 in the morning in the neighboring meadows. The evening before the man said there is a bull that visits the meadow that we were on in the mornings. And sure enough the bull was there at 6:30, staring at us, what the heck are we doing in his field, so we had an earlier departure than anticipated.
While waiting for our ferry to “pick us up” on the beach in the El Callao we enjoyed some sunshine with some, Rudy’s pan amasado and a few protein bars which was all that we had left from food.
Unexpectedly Rudy arrived with two other men and that’s when we learned about how this whole thing works, luck definitely saved us from having an unexpected adventure that day.
We boarded Elizabeth III about a kilometer from the coast, which would have been a long swim otherwise. It was smooth sailing all the way to Petrohue with the most incredible views of Volcan Osorno, Volcan Puntiagudo and the Tronador on the other side of the lake.
There are toilets and wifi on board and we didn’t make any other stops which brought us to Petrohué in about 2hrs. When we got there the bus to Puerto Varas was already waiting - 3.5k CLP pp.
Next off to Section 22 NoBo, 21 (Tronador traverse) and to Bariloche to finish another GPT season!
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
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-12-07 to 2025-12-11/ 4.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO+EABO / 21-01 + RR + 21-04A (Packraft El Callao to Rio Blanco) + 21-04 + 21-02 + 21-02B (Refugio Viejo) / Antoine B'''</span>
A section mostly in forest trail with nice highlights: Laguna Questros for camping, crossing Lago de Todos los Santos and sleeping on an isolated beach, ascending El Tronador, enjoying hot spring and isolated farms.
Attractivity: 4
Difficulty: 3 (long forest sections)
Day 1:
Coming from GPT20, I started at las Gaviotas around 18.30 and finished the day hiking up to Laguna Los Questros. Very pleasant path uphill. I met a horse rider coming from la Laguna, who asked for 10k for camping over there. I wasn't sure if he was the owner but paid 5k CLP (it's just a good flat ground with a pit, dry toilets maybe). La Laguna is a great spot to camp and swim in the lake, no one there but birds and cows.
Day 2:
Long day walking on forest trails with tabanos. 2 farms on the way but no one there. Arrived around 18 at Lago de Todos los Santos and packrafted SE for 2.5h until nightfall (barely no wind, clear sky, lucky conditions). The evening light were charming and the surrounding landscapes reminded of many places (Fuji for Osorno, Garda & Annecy lakes)....
Camped on a lovely isolated beach (-41.117963 ; -72.127518), close to the referenced waypoint. Splendid spot.
Day 3:
On the water around 10:30 for 2-3h, a bit of tail wind accelerating me. It wasn't possible to access the last bit in the river meadows (not enough water) and Rio Blanco has too much current, not worth the effort. So I landed in the muddy/woody shore, where a neighbour just left by boat (-41.15470, -72.09983). Short walk along the shore before joining the trail in the forest. Nice walk in the valley, then lots of forest trail, I went eastward towards Tronador and ended up by nightfall at the hot spring spot, by the river close to the farms (thanks for the tips shared here, really a memorable place). Camping ground is perfect.
Day 4:
Started at 12, walked to the 2nd farm and met 4 carabineros visiting the farmer. We hiked back to the puesto together (4h). We sympathized and they invited me for dinner. Lovely company, great memories. Camped at the puesto, free, water available and a little stream for washing. Good news: they just got equipped with solar panel so no more noisy diesel generator as of now.
Day 5:
Relaxing hike up to Refugio Viejo (option 02B), at fast pace (1h30 up). Loved the views (and not carrying any backpack). It's quite fresh and was super windy up there so worth carrying jacket + sun glasses (very reflective with the glaciers). The CC path beyond the refuge, to the edge of the cliff is indeed not to be missed. Ran down in 45mn, amazing feeling after 2 weeks with a 25kg backpack. After chatting again with the carabineros, it took me 3-4h of forest trail to end up in Pampa Linda (17:00). Gendarmería is after the bridge, last building leaving the place. Smooth entry but the bus left (17:00 I think). Hitchhike was not successful for 30mn and I met cool people staying at the camping Vuriloche (~30k ARS if I recall) so I joined them for the night and they drove me the next day to Bariloche.
*''' GPT21 5-8/12/25 / 4 days / Hiking / WEBO / OH03 / Nimrod + Shai + Shmuel'''
5/12 — Colonia Suiza → Laguna Negra
Took a bus to Colonia Suiza (using SUBE card but you can just use your credit as well).
The ascent to the lagoon was mostly easy and well marked with a steeper section toward the end.
Distance: 11 km
Ascent: 963 m
Descent: 163 m
6/12 — Laguna Negra → Campsite After the Pass (41.1760733S, 71.6480100W)
After breakfast at the hut, we packed and began the climb to the first pass, which offered an impressive reflection of Laguna Negra.
We then continued ascending toward Laguna CAB on a partially marked and steep trail. We did some bush bashing but connected to the trail after 10 or so minutes. The GPX is fairly accurate and it easy to miss the marks. The weather was hot, and there were many biting flies. ( bring some fly spray) We took our shoes off and crossed the lagoon from the other side (the gpx trail is from the opposite side but longer) along its edge and stopped for lunch.
Afterward, we climbed another pass with beautiful views. The beginning of the ascent was not clearly marked.
During the descent, Shmuel and Shai lost track of unintentionally followed a difficult scrambling route. The Route is marked with rock cairns but easy to miss.
