The city of Pucon in Southern Chile offers one of the most dramatic vistas in the world and has a location like no other in Chile or South America that enables it to offer a range of activities that are hard to rival. Situated at the edge of a lake it must be one of the only places in the world where you can lie on a beach in the sun whilst looking up at a snow capped, live volcano with a plume of smoke rising from its crater.

The volcano of Villarrica towers over the city of Pucon and creates one of the most dramatic vistas in the world. It also adds to the vast range of activities that can be done in this impressive region, including: white water rafting, kayaking, thermal baths, water skiing, snow skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding , fishing and of course guided volcano trekking and helicopter trips over the volcano.

Due to the vast range of activities it enjoys tourism throughout the year and has a great range of hotels to choose from, one of my favourites is the Gran Pucon Resort and Club Hotel especially their thermal swimming pool.

No trip to Pucon is complete without a journey up to the Villarrica volcano and there are lots of guides that will take you up and supply all the equipment you require. Sadly if there is increased seismic activity or bad weather then it may not be possible to visit the volcano but as this is unpredictable and hopefully short lived, it is always worth coming as it is likely that within a 5 day period at least one day will be good volcano trekking.

Typically you will be supplied with guides, boots, crampons, ice axe, windbreaker, glasses, gloves and backpack. The climb itself is physically exerting, the slope averages between 25 and 35 degrees and you will be going over snow and ice so be prepared to fall over occasionally. Normally the ascent takes around 6 hours, getting down is substantially quicker as you slide on your bottom through the snow using your axe as a rudder to help you stop and steer, it is therefore not a great idea to wear jeans as they will become drenched and uncomfortable and take a long time to dry out.

The view from the top can only be described as awesome and it is possible to view the other volcanoes in the area. Worthy of note and from bitter experience I can tell you that accidentally breathing in the smoke leaving the crater will leave you choking and coughing for quite some time and whilst this is not always avoidable, as it does tend to whip around, it is best to try to avoid it. There is only really one place that you can view the lava itself but at times of increased activity the lava will rise, making it easier to see if you are allowed up the volcano to view it that is. In no way will this detract from taking the trip as the feeling of getting to the top gives a great sense of achievement and the whole trip is a lot of fun especially coming down.

Pucon is 790 km south of Santiago the capital of Chile and can easily be reached by bus from here or from Concepcion. From Santiago this takes about 9 hours and there are busses everyday but the night busses offer a lot more comfort . It is also possible to reach Pucon from Argentina and busses leave most days depending on weather conditions. Pucon also has its own airport but flights to here, Monday, Friday and Sunday, (only available in the summer) are expensive.