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==Season 2025/26==
* ''' GPT18 | 2026-02-12 to 2026-02- 15 I 3 days | hiking | SOBO I Route: RR - Variant C | Michaela '''
Day 1
I took the ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirihueico (1,5 h, 1,150 CLP) at 11:00 and arrived at 13:30. I had lunch there and then started walking. It was a very short hiking day. It took me about 1,5 hours to reach Camp {18} [22.3/615].
The MR was slightly overgrown in the first part but not difficult.
I camped here: -40.008089, -71.748051 - very nice spot. I enjoyed a swim and a relaxed afternoon.
Day 2
Beautiful sunrise at the lake. Most of the trail was easy to walk. From km 50,5 the trail became a bit more overgrown, but nothing serious, mostly high grass and some fallen trees that were easy to bypass.
The forecast said there was a small chance of rain (and recently the real weather was always worse than predicted), so I decided to sleep in the abandoned hut: -40.005992, -71.867541
The hut is clean. There are several more or less broken bunk beds, one bed is intact. The roof is good. There are no windows and two sides of the wall are open. I fixed the metal roof a bit because it was very loud in the wind.
Day 3
Sleeping in the hut was a good decision because early in the morning it started raining. Late in the morning the rain stopped and I started hiking. The Garmin forecast said there would be no more rain, but again it was wrong. It started pouring heavily and continued until the afternoon.
Despite rain jacket and rain pants I was soon soaked to my underwear. The trail itself was only strongly overgrown in a few sections, but most of the time the grass was knee- to hip-high, which is very uncomfortable when wet.
I decided to sleep at Camp {18} [73.9/468]. When I arrived the rain stopped and the sun came out, so I hung my clothes on the fence around the beehives, which was not a good idea. A bee stung me directly under the eye and my face swelled massively. Not my most enjoyable day (Happy Valentine’s Day).
Day 4
I took Variante C. Easy MR. I arrived at the main road around noon and could hitchhike without problems to Futrono.
Here I stayed at "Hospedaje Futrono" – very nice place with a small shared kitchen and friendly owners.
Single room with private bathroom: 25.000
Shared bathroom: 20.000
Attractiveness: 1.5/5
Difficulty: 2.5/5
''' GPT18/2026-1-2 to 2026-1-4/ 3 days/SOBO/RR/Denis,Robert'''
Solid resupply option in Puerto Fuy.
We took ferry Puerto Pirehueico. First they told us that there is no space for two of us, but I came again and begged lady behind the desk that we need to go tonight, and she gave us tickets. The schedule is on website. We camped in camp of the other side of lake 7000 pesos per person no warm water no electricity but they were willing to charge our staff in the house. The minimarket is not the best, few things and pretty expensive, I would resupply in Puerto Fuy. Until 64,2 km the trail is in solid shape, not that much overgrown. There is no water only around the highest point of trail 5 km before and after otherwise it is everywhere. Then next 8 km it is still fine some fallen trees but the grass is a bit of issue. It is pretty painful some kind of grass and it catches everywhere. But we had shorts not really appropriate clothing. Then the zig zag close to variant C we didn’t find and there is very steep cliff no possible to cross maybe we missed it somewhere higher. We followed the variant C and jointed the RR by small river maybe 300 meters in river will lead you to the big one.
There is nice supermarket 2 km below Chabronco, we asked if they do have any spot for tent and they let us sleep in their garden.
Attractiveness 2/5
Difficulty 3/5
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-12-11 to 2025-12-12 / 2 Days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RH / Michel & Lisa'''</span>
Day 1
We hitchhiked from the end of GPT17P to Puerto Fuy and got dropped off right at the ferry terminal. We had been unsure if we should do just the packrafting part of 18 or skip the section all together since there was a window of really bad rain forecast for the next 4-5 days after today. There was also considerable wind and gusts of up to 55 km/h forecast for the afternoon on the lake (northwesterly, so in the right direction). But when we saw the calm water and blue skies, we couldn't help it and really wanted to go. We decided to go as far as we could in one day and accept that we'd get wet the next day and simply take the ferry back to Puerto Fuy.
