Huilo Huilo and Other Magical Places

The last trip I took out of Santiago was to northern Patagonia. I was really excited to see this part of the world, and I wasn't disappointed. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.

Again, I went on a group tour and travelled by bus overnight. The journey was 10 hours (two hours shorter than I expected!) and when we got out of the bus, I saw how different this part of Chile was from Santiago. It was also much, much colder!

We spent the first morning exploring the Siete Lagos (seven lakes) region. The first lake we saw was called Pellaifa, which means "hidden forest" in the Mapuche language. Unsurprisingly, it gets its name from the fact that there is a forest underneath the water! There were a few tree tops poking out over the surface, but they are much more visible in the summer.

We saw several other lakes and a canal afterwards. I didn't find out what they were all called, but they were very beautiful, as was the surrounding scenery.

In the afternoon, we went to Huilo Huilo. It's a biological reserve and the nature there is incredible. It has a fairytale theme and really feels like a magical place. The first thing we did there was to go on a short trek through the forest to an amazing waterfall, Salto de Huilo Huilo.

It was an incredible sight.

Afterwards, we looked around the rest of the reserve, including the gift shop. I found it funny that even the toilets had a magical, fairytale look about them!

The last place we went to in Huilo Huilo was probably the thing it's best known for - Montaña Mágica (magic mountain). It's hard to tell what it is from looking at it, but it's actually a very posh hotel!

There was still another lake left to visit that day - this one was next to a double volcano (Mocho-Choshuenco). The scenery was beautiful, and a perfect representation of the south of Chile. Plus we got to go on a boat and look around all of its different rooms, which was fun and interesting.

That night was the low point of the trip. We stayed in cabañas which were very charming and cosy looking. However, there was no heating, so they felt a lot less cosy than they looked!

The second day was much less busy than the first. We only went to one place - Termas Geométricas. There are seventeen hot springs there, in very picturesque surroundings. I found it very peaceful and relaxing. 

This trip was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the whole Year Abroad. I had actually booked it at the end of May, in order to motivate myself to remain in Chile for the last month and a half of the semester. As I mentioned in my Argentina post, I was having a lot of problems at that time. However, by the time the trip came around, things had improved immensely. For starters, I met my boyfriend! I also moved apartment, which made some other issues I was having easier to deal with. The last month in Santiago was amazing, and a blog post all about it is on its way very soon.

I've neglected this blog since July, as I've been busy in France, completing my Year Abroad. Now it's all over, which feels very weird and a bit sad! But at least I still have plenty to document on this blog. The last six weeks turned out to be a lot more eventful than I expected, but it was an interesting and varied experience. So several posts will be appearing soon - hopefully within the next couple of weeks...