6
ediciones
Cambios
→Season 2024/25
==Season 2025/26==
'''2026-01-25 to 2026-01-29 / 3 days + 1 zero / Hiking / SOBO / Option 2, RR, Option 1, RR, Option 4, RR / Chris & Lotte'''
Stunning section, my favorite so far in terms of attractiveness to km ratio.
About Option 2: since I met Erwin last year already, I early on contacted him and told him we'd come by and stay for a night with them. This time Don Hector and Nery were at their house as well. They are truly lovely people, we shared a lot.of laughs and Don Hector gave us a big tour around the property and showed us, where they used to wash their clothes in the river 50 years ago.
They charge 5kCLP pp for passing. They didnt want more money for staying the night with them, we paid 15k anyways, as I paid it last year as well and it seems like a fair price for camping, water, hot shower.
Enrique (mentioned by Greg) does not seem to have the best reputation in the valley, one calling him a scammer. It might be a neighborhood feud, I couldn't tell for sure.
The path (RR-MR) is managed and maintained by the municipality. its strange, that both entrys to it are crossing private property.
Last year, the gates on Variant D werent locked as well. This time we didnt check.
Another point to mention is: two times loose dogs charged at us. The first time one and he only hopped the fence after we had passed his propeety, so he didnt charge us. The second time three very aggressive dogs charged at us, even before we were halfway of their property. the brown one was actively trying to attack us. We fenced them off with our poles, didnt let them circle us and fought our way past them. No owner in sight, noone reacted to our "hola"s. Be prepared.
Water is a struggle. Couldnt confirm the water sources indicated by others, but found one spring at 40.562851, 072.142571 which I didnt encounter last year. It seems simply not reliable. There is very very little snow left. Some rivers were dry, that were flourishing last year. Hot spring had visibly lower water level than usual and defenitly hotter than last year and smelled a bit like piss for some reason.
The river at 40.592226, 072.135329 should be marked in my opinion though. It seems quite resilient to draught.
Climbing the summit was easer than anticipated. It took us less than 2hrs up, 50min down. "Official" estimate is 2:30hrs up. Its not as gravel-ly as other volcanos and we defenitly recommend to take on this extra effort.
If you want to make the bus at 7:30am a suitable campspot with water somewhat closeby is at 40.624894, 072.149846 (near water 75.4).
The refugio was crowded (not even the weekend). We were 12 people, therefore we stayed in our tent. The others didnt bring tents as they intended only to stay the night and summit the next morning.
'''2026-01-24 to 2026-01-27 / 3.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Basti, Isi, Maija, Steff'''
We did Puyehue NOBO in-and-out to the geysers with a detour to the hotsprings due to missing knowledge about alternative routes and to leave our luggage at Santiago's.
Day 1: We took a bus from Puerto Montt to Entre Lagos and easily got a hitch to the intersection to Hotel Puyehue/Aguas Calientes. We did not get a hitch from there in one hour waiting, but got an offer from the resident in the first house after the intersection to drive us for 20.000$. We started hiking relatively late (16:00) and climbed the fence of Santiago's property and payed 15.000$ pp for the right to use the path. The restaurant is closed, but the campsite could be used for 5.000$ pp. We slept the first night at Refugio El Caulle after a steep but not too difficult ascent. No problems/encounters with mice inside the hut (saw one outside though) and no other people (Saturday night). Very basic plank beds without mattresses, but relatively tidy.
Day 2: We found sufficient water in multiple spots along RR -40.60257, 72.13280 (W1), -40.59183, -72.13529 (W2), -40.56460, -72.14192 (W3), -40.56294, -72.14272 (W4), but afterwards none anymore this day. W1 had more and cleaner water in the morning than W2, but more sediments in the evening on day 3. W4 was superior to W3 and marked by a red canister slightly up the river bed before vanishing underground. We climbed up to the crater from -40.57792, -72.13386 which was short but steep. We made camp at -40.49311, -72.15954 close to the geyser but up the slopes without finding water close by. Due to the humidity of the geyser, we had wet and a little icy tents in the morning.