The resupply marked in Puerto Fuy didn't have a great selection but there are more, better shops on the road Río Pilmaiquén (about here [-39.87319, -71.89129] and close by). We put in where the track files suggested and it was fine, we were in the lake at 11:30 and it was still pretty calm. Nice paddling for a few hours, the wind gradually picked up as forecast and we tried our Tyvek groundsheet as a sail which worked nicely and made us sail at up to 6.5 km/h. We had lunch break at 14:00 at camp [11.4/622] which was super beautiful and sheltered from the wind which made us want to stay there over night, but the forecast made us continue. Around 15:30 we had reached the long N-S arm of the lake (starting right where the private hot springs (13.9+0.5/607] (Not permanently staffed)) are. There the wind and especially the gusts (the forecast 50 - 55 km/h seemed about right) intensified to a level that felt a bit unsafe to us, so we stopped here: [-39.945079, -71.758877] at around 15:30. We waited for the wind to decrease, which was the case at around 16:15 so we continued sailing. The west coast of the lake is really pretty on this arm of the lake and we enjoyed watching our surroundings here a lot. The wind kept blowing until it shut down at about 18:00, which was the same on Lago Neltume the day before.
We arrived at the end of RP at around 19:00 and set up camp, went for a swim and packed the packraft, planning to hike back to Puerto Pirehueico the next day. You could easily camp close by at the marked camp and walk along the coast to the end of RP as well. Here there is a makeshift table and a bit of trash lying around, but not much. Found a fishing hook on the table, so be careful with your things here.
Day 2
Woke up to rain, but not quite as terrible as expected. Packed up and continued on RH-MR towards Pirehueico. Easy walking on the MR which we lost once and had to climb a fence and find back to it, not sure we made a mistake there or if it's the actually intended route as we also somehow lost GPS signal. But we made it to the PR and walked the last km to the ferry. Got our tickets and went back over the lake that we had paddled down the other day in such different weather. We were glad we didn't do it in this weather, although it would probably still have been possible without issues, just colder and more miserable.
*'''2025-08-21: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''
- I rerouted the Regular Route for GPT18 Variant E, that was described in season 2024/25 as less overgrown then the Regular Route at this time. I "downgraded" the changed section of the Regular Route to Option H.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-11-23 to 2025-11-26 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP (partial) / Dave & Siyuan, Jan & Meylin'''</span>
Day 01: Lovely paddle on the lake. Weather was calm in the morning, and picked up in the afternoon before dying down in the evening. We camped at “Camp {18} [11.4/622]”. Very nice flat camp site.
Day 02: As yesterday, calm weather in the morning and evening, with a windy spell in the early afternoon. We camped at “Camp {18} [22.3/615]”.
Day 03: We had a rest day. The police visited in the afternoon and informed us that there was a no camping rule anywhere around the lake. After some negotiation, they allowed us to stay overnight.
Day 04: Early in the morning we paddled to the ferry terminal at Pirehueico and took the 12:00 ferry back to Puerto Fuy (1200 CLP).
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-11-15 to 2025-11-19 / 4 days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RP, RR, (former variants D, E) / Daniel.s'''</span>
Started right after finishing GPT 17 early afternoon. With a weather front moving in and very strong tailwind I didn't dare going further than Camp {18} [8.0+0.5/632], which is sheltered from the wind.
Day 2 I paddled/ sailed the rest of the lake and took the afternoon off.
I got a visit from Carabineros, asking questions but very friendly and helpful with Intel. They told me that ONE SHOULD REGISTER WITH ARMADA IN PUERTO FUY BEFORE CROSSING THE LAKE.
Day 3 I hiked in a drizzle in my drysuit all day. NO MORE SNOW over the mountain.
Camped at S 40° 00.872', W 071° 52.003'. Trail is as described before, many small obstacles, nothing major.
Day 4 I hiked the new regular route. No problem finding the way. There was one horse trail from a few days earlier visible in the mud and tall grass. Vegetation is only starting to grow, so maybe bring a machete later in the season, as there are a handful of places where bamboo and boysenberry might take over soon. Ended up hiking all the way to Chihuio and camped at the river thermal pools (mice ate my trail mix in the night, beware!)
In the morning I started hiking towards Curriñe but got a lift quite soon. Several shops available for all your needs.
On to GPT 19 in the afternoon.
