My vacations in Panguipulli

      12 Comments on My vacations in Panguipulli

Hello everybody!! I’m back from my short vacations, so I want to share a bit of that with you all now that work isn’t still fully loaded and I have some time to write and edit photos.

I posted a lot of stories and photos on my personal Instagram if you are interested to complement this post, but I think this would be more extensive.

This is my second time visiting Valdivia and Panguipulli, but my first time posting about it here. I was on a doll break last time, but now I’m glad to say I bring Licca with me so there will be a second post about this trip, all about her photos.

We flew to Valdivia first, it’s an hour and 15 minutes flight from my city (8 hours or so by bus!) and we didn’t have much planned for that day except eating something in Valdivia (which we ended up not having time to do) and then take a bus to Panguipulli, the place we would be staying.

A bit of info about it from wikipedia: Panguipulli (Mapudungun for “hill of the puma”) is a city in Valdivia Province. Panguipulli is located on the western edge of Panguipulli Lake, and is on a moraine in the Chilean Central Valley. Most of the commune lies on Andean mountains and valleys.

Calafquén lake

That means a lot of walking uphill, yes haha. We got there on a Sunday and everything was closed so we had to eat whatever we could find. The owners of the Hostel we stayed in offered to take us to Calafquén lake to go for a swim and spend the afternoon there. We went to a very hidden and hard to reach place of the lake so there were only a few people around. This was also my first time swimming on a lake! I’m a very much city person and it has only been a few years since I started to make this kind of trips, so I was glad to start our vacations with something new.

The water was super cold.

Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve

Next day we repeated a stop we made the previous year: Huilo Huilo. Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve is a private for profit natural reserve and ecotourism project in southern Chile. The reserve was created in 1999 and includes 600 km2 (232 sq mi) of native forest in Chile dedicated to wildlife conservation and tourism.

We were hoping to see all the places we have already seen last year, but time was against us, since the last bus to Panguipulli passed at 5pm (and we managed to miss it anyways so we had to hire a transfer). We went to the Deer forest, which is a piece of the Reserve where they raise deer. It’s a forest with a walkway that’s higher so you can see the deer from up top and not disturb them. Best hours to see the deer are 10am and 4pm which are the times they are fed. We got there a bit late so we didn’t manage to see that many, but no worries, I’ll show you some photos from last year where we saw plenty of them.

After the deer path is over you can also check a Museum and also a second path where you can see some boars.

Still in Huilo Huilo we walked through another part of the Reserve to see Salto La Leona (The lioness waterfall I think?). It is a short walk through the forest where you get to a viewpoint were you can see the water.

Not sure if you can see 2 girls in the photo. No idea how they got there, but that was stupid and dangerous and also forbidden.

In the same place of the Reserve, there’s a longer path called “Sendero de los espíritus” (The path of the spirits), which is full of wood statues about Mapuche’s religion, one of our aborigen cultures.

Me at the entrance of the pathway.
The path is clearly marked by a wood runway so it’s easy to follow.
Before you reach the end of the path, you are rewarded with this view.

Panguipulli

The next day one of our friends was sick so She stayed up in the Hostel and we stayed in Panguipulli to walk around the city and buy stuff to get back home.

Botánica gourmet is a store that specializes in tea made in Villarrica. I was really excited for this stop.

La Fama’s Menu.

La Fama is a bakery that specializes in unique cake flavors. I have to admit they are the best cakes I’ve ever eaten and we went there EVERY DAY. Between my friend’s picks and mine I believe I tried most cakes! And they were very well priced. Around 3.75 USD a big piece of cake.

The cultural house of Panguipulli behind the church showcases ceramic work crafted by locals based in old aborigen cultures. They also sell smaller vases with the same themes, but I’m kind of clumsy so I didn’t bring any home. They were gorgeous though.

We ended the day taking doll photos in front of San Sebastian church. But those photos will have to wait for next time. For now, have a few photos of me trying to capture the perfect angle of Licca chan.

San Sebastian church on the background.