Distance: 13 km
Ascent: 1,067 m
Descent: 1,176 m
7/12 — Campsite (41.1760733S, 71.6480100W) → Laguna Ilón
Well marked, steep accents and decents. (Need to use hands for sure). Mostly well marked, a bit confusing near Jujuy. It was an hoilday and a lot of people camped at the laguna. Campsite is 20000 pesos per person. I was told after I paid there is a wild camping spot pretty closeby.
Distance: 12.5 km
Ascent: 955 m
Descent: 1,058 m
8/12 — Laguna Ilón → Pampa Linda
Easy route down, and well marked. The road is closed till 16:00, rested by the river till then. Was super easy to hitchhike back to bariloche. Maybe because of the holiday. Where is a weak free wifi near the visiter center.
Distance: 8.5 km
Ascent: 112 m
Descent: 632 m
Annoyances : the horse fly bite ever through the shirt, bring some bug spray
Attractiveness 5/5
Difficulty 4/5
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''GPT21 / 2025-12-01 and 02 / 2 days / Packrafting Sobo / Option 5A and Lago Cayetue side trip / Lago Todos los Santos from Petrohue to Lago Cayetue / Meylin Ubilla and Jan Dudeck'''</span>
This route is a suitable southbound season start for packrafters with heavier packrafting gear that wish to minimize hiking in favor of more packrafting.
Public transportation to Petrohue at the western terminus of Lago Todos los Santos is simple. Take a minibus from the Puerto Montt bus station to Puerto Varas (every 5 to 10 minutes) and tell the bus driver that you wish to take another minibus to Petrohue. The bus drive will drop you off in the center of Puerto Varas at a bus stop where the buses to Petrohue stop (every 30 minutes).
In Petrohue are two camp sites on the other side (southern) of the slow moving river just where Lago Todos los Santos ends and drains into Rio Petrohue. Packrafters best stay at one of these camp sites to start paddling with the first light on the next morning when conditions are typically calmer. Motor boats bring people to these camp sites (boat crossing 1000 CLP / camping 5000 CLP) so packrafters don’t need to inflate the boat for a 50 m river crossing.
Wind typically blows westbound on the lake main body. The lake arm Cayetue is generally less windy but the typical wind blows northbound (“viento sur”). On a typical sunny day wind starts between 10:00 and 12:00 and calms down after 18:00. Therefore starting very early is the best strategy to complete the lake crossing in one day.
There are quite some emergency exits along the water route if wind and waves force you out of the water. Note that most buildings along the shore are now vacation retreats of the rich and super-rich and not the homes of settlers. A good number of these luxury buildings are equipped alarm systems so be cautious when exploring these upscale buildings to avoid a visit by caretaker. If you are forced to camp somewhere along the shore then best choose a hidden spot that is not easily visible from water nor from the buildings.
We packrafted in 6 hours from Petrohue to Cayetue. The best lake exit is just west of Rio Conchas (41° 13′ 40.5″ S / 72° 16′ 0.8″ W) and not as indicated in the track files at the small port. This extends the water route by 1.5 km and reduces hiking by the same distance.
The trail from the lake exit to Lago Cayetue is well maintained.
Lago Cayetue and Rio Conchas is a nice side trip. You can packraft the Rio Conchas from the lake drain 1 km downstream (very little flow) and from lake feed 2.5 km upstream.
Hikers that need a northbound boat transfer from Cayetue may call Eduardo (+56 9 7515 2075). He is a caretaker of the vacation retreat where Rio Conchas flows into Lago Todos los Santos.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-11-25 to 2025-11-27 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Daniel.s'''</span>
Started at Puerto Poncho, from Entre Lagos hitchhiking is the only way. Plan a half day to get anywhere on this side of Lago Rupanco.
Day 1: Paddling is straight forward, tailwind in the afternoon usually. The hike from las Gaviotas is easy to find and maintained, used by cattle at L. Los Quetros, where I camped (no one there). In summer tabanos and mud (after rain) will be your dominant enemies.
Day 2: hiked all the way to Lago Todos los Santos, trail easily followabel. At arrival (~15:00) wind was moderate at shore, strong in the middle of the lake, made a few kilometers to a little sheltered beach (S 41° 03.993', W 072° 11.689') where I spent the night.
Day 3:
Early start (4:30am) to use the calm hours. Arrived at southern end ( S 41° 13.706', W 072° 16.019') around 11am, then hiked to L. Cayutué and up to the parking for the day-hikers (S 41° 18.052', W 072° 16.309') where I got a lift all the way to Cochamó quickly (to avoid hiking down 10 kms of dusty gravel road).
<span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-01-21 to 2025-01-24 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Thijmen Scholten'''</span>
- Road from Entre Lagos to Puerto poncho does not have much traffic. Hitchike may take long.
- Because of that I started at lago Rupanco quite late (12.00). Waves were big but ok with decked packraft.
- Laguna's los quetros and the thermal baths are perfect camp spots. As for 22th of January there is no one , so it's free.
- Water is easily to find on the route every hour or so l. So no need to carry
- The trail goes trough beautiful forest. Can be very muddy if it recently rained alot.
- You can beautiful camp at the Northern shore of Laguna de los Santos. To cross the lake next day early morning.
- I started at 7 and at 8 there were already huge waves. In the afternoon it calmed down. Crossing took a whole day.
- The entry of Rio conchas is not at the first entry but more downstream.
