Puerto Montt & Puerto Varas

We only had two nights in Puerto Montt as we were advised Puerto Varas was the place to spend more time. Our full day that we did have in Puerto Montt was delightful for reasons different to other days. 

We stayed in an AirBnB during our time here because there was only one hostel in the whole city, which was booked out. We got greeted by a scary barking dog upon arrival, only to learn it was actually quite nice (just excitable). 

We set out for the day dressed in our walking shoes since the Airbnb was 3km from town. We first went and explored the town which kind of felt like the Timaru of Chile, take that as you wish. The waterfront was pretty though, with a view of the Patagonian foothills and Volcán Calbuco in the background. 

From town we walked along the waterfront to Angelmo, a market area with knitted clothing, wooden goods, and seafood. A lot of seafood. We didn’t buy any seafood though as we were still full from our big brunch. Also attracted to Angelmo, most probably for the seafood, was the sea lions!

The sea lions were probably the highlight of my day. We were filming ones in the water, when Lucas looks up and points back towards the market where we had come from and there were these two great big sea lions surrounded by people. We walked over to get close, and at the time they were just lounging. But they started moving towards us, and moving quick! We were both filming at the time, and all you can see and hear in our videos is panic haha. 

On our way back to the Airbnb we stopped in at a cafe for a coffee. We ended up also sharing this massive slice of mud cake which we um’d and uh’d over for a while. This was also a highlight of my day, unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it. 

We had a bus to Chiloe Island the next day, where we stayed for 3 nights. And onto Puerto Varas from there. 

We stayed in Puerto Varas for 3 nights, at MaPatagonia Hostel. This hostel was by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in. Small things go a long way when you’re staying in hostels while backpacking. This hostel had a number of small things that all added up to the best experience, including:

• Reasonably priced
• Good location (central and near bus terminal)
• Clean rooms and bathrooms
• Massive rooms with so much space for bags
• Comfy beds!!
• Nice cozy communal areas, stocked with games, etc 
• Nice outdoor areas including fruit trees (cherries and apple), hammocks, etc
• Freshly made/baked goods
• Washing services where they ask how you want your clothes washed and dried (good for merino, etc)
• Provide tips of things to do in the area
• I could list more but that will do for now

Puerto Varas itself was also a lovely place to spend time. Kind of like Queenstown in NZ. I think there must be a bit of money in the area. We spent time exploring the town and waterfront first. We visited Museo Pablo Fierro which is basically some artists (Pablo Fierro’s) building which he opens to the public to view for free. His artwork is displayed on the walls throughout the building, among other antique objects. The building itself seems like a form of art. It looks like a 3 storey building, however, every floor was split into about 2 floors each, which meant a lot of the time we were ducking our heads and walking down stairs we could barely fit on. I was praying it was structurally sound. 

We went and did Sendero Desolacion, a 13km walk near Volcán Osorno. The hike started lakefront at Petrohue and took us to a viewpoint partway up Volcán Osorno. The views were beautiful, and it was a bluebird day, however, we were followed by a swarm of the blood sucking flies pretty much the whole way. These flies are bigger than NZ blowflies, and have sharp mouths that can pierce your skin through your clothing if you let them stay on you for long enough. This meant pretty much the whole hike we were having to wave our arms above our heads to keep them from landing (we got a leg AND arm workout that day). It meant we didn’t stop much to enjoy our lunch or swim in the lake as we would have been eaten alive. 

That night we went out for dinner at Mesa Tropera, a pizza and beer restaurant. It cost us a little more than our usual, but the vibe and food made it well worth it. 

We also hired bikes from the hostel to get us to Frutillar, a small lakefront town to the West of Puerto Varas. This town had lovely beaches to swim at and many cake/ice cream shops and cafes. The bike was 33km of undulating terrain and a mix of road and gravel. We were glad to get to Frutillar where we had a wander around, a swim, and cake and coffee. Lucas biked the 33km back to Puerto Varas, however, I didn’t have the energy to do a 66km bike ride that day (had a lingering head cold), so I payed the money for the taxi bike back which is an option the hostel offers. Lucas returned a few hours later looking exhausted!

Overall, our experience of Puerto Varas was delightful. I could have spent more days there if we had the time and money for it. 

MacKenzie

Jan 22, 2025