Villarrica National Park

Fourth day we went to Villarrica National Park. The main entrance is actually in Pucón, in another region, but a good amount of the Park was actually near Coñaripe, a town an hour away from Panguipulli. There’s no public buses to the Park so hiring a transfer is mandatory (or having your own car, but the road is very curvy). We were lucky to find a transfer for a decent price at short’s notice. It was just Carmen and I again, as the third person was still sick. We decided to pay extra for the transfer to take us back to Panguipulli at 6pm, which is the time the Park closes so we could do the longest route that leads you to Pichillancahue’s glacier.

To reach Pichillancahue’s glacier you first have to walk through a forest filled with Araucarias (the tall trees in the photos). After that you need to cross a river (no bridge to cross, it was a scary adventure) and climb hills filled with volcanic stones until you reach the glacier. In the background behind the glacier you can see Villarrica’s volcano.

Once you reach the arid hills there’s not many signs to tell that you are on the right path to reach the glacier. I was very happy when we saw this sign since we were surrounded by nothing but hills.

In person the soil is much darker since it was volcanic stone,
Me when we finally reached the glacier.

It took us 3 hours to get up there, but we also took our sweet time taking photos (doll and non doll photos) as well as finding a safe place to cross the river.

Villarrica’s volcano

After resting a bit and taking photos we went back down. It took us much less time to reach the Park’s entrance. I was so very glad to see the Araucaria trees again.

Not sure what plant was this, but look! pink!

Termas geométricas

Fifth day was for resting as it was our last full day of vacations. Close to Coñaripe there’s a lot of hot springs that offer hot water pools and relaxation. We went to the most famous ones called Termas Geométricas (Geometric hot springs). There’s different pools made of stone over a pathway with different temperatures, the lowest being 36º Celsius and going up to well over 40º Celsius. We got there at 12pm and stayed up to 3pm. The Hot springs are open all day until 11pm so you can enjoy the night sky while there too. They are open all year (and in winter is filled with snow) and even though the entrance ticket is a bit pricey, you can stay all day long or even go out and eat in town and come back later. Since we had to yet again hire a transfer to reach the hot springs, we just stayed until 3pm and went back to Panguipulli after having lunch in Coñaripe.

The view at the top of the hot springs and where the path ends.

We bathe in 38º C first, then went up to 40º C, back to 38º C and ended up in the coldest one before dressing up again. We didn’t dare going up in temperature as 40º C was already quite hot. It was very enjoyable and my feet were super thankful of the resting time after so many days walking non stop.

Valdivia

Last day we went to Valdivia to eat empanadas and walk around. We heard of another great tea store here so we went to check it out too. I got to say, I bought A LOT of tea in total.

They also had great vegan sweet treats.

In total I came home with 6 different types of tea between both stores (I bought other as gift too, but mine were 6), cocoa shell for infusions (from a different store), garlic from Chiloé Island (it has a softer flavor but it’s bigger in size) and also dry maqui, a chilean berry. Last two things were bought in Valdivia’s farmer’s market. I also bought a hand crafted wooden spoon for cooking so yeah, it was all food and things I could use.

So what do you think? Would you visit Chile? I hope I can show you more of my country in the future.

Next post will be all doll photos from the trip.

12 thoughts on “My vacations in Panguipulli

  1. Sharon in Spain

    What a great post, thank you for sharing your holiday with us. I definitely would visit Chile, but it’s such a long way away from Spain, but at least I could speak the language 😉
    I thought the hot springs would be wonderful, and the scenery, very attractive….it certainly looks like you had a good time. I look forward to seeing your doll photos too.
    Hugs Sharon xx

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      I feel all doll collectors I know are in another continent hahaha. I hate flights and an hour for me it’s quite the journey, but I’d love to go to Europe one day. For now I’m happy I get to know my own country once a year. The hot springs were marvelous, we didn’t take many photos because we were surrounded by hot water so taking cellphones and cameras was kind of risky hehe.
      I’m posting doll photos over on Instagram for now, but a dedicated post will come up at the end of this week or the beginning of the next.
      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Alasse Carnesir

    Thank you for sharing your travel photos. As you know, I love to see things like this. You have such beautiful places over there and that trek up to the glacier sounded like it was quite the adventure. The crossing the river part would have scared me too. I’m surprised there wasn’t signs to guide the walkers through the safest section of the river to cross! I’m not sure if I would be fit enough to do the trek though! 3 hours of walking would probably have me fainting after 1 hour!!

