Chile: Lake & Volcano District - Bike Tour
9-Day Inn-to-Inn Chile Bike Tour
Tour Information
For most of us, the Lake and Volcano District of southern Chile is on the other end of the world. When you get here, you’ll see how other-worldly it is. Strangely beautiful, dense forests of Araucaria araucana, or monkey puzzle trees. Snow-capped volcanos that are very much still active. Crystal clear lakes set in glacial valleys and lava-carved waterfalls. All this is framed by the Chilean Andes Mountains and seasoned with ancient Mapuche culture and cuisine, modern Chilean comforts and hospitality and some of the most scenic road and trail cycling you can imagine. For anyone shuddering at the thought of winter, this tour gives you a late spring/early summer respite. Be part of the adventure!
Guaranteed
The tour still has space. Make your travel arrangements.
Moderate
Advanced
Hilly and sometimes mountainous terrain on predominantly paved roads and bike trails. Advanced cycling level. Moderate with an e-bike.
8 nights hotel, 8 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 3 dinners, cooking class, electronic GPS cues, entrance to national park and hot springs, van support, guided hike, trained bilingual guides.
$360 for a non-motorized adventure road bicycle with drop handlebars.
$540 for an ebike with drop handlebars or straight handlebars.
No straight handlebar non-motorized bikes available on this tour.
Diverge Elite E5
Turbo Creo SL ebike
Domane+ ALR ebike
Vado SL 4.0 ebike
Vado 3.0 ebike
Fly to the Temuco, Chile airport (ZCO) and out of the Puerto Montt, Chile airport (PMC).
This tour was fantastic! Not only was there beautiful scenery, but the Chileans were outgoing and friendly, even though most of us spoke little Spanish. The itinerary was perfect with just the right amount of miles.
Chile Bike Tour Itinerary
DAY 1: If you arrive early to Temuco (and we strongly suggest you do), consider exploring local sights such as the Regional Museum of Araucania, shop for regionally made Mapuche jewelry, and stroll the Plaza Anibal Pinto.
Our group will meet at the Best Western Ferrat Hotel in Temuco and shuttle to the village of Manzanar, where we’ll start cycling right away on a paved rail trail. We’ll ride through Araucaria araucana forests and have magnificent views of the Lonquimay Volcano. The monkey puzzle tree is Chile’s national tree and one of the world’s oldest species, producing edible pine nuts, surviving hundreds of years and creating striking silhouettes with its upward-swooping pine branches.
Once we enter the Malalcahuello National Reserve, the cycling will be along an old mountain road. We’ll call it a day at our hotel and brewery in Lonquimay where you can savor a pint before dinner. 26 miles, +3189’/-2686’.
DAY 2: Today’s ride in the Lonquimay River Valley is through the Kütralkura, Chile’s first UNESCO-designated geopark. What’s a geopark? It’s a place of unique geological qualities that is set aside exclusively for sustainable development via conservation, education, and environmentally-friendly tourism.
This area is home to Pewenche communities, and you will meet some of these folks along the way at a brewery featuring beer made with local pine nuts. We’ll spend a second night in Lonquimay. 34 miles, +1868’/-1744’.
DAY 3: The bikes get a day of rest while we trek the Sierra Del Colorado Trail. Shaded by 1000-year-old Araucaria trees, we’ll have the awe-struck pleasure of viewing four volcanos: Lonquimay, Llaima, Sierra Nevada, and Villarrica. You may have a chance to climb a volcano or soak in thermal hot springs, too.
The next two nights we’ll spend in the city of Pucón, which sits on Lake Villarrica and has a terrific view of the snow-capped Villarrica Volcano. 0 miles cycling, 7.4 miles hiking.
DAY 4: Today’s ride features some rolling hills along paved roads, leading us to the clear blue waters of Caburgua Lake, which sits in a glacial valley. There could be a swim, or if you prefer warmer waters, a soak at the Huife Hot Springs, before returning to our Pucón hotel. 29 miles, +2047’/-1085’.
DAY 5: Today you’ll meet up with Lake Calafquen, one of the seven lakes that share a common drainage basin. The road should invigorate you with its rolling hills and a stellar view of Villarrica, one of Chile’s most active volcanoes. But perhaps the biggest (and most delicious) surprise of the day will be a cooking class at a Mapuche cultural center where you will learn more about the original inhabitants of this part of South America. The next two overnights are in the city of Panguipulli. 27 miles, +1716’/-2425’.
DAY 6: Hello Panguipulli Lake! How do you do, Choshuenco Volcano? And it’s always nice to see you, Andes Mountains! Today we are riding a quiet stretch of the Seven Lakes Route, with camera-ready stops at nearly every turn. 30 miles, +2451’/-2500’.
DAY 7: In the mid-19th century, tens of thousands of Germans immigrated to Southern Chile as part of state-sanctioned colonization campaign. Those who settled here left their mark in architecture, cuisine, place names, and traditions, as you’ll see pedaling through quaint villages on what we call the German Settlers Route.
The ride concludes at a beach on Lake LLanquigue, revered for its view of the snow-capped Osorno Volcano. We’ll spend the next two nights in Puerto Varas, dubbed the City of Roses. 34 miles, +2280’/-2313’.
DAY 8: Hugging the southern shore of Lake LLanquigue, (Chile’s second largest lake), we steer our handlebars toward Vincente Pérez Rosales National Park and its beloved Petrohue, a waterfall formed by lava-carved volcanic chutes. A hike or a rafting trip could cap the day’s activities. Such exhilaration is a fitting finale for a week of monumental natural beauty. 37 miles, +1923’/-1460’.
DAY 9: After breakfast, we’ll provide a shuttle to the Puerto Montt Airport for your trip home. Que le vaya bien! ¡Chao! 0 miles.