Lake Llanquihue

Llanquihue covers around 870 square kilometres, which makes it the second largest lake in Chile after General Carrera, and it was formed by glaciers coming off the Andes during the ice ages, dammed by moraine at its western end. Osorno stands on its eastern shore with Calbuco behind, so the standard image of the Chilean lake district is taken from somewhere on this water. The German colonisation of the 1850s went in around it, and the towns on its shores - Puerto Varas, Frutillar, Puerto Octay, Llanquihue - all date from that programme. The circuit road round the lake is about 180 kilometres.

Background

Llanquihue covers about 871 square kilometres in the Llanquihue and Osorno provinces of Los Lagos, second in Chile only to General Carrera, which Chile shares with Argentina. It is 40 kilometres long and 32 wide, reaches 317 metres at its deepest and lies 51 metres above sea level, with a shoreline of 197 kilometres. Its fan shape was carved by successive piedmont glaciers in the Quaternary, and Chilean geologists named the last glacial period the Llanquihue glaciation after the moraines around it. Some historians place the lake within the range of the ancient Chono nomads.

Source: Wikipedia, "Llanquihue Lake"

What you'll find

• The second largest lake in Chile - about 870 square kilometres.
• Osorno and Calbuco above it - the two cones on the eastern side.
• A ring of colonist towns - all from the 1850s settlement scheme.
• A circuit of about 180 kilometres - the road round the shore.

When to go

December to March. A full day to drive the circuit.

Before you go

The volcanoes are hidden by cloud a great deal of the time. The water is cold for swimming. The western side is close to route 5 and busier. Rain is frequent in every season.

Nearby

Puerto Varas is on the southern shore; Osorno volcano is east.

Key facts