Travel to Los Lagos

skiing and snowboarding May-Sep

Set around 1000 km south of Santiago and 1500 km north of Patagonia, Los Lagos is the lake district of Chile.

This temperate region is certainly one of the most beautiful parts of the country, with rich farmland and beautiful lakes, leading up with lush forests, topped off by stunning snow-capped volcanoes.

Many people will be struck by the similarity that this area has to parts of North America and, particularly, to Switzerland. This similarity is amplified by the fact that the area was largely settled by German immigrants and features classic Bavarian architecture both in the towns and the countryside.

The area offers a huge range of Alpine activities, with lots of hiking, biking and boating during the summer, skiing, snowboarding and dog-sledding during the winter.

The area also has an unusually strong native culture. The local Mapuche tribe is famed for having successfully driven off the advances of both the Inca and the Spanish. These people retain a powerful sense of identity to this day.

Although a few dedicated travellers allocate a week or more to this region, combining perhaps two or three lodges, the vast majority of visitors fly in from Santiago and stay 3-5 nights in just one lodge.

As well as the direct flight connections with Santiago, it’s possible to fly directly down to Patagonia from here, so the area can easily be included in a wider exploration of the country. There is also an interesting lake route through the mountains to Argentina, if you want to weave your way southwards.

The best time to visit Los Lagos is very much dependent on whether you are looking to do summer or winter activities.

The vast majority of overseas travellers visit during the Oct-Apr warm dry summer season, since this is the best time to visit most other parts of the country.

During the Oct-Apr summer season the conditions are usually relatively warm. Average daytime temperatures usually reach around 20C/68F, with the nighttime holding up around 12C/54F. Rainfall remains relatively high, at around 100mm/4” per month. Sunshine is up around 7 hours per day, peaking in Nov-Dec.

Those travellers who want to go skiing, snowboarding and other such activities tend to visit during the May-Sep winter season. Since the skiing here is not generally considered to be good enough to attract people from around the world, most visitors at this time are from Chile and other neighbouring countries.

During the May-Sep winter season the weather is usually cold and wet/snowy. Average daytime temperatures usually manage to reach around 12C/65F, with nighttime lows dropping to around 5C/41F and with occasional frosts on low ground and heavy snow cover at higher altitudes. Sunshine drops dramatically to around 2 hours per day, even lower in June.

Getting there

The Los Lagos area is typically accessed by air from Santiago.

If you are heading for the more northerly Villarrica area, then you can fly into the nearby airport at Temuco. If you are heading to the Puerto Varas or Isla Chiloe, then you can fly into the larger airport at Puerto Montt.

If you want to connect southwards then there are two options …

The first is to fly from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas, from where Torres del Paine National Park and other key parts of Patagonia can be accessed.

The second is to use the famous Lake Crossing to reach Bariloche in Argentina, from where you can fly on down to Los Glaciares National Park, before recrossing the border into Chile and the fabulous Torres del Paine.

Where to stay

Hopefully by now you are starting to get some idea of the areas that you might like to visit in this Los Lagos region. Use this link to investigate the various accommodation options in more detail

Machu Picchu and skiing