Day 3: We did the hotsprings -40.46725, -72.20692, some 3kms after the end of the path in OSM, return and found great water at -40.48677, -72.17843 with a stream in the whole valley. We walked back on RR. We slept at -40.60240, -72.13383 which was nicely flat with water closeby (W1, lots of sediments in the evening). Nice star sky. In the night, the wind picked up and it got very dusty though.
Day 4: We climbed up to the crater again, this time the path from the refugio visible on OSM. Easier but more elevation. By the time we came back to the refugio at around 11/12, there were 3 people for the night. Hiked down to the street again and continued to the camping in Anticura for food. Nice restaurant and cheap camping, no store with nice waterfalls close by (possibility so swim).
We really enjoyed the hike! Gaitors would have been nice, the loose volcanic rocks are really tough on shoes and socks. We took the small (and only) early morning bus back to Osorno, around 7:30, stopping both in Anticura and at Santiago's.
'''2026-01-21 to 2026-01-23/ 3 days/ Hiking/ SOBO/ Option 2, RR, Variant D, Variant E, RR, Option 4, RR/ Greg Carter'''
Overall
Incredible volcanic terrain and vistas!
Attraction: 5
Difficulty: 3
Access on Variant D
I contacted (full name) Enrique Fernando Nuñez (+56 9 8817 1134) on WhatsApp to arrange access on Variant D. He asked me to come to his house in Riñinahue so he could give me a key, and said the access cost is CLP 10,000 per person. Unfortunately he lives almost 2km from the start of Option 2, here: -40.32940, -72.22500. I walked to his house, had a nice chat and found out that he manages the forest in the vicinity of the black gate (-40.42611, -72.11122) on Variant D. He showed me a video of where he hides the key for the gate. However when I arrived there the gate was not locked!
I suggest that if you want to arrange access you ask Enrique to meet you in Riñinahue town when you arrive, to avoid the hassle of a 4km round trip to his house.
Day 1
I hitched easily a few times, up to the new bridge under construction [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue). The RR from there is a tedious walk up a MR. On the way I found a spring flowing across the road: -40.39866, -72.09008. There is also a bridge with a flowing stream: -40.40579, -72.10656, and good flowing water in a gully: -40.40810, -72.11114.
At the intersection of the RR and Variant D I saw that the gate across the RR was locked, so considering that I had arranged access, I turned right up variant D. See the note above for access through the black gate. Not far beyond this is another gate, which was also open.
Needing water and curious about the availability of water I turned onto Variant E. I found a little stream at -40.42948, -72.11325.
I then rejoined the RR.
Day 2
This day was far more enjoyable and interesting, especially once above the treeline, with geysers, numerous lava fields, ridge walking and mountain views (despite low cloud for most of the day).
I encountered no water until the good flowing spring (previously noted) at -40.56313, -72.14318.
The next water encountered was at -40.59196, -72.13544, a good flowing stream.
I camped close to the next water [71.9/ 1610], where there is a large flat circular area: -40.60241, -72.13381. This is a good base camp for the summit climb.
Day 3
This day started with clear blue sky and no wind, perfect for the summit. The caldera was stunning, as were the 360 degree views to all the other peaks and volcanoes in the region. For me this bumped the attraction up to 5/5 from 4/5.
The walk out was easy but involved a lot of steep downhill sections. When I passed Santiago’s place I said I had paid Enrique, and was not asked for money. There is cellular coverage around Santiago’s place.
At the main road I hitched to the Chile/ Argentina border, intending to get to Bariloche. To my surprise the border officials wouldn’t let me through on foot unless I had arranged transport with someone with a vehicle. Only then could I get an exit stamp. I found a ride by hanging out in the car park and approaching people who looked the most likely to help.
