Lago Ranco

Lago Ranco covers around 400 square kilometres and holds a scatter of islands, the largest being Huapi, which has a Mapuche Huilliche community on it reached by a small ferry. The lake sits below the Andes with Puyehue and Casablanca visible on a clear day, and the circuit road around it - about a hundred kilometres, part paved and part gravel - passes small settlements, the Nilahue falls at its eastern end, and stretches of native forest. It is markedly less developed than Llanquihue or Villarrica, which is the reason to go, though holiday building on the shore has been increasing.

History

The Ranco basin has been Huilliche country since ancient times: the communities around Lake Ranco and Lake Maihue, joined by the Calcurrupe River, lived by gathering, hunting, fishing, livestock and early farming, and the names they gave, such as Huapi, Calcurrupe, Llifén and Riñinahue, are still in use. In colonial times the area stayed outside Spanish settlement apart from Jesuit missions sent from the forts of Quinchilca and San José de Alcudia; Bernardo Philippi mapped the province of Valdivia in 1846, and the first colonists reached the western shore of the lake in the late 19th century (Wikipedia, Lago Ranco, Chile).

Highlights

• A lake of about 400 square kilometres - with a scatter of islands.
• Huapi island - with a Huilliche community, reached by ferry.
• A circuit road of about a hundred kilometres - part paved, part gravel.
• The Nilahue falls - at the eastern end of the lake.

When to go

December to March. A full day for the circuit.

What to expect

Parts of the circuit are gravel and slow. Services around the lake are limited and seasonal. Rain is frequent. The islands need boats and the ferry to Huapi runs to a local schedule.

Nearby

Futrono is on the northern shore; Puyehue park is south-east.