- camping next to Rio Conchas has awesome fishing
- The haucho there said in the winter Rio conchas flows to Lago dos Santos and in the summer it flows to the Laguna.
- Just before the lake Rio Conchas turns into a small stream so you need to carry the packraft (100m).
==Season 2024/25==
10-MAR-2025 to 17-MAR-2025 / 8 Days / hiking/ EastBO / RR / Ben, Stephanie
Route from Ralun, CH to Pampa Linda, AR: amazing route through deep forest conditions and a few settlers
This route is well-described by searching Ruta de las Jesuitas. A few important notes, however.
Do not do if there has been a lot of rain because muddy trail and trail mini-trail-canyons will be impossible to travel. Also, there were 3 river crossings that went over Stephanie's knees during a very dry period.
When you get to La Junta, ask a settler how to find the Termas. They are great but it is easier to cross the river at the suspension bridge with the Termas right on the east side, rather than the horse crossing on the RR with the Termas 500m south up the river.
Make sure to take an extra day to day hike to the Refugio Viejo from the Carabineros station -- so great!
You can't resupply in Pampa Linda even though there is a restaurant.
You can use Chilean pesos on the tourist bus into Bariloche. It leaves around 4 pm -- ask the Gendarmeria where to find it when you first get to Pampa Linda.
Try to figure out lodging in Bariloche using the WiFi in Pampa Linda. We didn't and arrived at 8 pm and had to do some searching around
*''' 2025-02-24 to 2025-03-03 / 9 days / Hiking+ferry / SOBO / var 21-01 + RR + ferry + 21-02 from Puerto Callao + 21-02 A (Refugio Otto Mailing) + 21-02 B (Refugio Viejo) + RR / Dorota'''
Day 1: I started at Puerto Las Gaviotas. I did not make it to 19 stages because I would like to cross the border as quickly as possible. I found Uber tel.+56 9 8716 2865 who took me for 50,000 clp to Las Gaviotas. I can recommend him. The road was not easy and the price is fair because from Entre Lagos it was 70 km. Then I took OH 1. Very nice path in the forest but a little moody after rain. Near Termas de Rudy trail passes for private terrain. Diana, who is the owner, invited me for tea. She also offers camp for 5,000 clp and has Termas. There also lives his son, Alejandro. There I have met two Chilean girls. They were frightened after passing bridges in variant RR. From the house of Diana, take variant AA, not RR. On RR at point .... there is a bridge. But I decided to go through the river. After the rain, the current was strong and the level of water was till my hips. I passed the night at Refugio Los Condores. Laura, mujer de Rudy, was very polite. She took me to his house, in the cabana there were some people. For hospedaje, cena, desayuno I paid 40,000 clp. The cena was very big and the desayuno also.
You can also buy eggs, bread, honey , beer. When I was in Entre Lagos I wrote Rudy to order a boat, refugio and food. Also he ordered for me a place at the ferry Elizabeth III for the next day. I paid for the boat to the ferry 15,000 clp.
Day 2: From Refugio Dos Condores to Puerto Callao, it took me 1.5 hours, but I recommend 2 hours. Two bridges were very solid. At Puerto Callo, I was waiting for Augustino, the son of Rudy. The ferry Elizabeth III arrived at 4:30 p.m. with a half-hour delay. During the journey, we took and left passengers at different ports. Finally, I reached Puerto Puella at 8 p.m. I slept at Hotel Puella for 40,000 clp with breakfast. But you can try Hotel Natura. The next day, one girl said to me that she had paid 30,000 clp. I was very lucky that transporting between ports had worked well for a normal price, together 20,000 clp.
Day 3: In the morning, I crossed the border of Chile without a problem. I still had three days for my stay. The road from Puella is a little boring but easy. I joined a group who went to "Riggy". From there, I had very spectacular views of Tronador. Afterward, I came back and spent the night near a refugio in a tent. The refugio is private. One person said to me that it belonged to carabineros, and another that it belonged to Hotel Natura.
Day 4: In the morning, I reached Aduana, Argentina. But the officials went at 12:30 on a boat from Bariloche. They did not like me to give a stamp of entrada to Argentina. But finally, the women gave me a paper to fill out and gave me a stamp. The men were impolite. Then I took a very nice trail "Paso por las Nubes". You had to pass some bridges. The trail went through the forest and is very easy. The night I spent in Refugio Alfonso Roca. A lot of people were there, but the views of the glacier were spectacular. The price for a night was 60,000 clp. You need a first reservation for WhatsApp. I had not, but it was a place for me. Payment only in cash.
Day 5: The trail went down through the forest. It was very easy. All fallen trees were cut down and easy to cross, and there were bridges saved. I decided to take variant 21-02A to refugio Otto Mailing, also paying 60,000 pesos argentinos for the night. They had also places for tents for 14,000 pesos argentinos. You can pay by card but with an additional 10%. The views of the glacier were incredible. The trail from Pampa Linda is very popular and very well signed.
Unfortunately, it was raining and there were a lot of clouds, but still I could see the glacier. This refugio has a very nice atmosphere. Because of bad weather, there were not a lot of people.
Day 6: It was a very rainy day. I started very early from Pampa Linda. At the border control, the man was very polite. He gave me two stamps: entrance and exit. And filled out a paper in three copies. I did not make any requests in Pampa. The Paso Viriloche trail was well signed, and the next day was the maratón to Ralun. I would like to take variant 21-B, but the carabinero stopped me because of bad weather. He was very polite. Because of bad weather, he invited me and two other people to something like a house and also took our clothes and shoes for drying. We slept on the floor and made a fire inside.
