Mountain Guides
Ascent Puyehue Volcano
Walk through the crater of an active volcano with incredible views of the Andes mountain range. A demanding challenge walking through the Valdivian Forest and spending the night in a refuge immersed in the forest.
Physical difficulty: High
Technical difficulty: Low in summer / High in winter
Dates: All year
Route (round trip): 24 km. approx. (total)
Elevation gain: + 1,900 m.
Duration: 2 or 3 days
Departure: From Bariloche or Villa La Angostura
Points of interest: Refuge "El Caulle", Summit and Crater, Mount Tronador Viewpoint, International Landmark.
Optional: If you want to experience a little more, I recommend you spend an additional night in Chile and combine it with another trekking in the area.
To reach the start of the trail we must cross the mountain range towards Chile and complete paperwork at Migraciones Argentina. The delay varies. In summer, avoid weekends as there is usually a lot of traffic to the neighboring country.
We will depart from Bariloche towards the Cardenal Samoré International Pass where we will complete the immigration procedures and continue along the international route. We will cross the Pantojo River, which is born in the Pantojo Python and runs through the Dora and Santa Ana Waterfalls and a few kilometers later we will enter the beautiful Chilean National Park called Puyehue.
Puyehue comes from the Mapuche "puye hue" "place of puyes (fish)". It is an active volcano of the stratovolcano type and collapsed cone, 2240 m. located in the Andes mountain range, in the Los Ríos Region, Chile, a few kilometers from our Nahuel Huapi National Park.
The trail starts at the El Caulle farm within the Valdivian jungle with income from the Patagonian Andean forest that increases as we gain height. At 1,400 m. is the refuge where we will spend the night and take the opportunity to rest and prepare the backpack for the next day.
The second day starts at dawn with the first rays of sun with the lightest backpack. The trail in its first part is in the middle of high pastures and in the final part the environment becomes high mountain with rocky sectors and snow according to the date we ascend.
Truncated in shape and with a crater more than 2 kilometers in diameter at its summit, Puyehue offers one of the most complete and accessible volcanic experiences in the region.
The arrival at the summit is indescribable, a 360° view of the interior of the volcanic crater and of the entire Cordillera. After enjoying the place, we begin the descent to the refuge and from there to the beginning of the trail. From the farm we still have to return to the border and enter Argentina to go to Bariloche.
On its slopes it is common to see steam fumaroles, geysers, lava flows of different colors, and the traces of the recent eruption in 2011, in which its ashes covered Villa La Angostura (as we can see if we walk through Refuge Dormilón or waterfalls Dora and Santa Ana).
From its summit, the predominant view is towards the main crater, Lake Puyehue, Ranco, the Casa Blanca volcano and Pantojo hill on the border with Argentina. Undoubtedly one of the best classic mountaineering experiences in southern Chile.
An incredible experience that we must know if we love the mountains. Once this ascent is completed, you can combine it with another one in Chile or take some time to relax in a Thermal Complex in the area.
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