Cruce de Lagos
Before I left to come south my host mom told me a millon times that I had to go to Lago Todos los Santos. When I arrived I found out that the only way to go there is on a tour bus, and there's only one company that has a boat to cross the lake. Since I had been told to go I bought into the monopoly and purchased a day excursion (for details see the review). Unfortunately it was very cloudy and rainy the whole trip, which didn't lead to great views. I could definitely tell that when it's clear it would be spectacular. The lake is surrounded by 3 volcanoes and tons of mountains, which is a setting very different from any place I've travelled before.
After crossing the lake the boat arrived in Peulla, which is a town that exists for the tourists that come from Puerto Montt/Puerto Varas, cross the lake and either return or go on to Bariloche. We spent about 4 hour in Peulla during which time I hiked the small trails they had made to entertain passengers for the few hours they spend in Peulla. When 4 pm came I was quite happy to get back on the boat and go back to Puerto Varas.
1. Leave Puerto Varas or Puerto Montt in the morning and drive around the south end of Lago Llanquihue until you reach the Saltos de Petrohué.
2. Walk around for about 30 minutes at the Saltos and then get back on the bus to go to Petrohué.
3. Board the catamaran in Petrohué and start the 90 minute trip to Peulla.
4. Arrive in Peulla and eat in the only restaurant there and either check in to the hotel, catch a bus to Bariloche, or hang out until it's time to catch the boat back.
5. Go back to your hotel doing the reverse trip.
Because this is the only company each trip has about 200 people, which means that the guides don't tell you a lot about the area or geographical formations because 200 people on a catamaran aren't going to listen. My recommendation is that if you want to do this trip and have flexibility make sure you go on a sunny day, because I didn't find it worth 25.000 pesos to cross a lake when I couldn't see much and then arrive in a town that only exists for tourists.