Day 7: The weather was excellent so I took 21B to refugio viejo. This place is amazing with views on Tronador. Finally I was walking together with three carabinieros, they had patrol. They took care of me. We went a little up after refugio to see glaciers. Tronador is amazing. After descending I took my things and went to refugio Huenchupen at km 86.9 of 21-02. I slept on the floor.
Day 8: Next day very rainy, so I was walking very fast through forest and mundo terrain. Night at puesto at km 26.4 of variant 21-04 close to RR. There were not poblador. We put tents together with two chilenos and two argentinos in house for animals. Water we find close from small stream.
Day 9: Crazy day. Next day in the predicción heavy rain, so I decided to reach Ralun, 37 km to go. All rivers all the way had increased water level because of rain. But only Rio Conchas was demanding: water above knee level and strong current. Finally I reached Ralun. I slept at hospedaje for 30 k clp, there is also cabana there for 40 k clp. The first house at the left. The owner is Margot, phone:+56 9 8716 2865. In shop el cruce very good asortiment. Next day I went to Puerto Montt to take my deposit with food. Bus at 6.50 and last at 8.00. Last from Puerto Montt at 4 p.m, at terminal you can buy ticket at shop number 37.
*'''2025-01-03 to 2025-03-05/ 4,5 days / Hiking/ WEBO + SOBO / OH03D (a small prt), OH02, RR / Peggy
After choosing to come to Bariloche by bus to renew my visa (to avoid the rain and give my body time to recover from a bad cold), I initially planned to take the option suggested by Tomáš, departing directly from Bariloche and joining stage 21 at option 3 by passing through the Frey and Jacob refuges (03D), despite the bad weather ahead. But things didn’t go as planned.
The first part of this option starts from Bariloche, either with the cable car or not. Since I had booked an Airbnb on the way up, I left directly from the house. While descending towards 03D, about 1 km or less from the end (41.086296S, 071.219331W), I encountered a man with his horse who forbade me from continuing, saying it was private property and that there was a sign indicating this at the Arelauquen refuge (closed), which I hadn't seen (maybe because I passed behind it?). So, continuing was impossible—frustrating… I climbed back up a few dozen meters and then decided to cut through off-trail (BB) to reach the path below, which made a switchback. I crossed off-trail for about 100-200 meters and found the wider path again, this time with large houses under construction. Since it was Saturday, I only came across two workers who said nothing to me.
At the bottom, near the road, I was faced with a large double gate topped with barbed wire. No way to pass through there, but after searching the sides, I found a possible passage, though there was barbed wire (be careful with your gear!). However, I first tried to go through a spot that seemed suitable and looked like it had been used before, but in doing so, I knocked down a wasp nest and got stung several times! I quickly moved away after the stings, faced with a hundred angry wasps whose home had just suffered an earthquake caused by a clumsy human!
So if you want to do this new option (OH03D) it is better to start directly in Villa las Coihues.
I eventually found a way out. The stings (only two in the end) were painful (until the evening) and put me in a strange state. Soon after, I met a friendly Argentinian, and we traveled together to Pampa Linda. Apparently, my path was not meant to follow the option suggested by Tomáš. In any case, the rain and wind that followed in the next days would have made this route difficult due to its exposed sections, according to Tomáš's description. Nevertheless, I hope to return to do it—maybe. Now that I have a friend in Bariloche! The GPT is just incredible in terms of changes, encounters, and adaptability!
Entrance fee: 20k for entering the park when coming from Bariloche via the road to Pampa Linda. Remember to stop by the Carabineros for the exit stamp from Argentina if coming this way.
The camp at km 71.8 is not possible now—too much vegetation—but I was able to pitch my tent a bit earlier, just after crossing the river where the sign is. There is space for one tent.
Despite my desire to go to the old refuge and enjoy Tronador, which must be magnificent, I couldn't go up the day I arrived due to the rain and wind—the Carabineros were even sending everyone back down. I camped near the Carabineros, hoping to go up the next day, but the weather didn't improve. The Carabineros kindly lent me a "five-star" tent, where I spent the afternoon and night like a princess! (My X-Mid Pro would have been fine, but it couldn't compare to this castle!). Indeed, as Volker (I think) mentioned, they run a generator, so be prepared for noise. But in my castle, I had nothing to complain about!
There is a free refuge at km 86.9 (Refugio Lomas de Huechupan) that offers shelter.
At the Vuriloche hot springs, there is a bivouac spot (GPS coordinates given by Clara, thanks, Clara: -41.24628, -72.04855) with a place for a fire. As Clara noted, there is no "Vuriloche refuge"—it’s a house belonging to a settler.
From the bivouac site, the first path on the right goes down to the river to collect water and leads to two hot water basins. The second path on the left leads to the main hot springs with two hotter basins, one of which is very hot. This is where you need to cross via the suspension bridge—very fun! Jose, aka Coche, who lives on the other side, told me not to take the other path as the bridge there has collapsed. For those afraid of crossing the suspension bridge, it is possible, according to Coche, to cross via the ford at km 101.3. At the suspension bridge, there is a refuge for rent called "La Junta"—ask the person living near the "Refuge de Vuriloche" point on the Locus map.
Between the hot springs and Bandurrias (3–3.5 hours of walking):
I couldn't find a suitable camping spot due to the rain, mud, and soggy ground. However, just before Bandurrias, there are plenty of excellent spots.