''' GPT19/ 2026-1-5 to 2026-1-7/3 days/ SOBO/RR/Denis, Robert '''
The road from Lake Maihue is pretty easy going only thing is ford of river Hueinahue, it is wide but narrow no problem. After ford I would try to stay next to the river and go down stream and join the road lower instead of following trail. We had to jumped over two fences and go through some bush, but possible. Last water around 50 km.
Before the gate we first called Erwin +56 9 7306 4535 but he redirected us to Sra Nery Raddatz +56 9 9776 9352. After asking for permission he said that if we are not afraid of dogs we can jump over the fence and go up. We didn’t need to pay anything. The trail is bit overgrown after fence.
Next small stream we found here (-40.56274, -72.14291) and then proper water source at 71 km.
We hitchhiked to Entre Lagos from. Anticura it went pretty smooth busy traffic.
Difficulty 3/5
Attractiveness 4/5
*''' 2025.28.12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Var. D + H / Kris, Stiina and Bailey'''
We connected sections 19, 20 and 21 from Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue) to Port {21} [29.4/204] (El Callao) - 5 walking days in total.
Day 1 - We got a late 4pm lift with a friend to Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue), as mentioned earlier it is now a big construction site, seemed like a construction of a new bridge.
Two angry dogs and a cow with two calves right at the gate before Hector’s place where the RR continues. Even though dogs made a lot of noise nobody came out and we didn’t want to open and go through the gate because of the dogs and the cornered cow with the calves. So we turned to variant D and there was the new, black, freshly painted gate. The gaps between the babed wire on the side were generous enough so that we could get through without climbing the gate. 100m further there was another gate, older looking with signs prohibiting entrance and there being surveillance cameras. There was a phone nr to call but no phone signal, but there also was a gap between fence posts that one could squeeze through which we did.
Our initial plan was to rejoin the RR via variant E but we needed water and saw some potential water on satellite and also marked as water on the osm so we continued along variant D it also seemed to be joining back the RR later on and the distance was more or less the same.
And we found a big stream in a ravine with a road passing over it but the stream was 15m down in a canyon impossible to get to, however 30m further on: -40.43197, -72.11723 there was a very very small flowing stream that we managed to get water from.
As we walked on a car came towards us and stopped, a slightly agitated guy stepped out and immediately asked us how did we had managed to get through the gates. When we explained the situation he said it will cost us 10k CLP pp to go through here, since we were kind of trespassing and were caught we said we will pay no problem after which he softened up and became a lot friendlier. He is the owner of the land Enrique Nuñez and his phone nr is +56 988 171 134. He said that it is not a problem for people to pass through his property as long as they let him know and pay I guess - he put up the gate so that people with cars couldn’t pass. Also the road going through has been recently “maintained” and a 4x4 could get up it so he said if you come with a car he can also let you through. Afterwards he told us that we can camp wherever we want and told us about the wildlife cameras on the property that he has managed to capture different animals on, such as pumas and wild hogs. He also mentioned the termas and that there is a water somewhere nearby them, but we weren’t exactly sure where the thermas were, except for the coordinates provided by Peggy. He also said something about building or there being a refugio somewhere.
We camped here -40.44411, -72.12758 by some old storage shed with lots of empty motor oil containers inside. You can hear a stream nearby but we couldn’t find a way to get to it it’s still down in a canyon.
Day 2 - In the morning we wanted to find some more water for the day without going back to where we found it yesterday. Again I could see on the satellite image that there should be some further up along the variant D which there was here -40.44985, -72.11917 there is also a gully with water 100m before but with a bit more downclimbing over the logs.
The confusing part was this junction that isn’t mentioned along the variant D -40.44735, -72.12289. The main MR follows the OSM trail up to where there are the supposed termas, however the variant D traverses back to RR along a lesser traveled path. Since the potential water gullies that we saw on the sat were along the variant D we followed it instead of going up the road.
