We were traveling north along the Pan American Highway known as Ruta 5 in Chile. This road goes from South to North along most of the country. Roads that branch off Ruta 5 go to loads of interesting places, and we decided to make a side trip through Parc National Conguillio. This park is unusual in that it has a road that passes right through it, so you can enter in the South and Exit in the North. We really liked the small lakes with the reflections of the trees. The ranger at the entry gate insisted that we stay at only the ranger station, or the camp spot 20km into the park, but there were loads of places that would have made great wild camps. Our annual park pass that we got from the Conaf office in Coyhaique meant we did not have to pay the 3,500 peso entry fee, and as there was no one at the camp spot we did not have to pay for the camping. Super!
Cab view as we look around the park
The Monkey trees are superb and stunning looking.
The trees make this little road feel a bit spooky
The reflections in the lakes are stunning
Old trees lying in the lake edge
We continued up to the town of Curacautin, and onwards to Reserva Nacional Malalcahuello and then to Reserva Nacional Nalcas. We found this park unique due to its lack of trees, bushes or shrubs, in fact it has very little greenery at all. It does have its own volcano, Volcan Lonquimay (2,890 metres) which last erupted in 1988. It made a new crater on Christmas Day 1988, so this is now called “Crater Navidad”. This has left a lot of ash and dust in the park, and this is what makes it so unique looking. The ranger station was closed, but the barrier was open so we went on in. It was pretty quiet in the park, but a stunning drive. Off season is great, we had the whole park to ourselves!
Parked up all nice and safe near a Volcano
Hmmm. Interesting Sign.
The roads around the volcanos are stunning.
View from the cab.
Dead trees by a small lake
It’s easy to see where the lava flowed
We parked overnight in this park, fabulous, and even the next morning no sign of any rangers!
We have left Chile (only for a short while) and are in the Mendoza area of Argentina, particularly known for its good wine, where we are meeting up with friends Phil and Angie for a week to travel with them and sample some wine together. Phil has threatened us that we will be doing a tandem bike tour to sample the vino! Watch this space !!!!
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