Things to do
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Lago Villarrica
A glacial lake of about 176 square kilometres running east to the foot of its volcano, warm enough for swimming from December and open to dinghy sailing and paddleboards. Afternoon wind builds off the water most days, which is why the sailing clubs launch late morning.
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Playa Pucará
The town beach, a stretch of dark volcanic sand below the costanera with the volcano square in the view east. It shelves gently and stays shallow a long way out, lifeguards work it through January and February, and the water is coldest in the first week of December.
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Centro Cultural Mapuche
A Mapuche run cultural centre on the Küme Miawün path at Licán Ray, with a ruka, weaving and silverwork demonstrations and a kitchen serving muday and catutos. It opens mainly through the summer months, and the same path carries a craft market along the lake edge.
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Lago Calafquén
A lake of black sand bays and small wooded islands south of Villarrica, shallower than its neighbour and noticeably warmer by January. A paved circuit road links Licán Ray, Coñaripe and Panguipulli, and the eastern shore gives the road access to the Villarrica park's Quetrupillán sector.
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Licán Ray
A lakeside village on Calafquén half an hour south, built around two beaches divided by a wooded headland that walkers can circle in an hour. It fills in February and half empties by April, and the road from Villarrica is paved the whole way.
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Museo Histórico y Arqueológico Municipal
A single hall on Pedro de Valdivia holding Mapuche silverwork, carved chemamull grave posts and ceramics dug from the lake shore, alongside the record of the town's destruction in 1598. A ruka stands in the yard behind it, and the museum keeps short hours outside the summer season.
