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Vilcún (Vilcun)

Vilcún (Vilcun) is on the Ruta Interlagos to the Llaima Volcano and Conguillio National Park in the South of Chile.
If you are looking for the quiet life, Vilcún has plenty of it. Small, sleepy, but not really off the beaten path. Vilcún is one of those small gateway communities to some of the greatest natural attractions in the South of Chile. Located 38 Km northeast of Temuco, it takes about a 45 min by car or 1 hours by bus to reach Vilcún. From Vilcún, you can reach the Llaima Volcano and Conguillio National Park in another 30-45 min drive. This makes Vilcún a perfect place to stay when skiing on the Volcano or exploring the National Park.
	Vilcún proper has a classic colonial layout to the city. The Central park is surrounded by most of the municipal facilities including town hall, police station, and fire department along with stores and restaurants. Just off the Central park, is the Tourism Office. However, like in most small town, asking anyone will yield just as much information as the official tourism office. Many of the local business also carry fliers and maps of the area.
Skiing Llaima Llaima Volcano Statistics 38.69 S, 71.72 W summit elevation 3.125 m / 10,253 ft. Active volcano smoking constantly. Ash emissions were observed in November 1999. The biggest eruption was recorded in 1957. Covered with snow all year. The glacier covers 14 km. Just 32 Km. from the Llaima Volcano and Conguillio National Park. The ski center on the volcano apparently is, according to a tourism official from the competing town Pucón, one of the best in the region and probably in all Southern Chile. We were at the time asking how it compared to the Villarica Ski center near Pucón (what she was suppose to be promoting) after spotting an unnamed ski area at a higher elevation on our map. It turned out to be Llaima. Let us just say, it was clear she thought that Llaima has superior skiing. We had similar response from an owner of a local ski rental shop in central Pucón. Apart from its fans at the tourism office in Pucón, the Llaima Volcano gets little promotion. Pucón may have a lot of things that Vilcún lacks. However, Vilcún has much easier access to the Llaima Ski Center. From Vilcún you can get to Llaima taking the paved road to Cherquenco. From Cherquenco you take a dirt road about 22 km Up to the Araucarias Ski Center. There are daily buses from Vilcún on Nar-bus and Er-Buc companies to the Volcano. Check the time schedule for seasonal changes. The crater is about 350 m in diameter. If you make it to the top, you will get an excellent view of the valley including the volcanoes Lonquimay, Tolhuaca, Sierra Nevada, Callaqui abd Copahue, Villarrica, Lanín, Quetrupillán, and Choshuenco. Getting there to enjoy the view is probably one of the biggest challenges. Trekking one of the most active volcanoes in South America is definitively something to tell your grandchildren about. Conguillio National Park and the “Ruta Interlagos” or Inter-lakes Network The Conguillio National Park Surrounds the Llaima Volcano. This is a spectacular natural wonder with crystal blue and green lakes that you can see over 30 meters to the bottom. The park has a well maintained tourism infrastructure. There are several private campgrounds and cabins for rent inside or on the edge of the park. One of the many infrastructure projects the Chilean Government has been investing in to celebrate 200 years of Chilien independence is the “Ruta Interlagos”. This road will connect all the major lakes in the area, covering IX and X Regions of Southern Chile. Some of the places it connects are: Inspector Fernández, Curacautín, Charquenco, Cunco, Villarrica, Lican-Ray in the Araucanía Region, and Coñaripe, Panguipulli, Ñancul, Folilco, Futrono, Lago ranco, Crucero, Entrelagos, Nochaco, Las Cascadas, Ensenada, and Puerto Chico.

Eco-tourism
There are two major Eco-tourist routes in this plan. One is called the “Tramo Ecológico”, or ecological path, covering the protected natural areas of Tolhuaca y Conguillio. The other, known as the “Tramo Lacustre” or the lakes path connects 9 of the greatest lakes in Southern Chile (i.e. Colico, Villarrica, Calafquén, Panguipulli, Riñihue, Ranco, Puyehue, Rupanco and Llanquihue).

This network of roads was created to promote tourism in the area and to benefit the little communities off the major highways, and traditionally neglected by the tourism industry in the region. This is not one road, but a network of roads made up of 10 scenic loops and 9 main roads.

Tourism Agencies and Tourist Information ( 4 items )
Hotels and Places to Stay ( 2 items )

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