Pucon – Adventure Destination

Whitewater Rafting in Pucon

And now we move on to Pucon, one of our favorite places. This town is about 62 miles from Temuco and 480 miles from Santiago, the capitol city of Chile.

As stated earlier, Pucon is almost totally a tourist town and many people really don’t like all the bustle in a tourist town. There is opportunity here for tourist-based business, and your children and grandchildren will love to visit you here. But for those who don’t like the idea of a tourist town, we have nearby Villarrica–close enough to take advantage of the attractions of Pucon, but without so many tourists.

There is tourism in Villarrica, but there are other things as well. We showed you mostly the woodlands and the views of mountain peaks, but the farmland in the area also produces wheat, dairy and other products. It isn’t all straight up and down mountainside. After seeing all the trees in the mountains, it will not surprise you that forestry is another crop in that area. So if farming is where your interest lies, you will find farmland, also, in this area–and no shortage of water. In fact, if you want to just look at some of the listings of property in this area, we suggest Southern Chile Properties just for fun to see what they have listed. For Southern Chile Properties click HERE. We mention these people because we know them and if you are new to the area, we especially think they will look out for your interests. However, what we really recommend is that you choose an area that seems to suit your purposes best and rent there for a while, look at real estate for sale, get a feel for what is available and, in general, be sure you like it there before committing to an investment. However, we do expect real estate prices to rise there as, indeed, they have been for the last few years.

Do remember, in looking at real estate in South America, if you care about comfort in the winter–and perhaps the summer as well–be sure to check for insulation. This applies in Uruguay as well. Some people do not expect Uruguay to be cold but trust us, an  uninsulated house can be incredibly cold in Chile or in Uruguay. We think the idea of insulation in homes was late to arrive in Chile.

Pucon isn’t like some of the beach resorts that have a high tourist season and then die in the off season. Pucon has both summer and winter attractions although the influx of tourists in the winter season is lighter.

This is considered an adventure tourism destination. You will find several lakes in the area which include beaches and, of course, water sports. For the truly adventurous there is whitewater rafting, guided volcano climbs and caves, backpacking and trekking, zip line rides, horseback riding and winter sports–in the winter season, of course. And there are thermal mineral springs in the area.

The town has a population of about 25,000 and is, in our opinion, a quaint and interesting little community. The building code here stipulates the  use of natural materials for construction. Consequently the buildings are built largely of wood and stone rather than the poured concrete buildings that you see in Argentina and other places. .

The natural materials give Pucon a more rustic, Alpine appearance.

In much of Chile, the major source of heat is wood. Wood is plentiful and inexpensive. It is common for people to  use a wood cook stove in the winter since it both heats the house and cooks the food. A major exception is the country’s capitol, Santiago. Santiago is nearly surrounded by mountains that trap smoke and smog and hold it in the city. For that reason, it became necessary to prohibit wood smoke in that city.

We happen to like wood heat. We not only like the fact that it is inexpensive, but there is something about a house heated by wood that just feels friendly and comfortable. I think it is because wood heat dries out the air. However, they certainly have gas and electricity in Chile if that is what you prefer. But most of the people we know there have always heated with wood.

Some people object to the smoke from wood heat–and may even be sensitive to it. We don’t find it a problem in areas outside of Santiago, but if you have a sensitivity, then it is something to consider.

Above is an example of house construction in this area. You might notice that this is similar to the construction of the hostel where we stayed in Villarrica. This attractive rich wood look is very common in much of Chile.