    It’s neat that you can get so close to the deers. I’ve never seen one in person only in photos. It would be an experience for sure. And those robot like sculptures, the first thing that came to mind when I saw that was, “Oh My God, it’s the Daleks from Doctor Who!!!”

    The pink plants look like they could be fruits. I’m curious what they are too. The photos of you trying to get a good shot of your doll, it’s all too familiar as I’ve done plenty of that and even weirder, wackier poses to try and get a good shot of my dolls. You almost have to be a gymnast to take photos of the dolls!!

    It sounds like it was a nice rejuvenating break for you. Those kind of breaks are always good for the soul!

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      No problem at all, I’m glad to show a bit of my side of the world for once. The river wasn’t too deep to be honest, but I get scared so very easy. I imagine doing that trek on winter must be super hard! But in summer I’m sure you would have been able to do it, even if you had to take breaks now and then 🙂 The terrain isn’t very inclined most of the time. There was some red signs every kilometer or so I’d say, but sometimes the path wouldn’t be obvious so you would start to worry if you are going to find the next red sign or not. I believe a lot of people go there with guides too, but we only encountered people going in pairs or even alone!! There was a guy doing the trek with his little girl, she even had her own trekking stick?? (idk the word haha). I get the feeling that they don’t add more signs so people feel like they are truly exploring untouched nature.
      I’m not sure about daleks, but I thought they looked like robots too!!! Not sure if they represent man and woman or something else. There were also giant turtles and mapuche gods in other parts of the trail.
      I’m always doing weird poses to take the perfect doll photo!! This time it was very tame hahaha, my friend was taking those shots without me knowing, so sneaky!
      It was a great trip, thanks!

      Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      I totally did~! The ceramics were incredible!! Behind the store that sold them there was a workshop where some ladies were doing the ceramics, it was very interesting! They are based on aborigen cultures from my country, but I feel it’s very common for old cultures to make humanoid vases or animal ones too, they do resemble pomeranian ones! I can see what you mean, and what a gorgeous piece of history! Thanks for sharing it with me

      Reply
  3. Kamelia

    OMG, that is an amazing post! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful journey with us. Chile is a place that is on the other side of the world for me and I will rather never visit it (but well, never say never – right?). So this is even more intresting for me. I just love photos with the glacier – they are truly gorgeous.
    Thank you once again!
    I’m waiting for dolly photos! 😀

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      Aw even if you don’t come to Chile I hope you keep having adventures in your life!! I loved seeing your trip to Paris!!! I hate planes, but I’m willing to take one if I ever can afford to go there 🙂
      The glacier was stunning, I hope someday I can go in winter, so I can see it surrounded by snow, I’ve seen photos and it’s truly amazing!!! Bad thing would be crossing that river again though, not sure if I would manage again~

      Reply
  4. Xanadu

    Hi Alejandra! What a super post, you know how I love posts like this, I felt like I was on vacation with you. The scenery is very similar to ours, but so is your climate, so I guess that should be expected. I love those tall trees and the waterfalls. Thank you so much for sharing your trip, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
    Big hugs,
    X

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!!! It was amazing to be there too :)! Australia is such a pretty country too, hope you keep sharing some photos on your blog as well, I always enjoy it!

      Reply
  5. Niina

    I would absolutely visit Chile! And take some tea with me! It is so beautiful over there and the nature is so different. Those berries remind me of lingonberry and blueberry, like a combo in some way. Have never seen berries like that, but hey, they are pink! I enjoyed these photos a lot and it was lovely to see you too! 🙂 Thank you for sharing! <3

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      I think they weren’t totally mature, south of Chile has a ton of berries that I haven’t tasted yet! I did bring maqui with me, which is a purple berry and it’s delicious! My friend bought a few jams made of different berries. They also sell rose hip jam, since rose hip farming is huge in Chile.
      And the teas are delicious, I got some rooibos infusion with dried maqui hahaha, gotta bring the south flavors back home right?
      Thanks for your nice words!

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Fantasywoods Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *