Self-Guided Biking Tour in Chile’s Lake District

You are met at the airport or your hotel in Puerto Montt and we drive you to Puerto Varas and your hotel.

After a leisurely Chilean breakfast, you will have some free time to recover from your long journey and to set up your bikes.

You will also have free time to do any last-minute shopping and enjoy the many cafes and restaurants of Puerto Varas.

Puerto Varas is a beautiful town with strong German colonial influences. Founded in the 1850s by German immigrants, it has a very scenic lakeside location with beaches and plenty of water sports, such as rowing, sailing, swimming, etc.

Have a wander around to enjoy the distinctive German-style houses with wood shingles made of durable, lightweight and water-resistant Alerce Andino wood. The town’s Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, built between 1915 and 1918, is one of the most iconic landmarks on a hilltop town centre.

We wake early and depart from Puerto Varas by mountain bike along the shore of Lago Llanquihue. The snow-capped volcanoes of the Andes grow steadily larger as we ride along the lakeshore towards them.

You set off today on a rough track alongside the railway line, past flowering gorse, always staying just to the lake side of the track. Large gated houses and gardens have stunning views over the lake and the snow-covered volcanoes on the far side.

Early in the season, in October and November, you’ll enjoy spring flowers: camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias, all bursting into flower. Buff-necked Ibis screech, and Andean lapwing flap overhead.

You will then follow the quieter back roads and stay close to the lake with stunning, unobstructed views of Lake Llanquihue , Calbuco, Osorno  and Puntiagudo Volcano, passing farms and lakeside homes.

As you cycle along, enjoy the waves lapping on the shore, the calm, the flowers and the birds.

Arriving in Frutillar, a town famous for its Teatro del Lago and rich German heritage, you’ll find welcome restaurants, cafes and bakeries with plenty of excellent food, much needed by this time.

Hunger assuaged, your ride continues along the lake shore on a quiet road, first tarmac, then gravel (or stay on the tarmac), with many ups and downs.

At the end of a long day—70 km on the bike and 800 m of ascent and descent always close by the lake—you come to the charming lakeside town of Puerto Octay and your welcoming guest house.

Local restaurants for dinner.

Biking: 70 km with 800m ascent

Today is a rest day, much needed after yesterday’s long day.

Have a leisurely breakfast, enjoy a lie-in, relax in the garden or lounge area with a good book. Wander down to the village for lunch, dinner, coffee and cake and stroll along the lakeshore. Your legs will appreciate a rest.

Today, we set off from Puerto Octay on a back road. You closely follow the shores of Lake Llanquihue. This quiet, tree-lined road is perfect for cycling as it winds through peaceful dairy farmland and forests with minimal traffic. There are fabulous, now familiar, views of both Osorno and Calbuco Volcanoes across Lake Llanquihue.

Upon rejoining the main road, there’s a short six-mile/10km stretch with some local traffic, bringing you to the quiet, unassuming one-street town of Las Cascadas.

There are rather limited lunch options, but a couple of small places offer huge sandwiches and chips.

Beyond Las Cascadas is the first of the route’s dedicated bike lanes. It’s wide and comfortable to use on quality tarmac.

This section of the ride passes into the volcanic landscapes of Osorno and the beautiful Valdivian forest. Wildlife, including birds of prey and even foxes are frequently spotted, with some accustomed to people. This is a beautiful part of the route, a striking transition from farmland to wilderness.

Arrive at Ensenada Hotel for two nights.

Biking:  58 km with 400m ascent

Today is a free day with many options. We recommend a raft or kayak day today, but you can also choose a guided walk on the slopes of Osorno volcano.

Optional sea kayaking day

On this full day out, you glide gently along the Reloncavi Fjord, enjoying the wildlife, cormorants, kelp gull, southern lapwing, buzzard eagles and chimango high overhead. Dolphins and sea lions swim alongside.

The Valdivian forest is alive with the sound of the Magellanic woodpecker hammering on the trees, frogs chatting and the Chucao Tapaculo (Scelorchilus Rubecula). This small, secretive bird is known for its loud, distinct call and can be found in the forested areas near the fjord.

Keep an eye out for the Green-backed Firecrown (Sephanoides Sephaniodes), a hummingbird that flits around forest edges and gardens, feeding on nectar from flowers.

You may see some Chilean Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus Eutropia), also known as the Black Dolphin. They are small dolphins endemic to the coastal waters of Chile. They are usually dark grey to black, with lighter bellies, and you most likely will see them by the shore.

