Our first stop on our tour was a lookout spot over the blue waters of Lago Llanquihue with Volcan Osorno in the distance. Then we drove on to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park and it’s most famous sight: the Petrohue Falls
Petrohué Falls are not that tall, but they were quick and powerful. It’s easy to see why people take hundreds of photos of the falls flowing over the dark volcanic rock and into beautiful crystal clear river water.
After spending some time walking along the pathways and across the bridges and snapping numerous photos from many viewpoints, it was easy to see why the natural beauty of Petrohue Falls is one of the most popular sites in the world. Although it was not easy to choose just one, my favorite view and photo included both Petrohue Falls and the Osorno Volcano. The white snow on top of the volcano along with the white rapids contrasted beautifully with the lush green trees, blue river waters and black volcanic rock. It was perfect.
We stopped for lunch in the lakeside town of Puerto Varas. The picture-perfect town of Puerto Varas was built by a community of German immigrants. Our guide was from Germany and loves living in Chile.
There is a sculpture on the shore that represents the Princess Licarayen. As the story goes she was sacrificed by her tribe to calm the frequent strong earthquakes and violent eruptions of the volcano Osorno. As she was dropped into the volcano snow started falling and melting around the volcano, creating the 3 lakes of the region, Llaquihue included.
We then drove another town on Lake Llanquihue. Frutillar was so charming and felt like being in a German fairy tale. We walked along the clean and tidy streets surrounded by gardens of roses and hydranges .
It had some beautiful houses that were an interesting combination of architecture from the South of Chile with German. I loved how these rows of diagonal windows were built inthis house. I’m thinking they were placed along staircases.
The Teatro del Lago is a magnificent lakeside concert hall which host international orchestras and artists. The town is famous for being the music city of Chile.
Besides the cute wooden houses around town, one of the highlights of Frutillar was its wooden pier. You can’t help but stroll to the end and get yet another fantastic view of the lake and the distant Osorno Volcano.
This region of Chile is beyond beautiful and definitely a place to spend more time. The heavy German influence made me feel right at home including the delicious kuchen or German cake topped off a perfect day. My German grandmother would have loved it.
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