On the OH02 route, there are many river crossings. Often, there are log bridges, but sometimes not. Due to several days of rain, the water level was higher, but everything remained completely doable.
Because of the rain, I spent an afternoon and a night on the porch of the puesto at km 126, where no one was around. Gratitude 🙏
The forest is stunning and magical. Many muddy passages, like tunnels of earth—an incredible journey. As Tomáš and Natalie (I think) mentioned somewhere, it sometimes feels like an Indiana Jones-style adventure!
*'''17Jan2024 - 24jan2024 / hiking WEBO + SOBO / OH3 + OH2+2B + RR / ~7 days / Clara'''
There is a detailed report of Natalie and Tomáš from January 2024 so I'll just add the differences/changed things.
I took the formal OH3 so I began in Colonia Suiza.
To get there from Bariloche by bus, need to bye a SUBE card (or ask someone to pay for you with it in the bus and give cash directly). These cards can only be found at the Centro Civico Bariloche in the center. Then you have to go in one of the many kiosko with SUBE in the city to pay and charge it. It was 1.5k for the card and needed to charge 4k to go untill Colonia Suiza. The bus 10 goes there directly from the city center but not much per day. Other solution is to take bus 20 and then an other one. Easy to find out in ggmaps or app moovit.
Untill laguna negra, it's an easy trail, overrun at this season.
Camp at 16.1, close to nice river.
Pass at 20.1 is easy and the view is awesome.
Going up to laguna CAB : there are some falen trees, trail a bit harder to follow. At this point -41,14666, -71,61216 intersection with an other more evident trail but it's not the good one, which is hide behind a log.
First beach of laguna CAB is very nice, stopped there to eat and swim, water at perfect temperature in the afternoon and no annoying insects.
Then steep ascent to the pass at 28.0. Up there, I found navigation a bit confusing. Sometimes lots of cairns in several direction. No trail as it's only big scrambling rocks. Begining of the descent is hard and take time.
Camp at the 2nd camp spot close to Mallin Mate Dulce. This one was nicer than the first. Good river flowing close and sort of a waterfall with a bassin. But so much mosquitoes that I ate and mostly stayed in my tent.
This day was only 15km but feels way more. Lots of elevation gain and loss, slow evolution (and also I had a very heavy backpack).
Next pass at 33.5, navigation easier with some red/blue marks, steep ascent and descent that often demand using of hands (especially begining of the descent !!). I saw my first condor up there, incredible moment.
After laguna Creton, everything gets easier (and faster) : navigation, terrain and steepness !
Note : camp spot just under laguna Creton (with waterfall and bassin) and the one close to Laguna Jujuy (probably a bit exposed if big wind but there are little stonewalls to pitch the tent) seems really nice to spent the night !
The view is awesome all along the ridge till pass 38.4.
Easy descent to laguna Ilon. Lots of people camp here coming from pampa linda (12k/pp for camping). Still nice spot to rest a bit, perfect to swim, shade, dry toilets and drinking water.
Easy descent to pampa linda with really nice views on the tronador !
Pampa linda : restaurants (expensive!), campings (saw one at 8k without shower). Free wifi that worked really well in all town (at least in the morning when not much people there), I could even had a WhatsApp videocall with perfect quality.
Gendarmería : easy and fast. No date in the paper so I guess it's not compulsory to get to the carabineros the exact same day.
Carabineros : very chill, they don't check my bag at all, no form to fill, so I didn't finished all my prohibited food as previoused and I passed the border with cheese, nuts, dry fruits,... Possible to let them things to go up to refugio viejo.
Refugio viejo tronador : long but mostly easy going up to the refugio, awesome landscapes. I splept there in a high windy night, the refuge is very basic but a good schelter.
Puesto at 86.9 is not a puesto but a refuge. There is a table outside with an awesome view on the tronador. No bed inside but could probably be a good shelter to pitch the tent in bad weather. Water in the river flowing just few meters down (not in OSM).
Camp at 88.9 : the spot with the river is really nice to have a swim with large bassins. Only fits 1 tent I think.
In Gaia there are 2 others refugio on the map. Refugio Seba --> nothing. Refugio Vuriloche --> seems more like the house of a settler. The termas are at wrong place on Gaia map.
I did a short day to enjoy the termas and shelter from rain, multiple nice and clean bassins.
-41,24628, -72,04855 : flat spot to camp, tables, fire.
-41,24701, -72,04806 : first trail go down here to the river. 1 bassin just down and one closer to the river.
-41,24813, -72,04712 : 2nd trail go to the bridge (the one in OSM). Just before there are 2 other nice bassins, hoter !!
I was there with a group of 16 argentinians who make the traverse every year, they know the settler, told me the use of hot springs is free !
I saw him the next morning. He sells bread and killed a lamb for the group (but maybe need to be asked in advance for that?).
Then trail sometimes muddy/sleepery but mostly in good conditions even after a rainy night !
Fords of Rio Conchas up to knee.
Camp just after ford 28.6.
In total, it was a very nice section with awesome landscapes, especially OH3 and the refugio viejo!! Took me about 7 days with some short days.
*'''2025-JAN-17 to 2025-JAN- / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH (var. 01) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''
We combined stages 20 and 21, starting with food supplies for both stages (4 days). This stage with enough water, mostly leads through dense Valdivian forest. The highlight for us was the view of the Puntiagudo and Osorno volcanoes from Lago Todos los Santos, where you need to arrange transportation to the opposite shore.
