Santuario El Cani

A walk in the park; in this case, a private park to see the area where the Mapuche lived; this privately forested area, the Cani Sanctuary, was saved from logging and entrusted to local residents in 2004.

We set off on the 7:50 am minibus to the area, we being me, Ant, Mark & Chris, and Phil. It's a long walk uphill from the administration entrance, and we stop at the various observation points (see captions). The actual park entrance is at The Sawmill Hut. There was a lot of snow yesterday from here upwards, although it is lovely today, and it is hard work walking up the steep slopes. We see the ancient Pewen trees held sacred by the Mapuche people; these are considered living fossils as they were around with the dinosaurs. We finish at the Laguna Negra and double back; it is considered too dangerous to go on to the Melidekin viewpoint (views of volcanoes), and there are warning signs not to go further. However, back in Pucon, we are lucky with the light and have an amazing view of the Villarrica volcano from the town.

A great day out; 13 miles, half hard uphill with the return downhill difficult due to the snow and the trees thawing.Read more