Once we rejoined the RR about 5km later there is another trail junction here -40.48121, -72.13715 where the OSM trail from variant D joins the RR. At the junction the OSM trail is marked with big blue markers on the trees and I would say if I was going NOBO that’s the trail I would take instead of the RR. I think the variants should be updated here and someone should double confirm about the exact location of the termas and whether there is drinking water nearby. According to Enrique the water is somewhere down on the right side.
The junction is where the two questionable water points are, Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] and the one a bit further but since we had enough and the waypoints were off trail somewhere we didn’t go to investigate.
The geyser/fumarole area you could smell from a distance, very cool area though as mentioned before don’t go too close the ground is kind of soft.
Overall the high volcanic plateau was very beautiful, especially the dark contrasting lava fields. And the walking was a bit tough going with a lot of small runnels and gullies carved by water that needed to be crossed, slanted ground, slippery because of small rocks on top of a packed soil making the ball bearing effect.
There was a snowmelt puddle here -40.50745, -72.17575 with enough snow around to keep it for at least a month a legit water point, also there was a possible campsite nearby.
The best water source that we found all day was here: -40.56294, -72.14272 it seemed like a spring since it was very cold and coming directly from the ground, not from a snowmelt above because there wasn’t any snow above.
After that travering the west side of Volcán Puyehue, pretty much every gully had water, but all of them were very silty in the late afternoon due to the snowmelt above.
When we got to Water {19} [71.9/1610] the water was also full of sediment. Bailey still went for the summit of Puyehue while me and Stiina felt a bit tired and took the variant H and descended to the Refugio El Caulle, which is where we all camped for the night. No water in the ditch below the refugio but there was a very small stream in a gully below the trail about 600m before the refugio.
The refugio itself was decent, not too much trash in or around, in bad weather definitely a good place for an overnight. Dry toilet about 100m from the refugio down towards the gully, the toilet was also pretty clean.
Day 3 - Though the morning was sunny clouds started rolling in while we were getting ready. Bailey already took off around 7:00 in the morning because he had a bus to catch from Entre Lagos to Bariloche in the evening, we just said goodbye and kept snoozing.
For my morning knees the trail felt pretty steep going down at first but once they warmed up it got better, good trail overall and the water was where it’s marked.
A woman came out from El Caulle asked about our plans we told her that we are heading to Anticura and also that we already paid on the other side of volcano to Enrique, she said all good and we could pass without paying anything. We saw Tia Olivia’s place, there was a sign about bread and empanadas but we didn’t go there, we went straight to the restaurant which is at the end of variant B (section 20). We got there by 11 and the restaurant was still closed. The chef inside said they need to still prep some food and they will open in half an hour so we waited because we wanted to have lunch there.
Nice place, the young waitress working there had only her third day on the job and was quite overwhelmed and appeared a bit clueless about everything and everything understandably took her very long time especially once other people started arriving so we spent there a lot more time than we intended, I hope she is a quick learner. (Only mentioning it in case you plan to stop there for a quick lunch, to take into account that it might take a bit longer).
Overall it seemed like a popular place for all the car tourists passing by coming to and from Bariloche. The road had very decent traffic and I think getting a hitch should be relatively easy going either way. Quite a few big trucks though so the road walk wasn’t the nicest.
After the lunch we went back to the junction and across the road started the section 20 via variant A.
(Continued in Section 20)
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
* ''2025-12-15 to 2025-12-18 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR (Variant D), OH4 (up and down), OH1 / Nimrod + Shai + Shmuel + Shay''
==Season 2024/25==
31-MAR-2025 to 06-APR-2025 / 7 days / hiking / NOBO / RR, Variant B / Ben, Stephanie
Route from Licán to Rupameica Bajo on Lago Maihue and then to Caicayén across the spectacular Volcán Puyehue, lava flows, geysers
Several people have cabanas on offer in Caicayen; just walk the highway and you will see the signs
* '''2025-03-10 to 2025-03-16 / 6 Days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + 2A / Tim + Magdalena'''