n the centre of Chile is what is known as the Small South, there is an area of lakes that is one of the most beautiful regions of the South American Andes and in which the primeval power of the landscape has an almost mystical fascination.
The Mapuche Indians once inhabited this wilderness but they were forced to abandon the region with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores.
Around twenty thousand German immigrants travelled to the region between 1846 and the First World War. They discovered a landscape similar to that of Central Europe but instead of the Alps it was volcanoes that greeted them from the opposite side of the lake.
A journey by catamaran travels to a remote area in which the untouched natural landscape is quite remarkable. The main interest of those on board lies in the volcanoes that appear beyond the hills and are enthusiastically photographed at every opportunity.
Melting ice from the Osorno Volcano flows into the Rio Petrohué. Light blue, crystal clear mountain water flows at high speed across a field of lava, and rocks in the riverbed force the water to change direction. Foaming and roaring it travels in various directions but always towards the lake.
Between Puerto Octay in the north and Puerto Varas in the south it measures almost fifty kilometres and behaves like a small ocean.
This region of Chile enchants with its nature, remoteness, climate and many captivating lakes. Indeed, this land of the araucaria, volcanoes and lakes, is a paradise found!