Following variant 01, the trail ascends to Laguna Los Quetros through dense forest along a cow path carved into the terrain. At Laguna Los Quetros, there are many beautiful camping spots, benches, fire pits, and a dry toilet. We met the owners of this campsite at the beginning of the stage, and they told us that the campsite usually has a fee, but they didn’t feel like going up that day, so we could stay for free.
The ford [19.1/650] was crossed dry-footed. The bridges along the trail were quite fragile or improvised, for example, the bridge [20.3/419] is suitable only for the brave due to its condition. At the point Food, Lodging, Ferry [21.1+0.2/415], no one was there, so we continued to Settler, Lodging, Ferry [23.2/432], where you can buy breakfast, lunch, dinner, as well as bread, eggs, honey, soda, and beer. We also learned that the boat to the other side of Lake Todos los Santos was expected to depart the following day (Sunday) around noon. Therefore, we reached the lake and decided to wait until the next day. However, the owner of one of the boats appeared and offered to take us to the Cayutue port for 120,000 CLP. We eventually negotiated the price down to 100,000 CLP. He dropped us off outside the track files at coordinates (-41.22695, -72.26297), where there is a sheltered terrace where you can stay overnight. In addition to tables, benches, and a grill, there is also a water tap. From there, we set out on a new route, mostly across pastures, visible on navigation tools. The settler at coordinates (-41.25020, -72.25722) allowed us to pass through his property, though he didn’t seem too pleased about it. We rejoined the RR trail at the transition from MR to TL approximately at km [57.2]. From Lago Cayutue, we encountered many people who were out on a weekend walk. The rest of the way to Cochamó was peaceful.
* ''' 2025-JAN-17 > 18 / 1 jours (30km) / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 21-A > RR > END km 30 / Pierre-Marie '''
Etape : GPT20+GPT21+GPT22
| Meteo : nuageux
| Eau : rare
| Neige : oui
| Intérêt : 4/5
| Difficulté : 3/5
| Danger : manque d'eau
Si la neige ne fond pas, il n'y a pas d'eau entre le km 4,5 et le km 19,0. Je n'ai pas pu faire ma lessive. Le RR va dans la riviere au km 20,3 alors j'ai pris le 21-A qui est le chemin officiel. Le (vendredi) soir au refuge Dos Condores, on me dit que le ferry ne passe que certains jours. Je dois donc attendre le dimanche 12h00... Je n'ai pas compris où allait le ferry car le monsieur parlait très mal et je comprend mal l'espagnol. Bref je pense que c'est très difficile de trouver un bateau El Callao > Cayutué. Le lendemain je suis descendu au port par la derniere section plutôt boueuse, espérant un miracle. Et le miracle était là... un groupe de 15 jeune randonneur (14-18ans) de Puerto Varas avec un guide qui attendent leur bateau... Je suis rentré avec eux à Petrohue gratuitement. J'avoue qu'après la section 18 et 20, et ce plan foireux de ferry, ma motivation avait totalement disparu. Mais je repars de plus belle vers le GPT22. Bus de 12h00 entre Petrohue et la route 225, tentative infructueuse d'auto-stop vers Cochamo mais bus à 12h45. Je n'ai pas pu faire la seconde partie du GPT21 malheureusement. Mais je suis content d'être sorti de ce cul de sac.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-01-14 / 6 hours / Packrafting / SOBO / Option 8 / Tomáš'''</span>
While Natalie was resting in Puerto Varras, I took the same bus like last year at 8:38 from next to our hostel (-41.32710, -72.96598) and got dropped at the bridge where Option 8 starts an hour later (2500 CLP). Unlike last year, the bus was half-empty. The approach is MR, no CC. Rio Huenuhuenu does not have that much water - it is navigable, but you will hit the ground from time to time probably. Also, there are some sticks, that are due to narrowness of the river not so always to avoid (just walk your biat here and there). It took me 40 minutes to get to Rio Petrahue, which is deep and wide and while it has momentum, so you go fast, is not technical at all. There are logs and sticks but they are extremely easy to avoid. It was raining and I stopped for about two hours at Hot Spring {21-08} [24.2/29] (Termas de Ralun). They are free and popular (with both Chilians and foreigners) - there have always been other people. So probably not good for camping or washing, but great warm up. They can fit 10+ people. Tide reaches there and it somewhat elevated my boat even though I put it on the beach previously. Luckily it did not flow away. Due to high tide, Rapid {21-08} [25.1/30] was nonexistent. Camp {21} [79.3/7] is paid, I think, this is private land. Without stopping at the hot spring, Rio Petrohue would have taken me 3 hours to go down. I managed to lose my inReach in my transparent dry bag there, but recovered it later (see next entry). Hitched first car to Puerto Varras. All in all maybe due to rain and clouds, I did not find it very scenic, but listening to a podcast and eating strawberries while just floating down the river was a treat.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-01-6/ 1 / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR&OP 8/ Davide'''</span>
Together with Volker I took Elisabeth III for Petrahue at Lagos todos Los Santos. While he proceeded for the climb of Vulcan Osorno I continued my packrafting trips starting a bit after Petrohue (Los Pollos). The official track of the GPT (21) start back at the intersection between Rio Hueñu Hueñu and Rio Petrohue, and for good reasons. The rapids starting at Los Pollos are locally famous for guided trips and rated at III+, so I don't suggest them for unaware packrafter. DO NOT try if inexperienced.
