Puerto Octay

Puerto Octay was founded in the 1850s at the northern end of Lake Llanquihue and was the first of the German colonist settlements on the lake, functioning as the port through which goods moved before roads existed - everything came up the lake by boat. Timber houses from that period stand along the streets and around the shore, several of them restored, with a small museum in one. The Centinela peninsula juts into the lake below the village with Osorno directly across the water, and the northern shore is much quieter than the developed southern side around Puerto Varas and Frutillar.

History

Puerto Octay goes back to the German settlement of southern Chile driven by Bernhard Philippi in 1852. Around 1860 the settler Cristino Ochs opened a mill, a distillery and a well-stocked store here, and the saying "Donde Ochs hay", there is Ochs, is said to have turned into the name Octay; steamships linked the town with Puerto Varas, Llanquihue and Frutillar, it became a municipality on 22 December 1891, and it was an important port until the railway came in 1912 (Wikipedia, Puerto Octay).

Highlights

• The first German settlement on the lake - founded in the 1850s.
• A port before there were roads - goods moving by boat up the lake.
• Restored colonist timber houses - along the streets and shore.
• The Centinela peninsula - with Osorno directly opposite.

When to go

December to March. Half a day.

Before you go

The village is small and quiet, and much of it closes outside summer. The volcano view depends on cloud, which is often. The museum keeps limited hours. Services are modest compared with Puerto Varas.

Nearby

Frutillar is south round the lake; Osorno is north.

Key facts