Look out for South American sea lions (Otaria Flavescens), often seen resting on fish farm buoys, rocky shores, or swimming alongside kayaks in the fjord’s waters. They are distinguishable by their large, robust bodies and the thick mane of fur around the males’ necks, which gives them a somewhat “lion-like” appearance.

You make a stop off at Yolanda’s homestead. She is 73 years old, born and bred. She was schooled in Puerto Montt for nine months of the year (in the days of no public transport). She cooks typical local food: stew, salad, and home-grown potatoes.

Electricity only arrived here in 2020. You may take a short tour to see the old machines, the apple press from cider-making days, the old farm implements, and Yolanda’s spinning wheel and dyeing pots for the wool from her sheep.

Her cat, Griselda, dogs, lambs, pigs and various other animals will keep you entertained after lunch as you relax and enjoy the space and views of snow-covered volcanoes.

Yates Volcano dominates the west end of the fjord.

Return to Ensenada late afternoon.

Today is the third cycling day. It takes you 31 miles / 50 km from Ensenada to Cochamo—in 3 hours, it is a fast ride on top-quality tarmac. Halfway, you can stock up on custard, jam or dulce de leche-filled doughnuts, “Berlines,” and fried pastries, Roscos. Both are delicious.

Cochamo is a charming lakeside village with typical architecture, with wooden buildings faced with Alerce tiles.

Cochamó is historically significant as part of a traditional cattle route used by huasos (Chilean cowboys) who herded livestock across the Andes between Chile and Argentina. These trans-Andean trade routes were vital for commerce in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cochamó’s strategic location and natural beauty made it an important stopover for travellers and traders navigating the region. The valley of Cochamo is perhaps best known today by the climbing community for its vast granite walls, rivalling Yosemite.

There are several meal options here. You can have a typical Chilean meal in Ollita restaurant, for example, Paila seafood soup, which is something of an acquired taste as it has a strong shellfish flavour. Ceviches, fish, shellfish, and many meat dishes are also on offer.

Chill by the waterfront and absorb the lazy Saturday afternoon vibe before striking back up the hill to your guesthouse.

Biking:  50 km with 800 m ascent

Today, you set off along the shore from Cochamo to Puelo, just 32 km.

It’s smooth tarmac for a few kms, and then you’re back on the gravel. It’s a scenic route along the fjord, where there is plenty of evidence of salmon and clam farming.

Puelo has a couple of supermarkets that stock a bewildering array of items and some restaurants. Cycle just 3 km along the road to the charming Termas de Sol hot springs, with its excellent cafeteria serving lovely salads, pizzas, etc. (You may need to book, as the hot springs get very popular, especially at weekends; swimsuits are for sale.)

There are six or seven pools of varying temperatures, from 20 to 45 C, plus cold showers. This is a lovely spot to relax in the afternoon.

Two nights at a local lodge.

Biking: 32 km, 500 m of ascent.

Today is a free day but we suggest a guided walking day in the Valdivian forest. Lodge in Puelo.

Today is our final day of cycling, and we will set off after breakfast.

The first part of the ride is 8 km of tarmac, with the final 32 km section on gravel until the ferry.

The road rolls scenically up and down alongside the water, with little traffic. However, the surface can be quite rough in places, making cycling tough. Halfway along, there is just one shop selling welcome cold drinks and snacks. There are empanada shops and many cafes at Caleta La Arena port, where you meet the main north-south Carretera Austral road.

The ferry runs all day. A 45-minute crossing will take you to the other side, where you will meet your transport for the 90-minute transfer back to Puerto Varas.

Biking: 40 km, 600 m of ascent.

Your cycle trip has finished so you can end your trip today and depart, take a lazy day, or we can organise a guided walk.

One option is to visit the Alerce Andina National Park on a guided day trip. Drive south through Puerto Montt, the region’s local capital and principal southern port, then continue a little further before arriving at the National Park Alerce Andino.

Alerce Andino Park is almost 40,000 hectares in size, making it the largest surviving Valdivian rainforest in the world. The Alerce is a giant conifer distantly related to the redwoods of California. The largest are several thousand years old. Several walks are available through the forest to enjoy these magnificent trees. Chat with your guide to see what suits you best.

Another option is a guided one-day walk through the volcanic landscapes of the lower slopes of the conical Osorno volcano. A full day out will include five hours of walking, a delicious picnic, an hour’s drive each way and a stop off at the beautiful Saltos del Petrohue on the way back. You may even fancy a swim in Todos Los Santos, too. It’s a truly spectacular day out.

