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In March 2019 my colleagues I had a chance to visit Santiago de Chile as part of the business trip to Chile and Colombia,and as soon as there was one free weekend between workshops, we decided to take a flight to Pucon to see Villarrica volcano and National Park area.
Seeing Los Andes and volcanos in Chile was my dream for many years, therefore it was clear that if we want to see as much as possible during these 1.5 days, we need a real professional guide.
Hans from TravelAid Pucon agency replied very quickly to my request I left on their webpage, and I was really impressed by the variety of the tours and options he could offer after asking just a couple of questions to understand what we would like to see. In addition to trekking and sightseeing tours Hans offered us also the transfer from/to Temuco airport. I was so happy to arrange the two-days program so easy with him just sitting at home in the South of England, but I couldn't even imagine at that moment how amazing will be the reality (or 'sur-reality') of that weekend.
It wasn't just a sightseeing tour with the guide, I had a feeling that this is a V.I.P. tour where every single step is well-thought-out, so we shouldn't have cared of anything at all! All transfers, places to eat, to rest, and the most important the tour program itself was organised on a highest level!
On the Day 1 after leaving the luggage in Hotel Villarrica Park Lake, we started our trip to Lagos Andinos (Andean Lagoons) to see the three lagoons Quillelhue, Escondida and Huenfiuca and the native forests and ancient araucarias. Walking through the forest of these ancient trees was like a deep dive into prehistoric period. Breathtaking views of Lanín volcano and the stories about local Mapuche traditions narrated by Hans during our trekking complemented the perfect picture of that day.
Next morning Hans picked us up early from the hotel again and we visited Salto Léon and La China waterfalls. Again, amazing photos, stories, demonstration of some intresting flora species - I can't even describe how interesting it was to spend time with Hans for all four of us. The last destination before coming back to Santiago was Villarrica volcano visit, unfortunately only to take some pictires, we didn't have time to do the Sendero los Cráteres hike. Being honest, I'd stay in this magical place at least a week or even more to see all these lakes, mountains, volcanos, to learn more about the local culture, but even 1.5 days were like a week thanks to the professionalism of our guide, we learned so much new, we've seen so different landscapes and took hundreds of photos.
I'll definitely come back to Pucon and hope to meet with Hans and his family again. This is not just a commercial tour agency, these people truly love this land, take care of it and will show you it's beauty in full!
