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Walk overview

General route information

Volcan Osorno

  1. Bahia Cox to Refugio Picada
  2. Refugio Picada to Volcan Osorno's derelict refugios
  3. Volcan Osorno's derelict refugios to the edge of the plateau
  4. Edge of the plateau to Petrohue

Rio Sin Nombre

  1. Chilcon / El Rincon landing
  2. Two swinging bridges
  3. Food for Sale
  4. Thermals at El Callao
  5. Laguna los Quetros
  6. Reaching Lago Rupanco

Lago Rupanco

  1. Las Gaviotas
  2. El Diablito minimart and cafe
  3. El Poncho free camp spot and minimart
Las Gaviotas Chilcon / El Rincon landing Bahia Cox to Refugio Picada
Time of year Jan - April
Getting to
Bahia Cox

From Puerto Montt: Take the "Buses Fierro" bus to Ensenada (1000 pesos) then catch the next local bus north to Bahia Cox (300-1000 pesos depending on bus) this is the next turn off after Las Cascadas. The road is very small and inconsequential looking. Hike up this road, continuing straight until you enter the park, this stretch alone can take one day of hiking.

Getting to
El Rincon

From Petrohue: Charter a local boat - ask around at the boat launch. The asking price was 35,000 pesos for one boat. If this is too much to spend, it is possible to bus to pick up a bus from Ensenada to Petrohue, hike to Bahia Cox, bus to Media Luna (a crossing, not a town), hitchhike to El Poncho (took us half a day and four lifts) and walk the Rio Sin Nombre section as an out-and-back.

Returning from
El Poncho

To the town of Osorno: A local bus leaves from El Poncho at 6:00 am and 2:00 pm Monday through Saturday and only at 2:00 pm in the afternoon on Sundays. This bus follows the U-91 to the U-55-V into Osorno. It fills up as the bus continues along the road, so find a good seat - in back with your gear in the inside storage area - and cover your bag if you don't want it to get covered in dust from the road. It is possible to wave down the bus at any point along the route, though it will still cost 1900 to Osorno. It is also possible to get off the bus at any point along this route.

Food availability The first food stop is in Petrohue, where there is a small convenience store (not a mercado). Next food is on top of the fifth major hill on the Rio Sin Nombre section, where there is a farm selling cheese, bread, milk, honey and eggs. The next two farms on the route also sell cheese, bread and eggs as available. The next food shop is a small shop near the end of the Lago Rupanco road called El Diablito. Here they sell a few basic supplies as well as cookies and other processed foods. There are a few other small markets, one at the bus stop in El Poncho and on the same road further to the west.
Maps
Front cover of JLM Ruta de los Jesuitas		 JLM Mapas Trekking Map #15 'Ruta de los Jesuitas' ( Pto. Montt - Bariloche ) ( ISBN none shown ). This shows the contours for the area and has a 1:250,000 scale on one side, and more detailed maps of the two routes on the back. In Santiago is it possible to purchase detailed 1:50000 government maps. The maps for this section are H36 and H45.
Scenery
View of a trench along the Rio Sin Nombre		 The Volcan Osorno hike starts with a road through farmland at the base of the volcano before heading up to an empty high plateau of volcanic rock dotted with grass and flowers above Lago Llanquihue and later Lago Todos los Santos. The path along Rio Sin Nombre passes through lush rainforest dotted by small cattle farms, passing a small lagoon in the mountains before dropping through farmland to the eastern end of Lago Rupanco.
Annoyances
Close up of hitch hiker seeds		 The Volcano portion of the hike is fairly miserable during the day during January as the horse flies (tavanos) are very prevalent here, as they are in any open, sunny area during this time of year. There are hitchhiking plant seeds ( pictured left ) that cause a mess of socks January to March. A pair of knee-high gaiters stops this problem.
Money There are no places to change or receive money along this route. The closest towns for this service are Puerto Varas and Osorno.