If the weather allows, a guided mountaineering trip up Osorno can be added. It requires a very early start, and local expert guides can provide boots, harnesses, crampons, etc.

Option to return to your hotel in Puerto Varas, if staying on.

Chile is the land of contrasts, from verdant vineyards to driest desert, deep fjords and towering glaciated volcanoes.

A narrow but incredibly long, snake-like country, Chile’s unusual geography features more than 5,000km of South Pacific Ocean coast. The country is almost 4,400km long but barely more than 160km at its widest.

It is best divided into general regions, all of which offer spectacular landscapes and identities of their own.

This variety means Chile is the land where almost every activity is possible. Hiking, biking, rafting and kayaking.

Or climbing, cruising, fishing, horse riding, wine tasting.

Or simply eating great food, relaxing and exploring.

Patagonia

Trekking heaven. Paine National Park lies in Patagonia and features some of the best trekking in South America. With no altitude worries here, hikers enjoy an unrivalled mix of access to wild flora and fauna that exists in this massif. It is at once windswept, and then balmy. Paine National Park is a must see for walkers visiting South America.

Northern Patagonia is the least densely populated part of the country – spectacular virgin scenery make this a hidden gem and superb area for trekking, boating and horse riding.

And that’s before you think about possibly cruising through fjords, or kayaking them, flying to Antartica or staying at a working hacienda.

Easter Island

Iconic, Easter Island is an archaeological treasure. Here you will find the famous Moai stone statues, as well as caves and rocks decorated with etched petroglyphs and painted pictographs.

Northern Chile

Northern Chile features the Atacama, the driest desert with the clearest skies in the world, is alive with active volcanoes replete with spitting geysers mixed with archaeological wonders and fantastic rock formations.

Central Chile is the heart of Chile and includes the capital Santiago. With its Mediterranean climate of hot dry summers and mild wet winters, this central valley produces some of South America’s finest wines, Colchagua Valley to name but one.

Here, the Andean mountain chain soars more than 6,000m above sea level. Chile’s traditional symbols such as huaso (cowboy) and cueca (national dance) originate here, an area which is rich in agriculture and produces most of Chile’s export fruit.

In winter, skiers are attracted to this tasting the promise of some fabulous snow on the huge peaks which overlook Santiago.

Southern Chile and the Lake District

Lush and verdant, The Lake District area is the place to climb snow-capped volcanoes by day while relaxing next to stunning glacial lakes by evening. You can walk, bike, raft, cruise and drive your way around this beautiful region.

Central, southern and Patagonia Andes all present different challenges to mountaineers and trekkers. Options are varied in the central Andes with many of the Patagonian peaks remaining unexplored and unsummitted.

Good kit is vital for every trip.

Book with Andean Trails and get 15% off Páramo’s fantastic ethical and high performance outdoor gear.

Overview

We provide everything except a bike, personal equipment and clothing.

During the day hopefully it will be generally sunny enough for shorts and T-shirts though having a fleece and rain gear handy is advisable. It can and will get cold, especially in the evenings so bring a warm fleece jacket, a good waterproof and some warm clothes including thermal underwear, gloves, scarf and woolly hat as well as one set of smarter clothes for cities.

Below is a more detailed guide.

Detailed kit list – clothing

• Cycle gloves and helmet.
• Medium weight parka or a down jacket.
• Waterproof jacket and trousers. The jacket needs to be water proof and roomy. Side-zip pants are recommended.
• 2-3 long-sleeve shirts – no cotton
• 2-3 short-sleeve cycle shirts – no cotton
• 2 pair of hiking trousers- cotton or synthetic material (no jeans)
• 1 fleece or sweat trousers (for cold evenings)
• 2-3 pairs shorts.
• 2-3 pairs padded cycling shorts.
• Long thermals – synthetic or wool – light to medium weight top & bottoms.
• 2-3 mid-weight (wool or synthetic) socks.
• 2-3 liner socks if needed
• Athletic-type socks, several pairs, city use
• Running/tennis shoes or sandals are very comfortable when you are off the bike.
• 1 lightweight wool sweater or windproof fleece
• 1 wool or synthetic warm hat for evenings.
• Cycling hat.
• Sunglasses with UV filter.
• Bandanna – to protect neck from strong sun.