==Season 2024/25==
08-APR-2025 to 12-APR-2025 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR, Variants E, D and new connector between 2 / Ben, Stephanie
Route from Curriñe to Puerto Pirehueico through Huilo Huilo Biological Preserve, a re-wilding forest.
About the connector:
if going northbound, follow Var. E when it drops down through the brush but only until you cross an abandoned road. Follow this road down, cross creek, and follow it up across the landslide referenced by Natalie. Stay on this until you connect with a new road that will also cross the landslide, which is now behind you. Welcome to Variant D!
If going SOBO, you will miss the connector, so continue on Var. D until you reach the landslide, then backtrack a few hundred meters to a fainter road angling down towards the eventual bottom of the landslide. Welcome to the Connector. Now follow this connector down, across the landslide and creek and continue a short bit until you intersect Var. E. Follow Var. E up into the forest.
*''' 2025-03-18 to 2025-03-20 / 3 days / Hiking/ NOBO / RR, 18A, 18E, 18D / Peggy
Without the difficult part of the RR, this section becomes a 3-day hike (or less) without any particular problem, in a lush native forest.
That means in NOBO: RR, 18E, 18D and RR again. 18C at the beginning possible?
I didn’t meet any humans during the week in March.
I first camped at the free hot springs on the RR (km82.3). There were people in the late afternoon when I arrived and in the evening. Only one other tent afterward. Not very warm but warm enough depending on the pools.
The next day, I started with 18A. The gate at km78.5 is locked and quite high. I first thought I could pass with my backpack but, fearing I’d lose balance, I passed it over first. I think I broke one of its frame stays at that moment... Probably already weakened.
A dog followed me on 18A. I made the mistake (or not?) of not chasing it away from the start. I admit I enjoyed its company and thought it would go back on its own further along. It didn’t.
At the junction between 18A and the RR, there’s a tricky section. I struggled for quite a while, took a lunch break, struggled again through bamboo before finding the "path." Then the RR was good (but for how long?) but I had in mind to take 18D, yet the entrance was completely blocked by fallen trees. Realizing the dog would keep following me and that I couldn’t reasonably leave it on the other side of the section with the first person I’d meet, I brought it back home… 1h30 walking in the other direction.
Once there, I decided to extend my route and return to Santa Rosa to take the RR.
From there, everything was smooth. First night at the camp km74.7, a bit above to avoid smoking the bees with my fire (presence of hives).
A bit before and after the junction between 18E and 18D, the GPS trace doesn’t match, but no problem, the path is very well marked.
The RR until 18E and 18E itself are forest roads.
On the second day, I planned to stay at the camp km55.4 but didn’t like the spot and it was still early enough to continue. I ended up taking the wrong path and bivouacked here (39.997112S, 071.880970W), there’s a small spring just before. Very nice place.
Then a long descent to Pirihueico the next day.
Tall wet grass (my shoes quickly turned into swimming pools :D and I was glad I had my rain pants) and some fallen trees on the path, but easy to pass — over, under or around.
No issues with the rivers.
At km86.9, I made a mistake and followed another path until I checked my GPS to see how far I still had to go… Thankfully, I was going in the wrong direction! The RR here is not as clear as that other path and it’s easy to get confused. So be careful! ;)
Then I found myself walking along the airstrip, eager to arrive! I just veered off to the left at the end to avoid having to go through the gate of the small airfield in case it caused trouble, and exited through a side path to reach the beach near two large ruins of an old hotel.
I slept at the mini-camping in Pirihueico and took the ferry at 9am the next morning with a direct connection to Puerto Fuy with the bus going to Panguipulli, since I had already done sections 17 and 16 some time ago.
* ''' 2025-JAN-08 > 10 / 2,5 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > river > 18-A > RR / Pierre-Marie '''
* Puerto Pirihueico
Several restaurants and a small shop which has coffee, tea, pasta and flour.Cabañas and camp ground.The Hostel Andalue [-39.87164, -71.89047] is a good option for a comfy bed. Next to the ferry terminal, inexpensive (20'000CLP pp) and the owners are really lovely and nice. We could even do laundry here and had it dried in the warmth of the kitchen over night. In summer they also do breakfasts for an additional price, we were told.
==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==