On the other hand the rest of the river is a glorious enjoyment up to its end at estero Reloncavi.
Be mindfull at the delta of Rio Hueñu Hueñu to Rio Petrohue, there are many trees in the river, and the left-most branch of the delta is completely blocked by a fallen tree transversal to the flow. Care must be given also for the remaining trait of the river.
This route overall represents a possible variation to existing tracks to not have to go to Puerto Varas if passing to Petrohue. While it is a bit more dangerous, it can substitute the hike of the RR to a day on paddling in the river downstream.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-01-10 to 2025-01-12/ 2days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR&RP (ridge) / Natalie & Tomáš'''</span>
Note: I wrote this when out of service without reading the last three new entries, so many things could be repeated, apologies.
Day 01: El Poncho to Cenizo basin; ~14km
After a short paddle from our, "alternative hot spring camp" (see gpt20), we arrived at El Poncho port. Unfortunately like others have said, there is no infrastructure there, the GPT has it misplaced. There is just one vacation home and SWARMS of tabaños. This was disappointing because I (Natalie) wasn't careful during the last resupply stop and did not buy enough food. Tomáš set up the tent to organize our things and I wasted an hour swinging a paddle into thin air trying to kill as many tabaños as I could. I will be having a good laugh for a while when I think back to what the Chileans must have thought when they saw me walking along the road, wearing a neon colored drysuit, and swinging a paddle up a down like a lunatic. I was very close to the skipping point as my body was exhausted from stomach issues that started at the beginning of gpt19, but eventually I came to terms. Plus, Tomáš had plenty of extra food as a back up so we set off around 12:30.
The trail is an old CONAF trail and there is an covered seating area/shelter near the start (no water). The trail was in surprisingly good shape and well traveled until the turn off for the gpt trail around -40.89986, -72.27375. We recommend taking the left fork (on OSM), it looked more traveled than the right and it went well (Tomáš of course cleared some bamboo to make it more obvious, hope it helps). There is also a stick blocking the GPT route at the top when they connect again. The OSM route first takes you to two settler houses, except if you hit the second s
house, you have gone too far, the trail veers upwards in the grass just before the second. After that it is pretty easy to stay on route, there are just a couple of alternative paths that intersect at times. The last one km of the OSM route is a bit overgrown, but it is just annoying, not slowing you down. There is no water until past the "Camping Alerces". If you plan to camp there, you can walk westward ~300m to a good flowing creek that should hopefully provide water year round..
After the camping, it's a walk up a semi dry creek bed until a waterfall blocks further advancement. The trail leaves the creek bed on your left about 100 m before this waterfall, Tomáš magnified the cairns there so hopefully you can see it. Then it's a simple but steep at times walk to the ridge, absolutely amazing views of Puntiagudo (Osorno's evil stepsister) and the the surrounding area. I give the ridge walk a 10/10 for views. We slept (the night was thankfully windless) in the basin underneath Volcan Cenizo. If there is snow and sun you may find water in the afternoon/evening, but no water in the morning/early afternoon so the last water would have been the waterfall.
Day 02: Volcan basin to Lago Todos Los Santos; 20 km
The next day was very straightforward. We hiked up Cenizo , aiming more to towards the north ridge for easier climbing. The peak to it's east looks like a possible fun scramble (from the west!) if you find a good way (without bag of course). There was no snow melt on the way down and like Roman has mentioned the turn off into the forest can be easily missed; -40.95687, -72.18367. The path down was in surprisingly good shape, lots of orange cut marks as well. The tabaños were in FULL force in the valley. They were the worst around the hotspring 19.2. The hotsprings are in a locked shed and nobody is living in that spot, they live a little further down valley on the trail (Sergio?). The worst of the tabaños were there but they continued to be terrible anytime we were not in the shade of the forest. We had lunch at the main hub of the valley; Refugio Dos Condors (aka Laura and her son Augustin, Rudy being the head of the family?). They are formally set up to take guests, so it is unlikely they will ever "not" be there. They have a couple menu's and prices for alternative requests. We had lunch for 16mil each. It was well worth it for my sake because I had been under fueled for a while. I also bought eggs (300pp), bread (400pp) and half a kilo of honey (3mil). Tomáš was overjoyed to be able to eat as mucj cherries from their trees as he could and also some raspberries. They are notnripe yet, should stay available maybe till end of month? We then made good time and got to the beach "ferry" early enough to rest before an early morning paddle the next day. P.s. we almost accidentally went to the beach of the settler to the east of the ferry, seemed like a prettier spot. Also, if you camp at the ferry, there is a large light near the boats/trail entrance, so I suggest camping on the far right (loling onto the beach from the lake). There was a trickle of water that seemed questionable, so our last source of water was the bridge 27.1.
Day three: Lago Todos Los Santos (TLS) to Petrohue - 22 km
We chose to go to Petrohue as we have walked to Ralun last year via Argentina. Tomáš had the idea of crossing the lake and then following the south shore of TLS as it was less distance. I hesitated as I didn't trust the lake, so the safest option sounded like the north shore, but we had a good weather window so we went with Tomáš's suggestion, making one quick stop on the island (a nice stop if it wasn't for the tabaños. Sadly we had almost no tabanos before the stop but after that they followed us to the end - must have killed over a hundred). In the morning we set off at ~6:15am and glad we didn't set of any later. One reason being the attack of the horseflies while paddling but mainly because when we got 1km close to the end we got hit by some strong headwind and waves. Advancement was slow but we made it (altogether the section took us 48 hours). A tourist boat came to us looking panicked but we assured them we would make it. Goes to show that it is true, conditions can change VERY fast and I am personally glad we were not any further from shore. Petrohue is an awful touristy place. Bus to Puerto Varras leaves every half an hour and there were swarms of cars with tourists. There are several telecommunications towers, but no working Entel internet (Edge!).