Biking

• Bike bag/box (if bringing own bike).
• Large holdall/rucksack (80-90 litres) for main luggage.
• Small daypack (25-20 litres).
• Water bottles / camel-bak.
• SPDs pedals / shoes / toe clips.
• Basic repair kit: pump, spare inner tubes and brake pads (we provide a general toolkit on all trips, but please bring any specialist spare parts for your bike with you i.e spokes etc.)

Personal

• Personal first-aid kit to include: painkillers, plasters (band-aids), moleskin, anti-biotic cream, general antibiotics (ask your GP), after-bite (tiger balm), anti-diarrhoea tablets, throat lozenges, re-hydration salts & personal medication.
• Insect repellent.
• Towel & wash-kit.
• Wet Wipes/antiseptic hand-wash cream.
• Sunscreen (factor 30+) and lip salve.
• Head-lamp (plus spare bulb and batteries).
• Penknife.
• Travel alarm clock.
• Plastic bags – ‘Zip-loc’ & tough bin liners.
• Camera and film / memory cards (take at least twice the amount you think you will need!).
• Book, e-book, mp3 player/ipod or other to help pass the time.
• Binoculars.
• Spanish/English phrasebook.
• Extra snacks i.e. cereal bars or favourite chocolate bars.

Miscellaneous others

• Money belt.
• Passport.
• U.S. dollars cash, mixed-denomination notes, undamaged and unmarked.
• ATM cash/credit card.
• Any inoculation certificates.
• Personal & medical insurance certificates.
• Presents e.g. Postcards from home.
• Comfortable clothes for travel, smart clothes for night life.

Official name: Republic of Chile

Country population: 17,000,000

Capital city: Santiago (6 million)

Largest cities: Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaiso

Languages: Spanish (official)

Official currency: Chilean Peso

Major industries: Copper mining, agriculture, fish

Time zone: GMT-5 in winter (Mar-Sep) and GMT-4 in summer (Sep-Mar)

February 

Festival: Festival de la Cancion Viña del Mar 

International song festival  

Location: Viña del Mar

1st two weeks of February 

Festival: Tapati 

Culture, dance, music, song , sport 

Location: Easter Island 

July

Festival: Carnaval de Invierno      

Street parade with floats celebrating mid winter 

Location: Punta Arenas  

July 16

Festival: Fiesta  de La Tirana     

Religious festival – culture, mass dance parades 

Location: La Tirana, Atacama  

September 18

Festival: Independencia 

Independence day – celebration of Chilean culture – various activities 

Location: Country wide 

Andean Trails has 25 years of experience of putting together the best South America holidays.

We pay a fee to the CAA for every licensable passenger we book since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking.

We also offer ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority) protected holidays to give our customers peace of mind when booking and travelling.

When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package from Andean Trails Ltd you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 6275.

You can read more about ATOL, who is covered and what protections you have if not ATOL-covered, on our ATOL page.

What is ATOL?

The CAA’s ATOL scheme offers protection to your money and your holiday if you book with us. Not everybody is covered (see ‘Who is covered?’ for more), as you must purchase an ‘air package holiday’ with Andean Trails to be protected.

And  ‘air package holiday’ is defined as including a flight and some ground services (hotel, transfer, trek etc). This is also known as an ‘ATOL-protected holiday’.

Who is covered?

To be covered by ATOL, you must book a flight and some ground services with us and be from the UK. If you are from the UK and only book ground services and no flights, you are not covered by ATOL (see below for more on how non-ATOL clients are covered).

If you are outside the UK and buy flights with us, you will be ATOL protected IF any of the flights booked with Andean Trails touches/stops in the UK at any point during your holiday package booked with us.

If you buy your flights elsewhere, please check with that agent if you are ATOL protected. Be careful with online flight purchases and make sure you know what protection you have, if any, before paying for flights.

Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.

For land only holidays not involving any air travel, in accordance with “The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992”, all UK passengers booking with Andean Trails Ltd. are fully protected for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all money paid to us, arising from cancellation or curtailment of travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Andean Trails.

I’m not ATOL covered, what protection do I have?

If you are not ATOL covered, any payments you make to us go to a Trust account.

We can only access this money once your tour has been completed, meaning that if anything happens to Andean Trails Limited while you are on holiday, then your money is secure and you can either complete the trip or be able to make it home.

If you pay for your holiday with a credit card, some offer payment protection – please check with your cardholder.

You also should have cancellation protection written into your insurance (which we recommend you have at the time of booking) in case you need to cancel.