* '''25-01-08 - 25-01-11/ 3,5 days / NOBO-EABO / RR-OH2 (Tronador) Volker'''
Very pittoresque route (I took it inspired by Tomas & Natalie, who did it WEBO in january 2024)
Day 0: After climbing Volcan Osorno in the morning, I hitchhiked to Ensenada (resupply) and then to Cochamo but got out of the car 12km before Cochamo in Ralun at the start of the RR MR going to Cayetue („21, Bus, 71,5). Took a cabana directly opposite (30k). The indicated shop has basic food.
Day 1: A van driving locals to physiotherapy gave me a ride, so the MR walking to the pass was shortened by a half. At the pass yet another view on Volcan Puntiagudo, now from the south. Very easy down to Lago Cayutue (lots of tabanos there, also along rivers and on meadows, luckily the trail is mostly in the forest). Very easy along Rio Conchas (easy fords). 1km before the settler at 117.3 it looked like it will start to rain soon. So I raised my tent on a small meadow, indeed 10 min later and then during the evening some rain, but very few.
Day 2: Blue sky, easy walking, very few tabanos, even outside the forest, many settlers on horses. At Gpt 21-02end a small wooden sign, asking you to stay on the right (orographically: left) side of Rio Blanco (id est: not to take variant c). I did not go down to the ford, but on the following kms Rio Blanco seemed quite difficult to cross, the ford at 101.3, however, easy. So the sign makes sense. Shortly before the ford a non indicated settler, very lovely place. The settler at 98.5 offered me cherries from his tree and we talked a while. These friendly people provide for the special flair of this OH (on RR it’s just Rudy). From now on very scenic views on Volcan Tronador. Two bridges over Rio Aguas Turbias, which has deserved this name. Camp at the indicated spot at 88.3 (close to the destroyed bridge, fits one tent).
Day 3: Steep but easy up to the border. Several camp spots close to the puesto at 86.9 (which obviously serves as a refuge). At the border I told the very nice young carabinero that I want to go to Refugio Viejo (coming from the Chilean side technically you can go there without showing up at the carabineros, but I wanted to get some information about the way). Whereas Conaf rather doesn’t allow you to do this or that, because if something happens to you, they have to leave their chair, the carabinero explained me my options and told me: „If something happens to you, we will come and help you.“ I decided, that going to Argentina and trying to rent equipment for the Tronador (for Cumbre Argentino; cumbre internacional is the highest, but technical, so is cumbre Chileno) in Bariloche is way too complicated, so I asked the carabinero to keep my big backpack and went with a small one (you can also sleep in the refugio or camp there, but carrying your gear there will be quite physical). It took me three hours to the refugio. (I was alone there on a friday afternoon; the next day I met groups of all in all 12 hikers, who planned to go there and stay for the night). Breathtaking views on the glacier (especially if you continue after the refugio CC, trail on OSM) and the summits of V. Tronador. V. Osorno is showing up in the west and in the east you see the peaks of Cerro Catedral. I was back at the carabineros at 5.30 p.m. and decided to camp there: free, water, dry toilet - wrong decision: At 8.30 p.m. they turned on a generator in order to watch TV… After 5 minutes I decided to leave, luckily I found a dry spot some hundred meters away on the edge of the meadow, which is indicated as swamp
Day 4: Easy walk (12km) to Pampa Linda, which is a touristic hotspot. I decided to finish the hike here. The alpine route Tomáš took is very seducing, but it‘s probably better to do it at the beginning (going WEBO) and not after 3,5 days and 80km. Hitchhiked to Bariloche (2nd car, 2 hours; there is also a bus in the late afternoon).
Details on the border crossing; Returning from Refugio Viejo I got my passport back with an exit stamp and a paper in three copies (one for the AR gendarmeria, two for me to present when coming back to Chile.) As I had told the carabinero, that I will return to Chile soon, I had to define a maximum period in AR (you can come back earlier, but not later (strange rule). The argentinian border control is not, as indicated on the track files, at the border 1,5 km after the Chilean carabineros. It is in Pampa Linda (correctly indicated). The guy of the gendarmeria( very nice, too) offered me a glass of water and confirmed my entry without any control.
*'''25-01-05- 25-01-06/ 2 days / SOBO / RR varA / Clara & Volker'''
Very scenic but quite demanding
Day 0: We hitchhiked from Entre Lagos to Puerto Rico. We were lucky, it took us just three cars and a we waited in total less than 15 minutes. We got out of the 3rd car 1 km after the start of the RR at a small beach of Lago Rupanco, but the Tabano situation forced us to leave the beach at once. Haunted by dozens of horse-flies we went up to the MR road at this point -40,89289, -72,27335. At the last house (big wooden house after last gate on the roadMR), we found Rubin Robin that was really niceand help full, she has speaks english. She offers very nice rooms in a beatiful calm and beautiful house with view on away of the lake and nice roomstabaños, has a big kitchen were you can cook. We stayed here for the Paradise to rest a night.
In the evening we wrote a message to Rudy, made a reservation for the refugio Los Condores and the hotsprings on the way for the day after.