VISITING AN ACTIVE VOLCANO

Imagine that you’re lucky enough to go on vacation this year, and your destination is a hot one... A very hot one! You’re visiting Pucón, Chile, which is home to an active volcano. If the volcano doesn’t interest you, there will be lots of other things you can experience in Pucón. Pucón is located in Chile’s Lake District. It is a very popular place with tourists. The city is about 700 kilometres away from Santiago, Chile’s capital, and it takes eleven hours to get there by bus. That may sound like a long trip, but if you get a seat on the left side of the bus, you can enjoy the views of the Andes Mountains during the journey. The Villarrica Volcano is one of the world’s few active volcanoes. It’s located about seventeen kilometres to the south of Lake Villarica. It is in Villarica National Park. The last time it erupted was on March 3, 2015. A 3-kilometre zone was closed after the eruption. Visitors could still watch the eruption and see the ash cloud above it. In just a few weeks, the National Service of Geology and Mining announced that the activity rating for the volcano was now a yellow warning not a red alert. The yellow warning is the second-to-lowest warning level. Many travellers to Pucón come to see the volcano and then realize there are many other things to see and do when they get here. First on that list would be visiting Lake Villarrica. Glaciers formed the lake during the last ice age. Today, the water temperature is 20°C during the summer, making swimming and water-skiing popular. Many visitors also go trout or salmon fishing. Pucón is also the centre for excursions to other popular attractions in Chile’s Lake District. There are 12 major lakes in the area and many smaller ones. There are five volcanoes besides Villarrica, as well as many rivers, waterfalls, forests, and thermal hot springs and also the Andes—the longest continental mountain range in the world. You might be interested in exploring the area and enjoying some hiking or skiing, depending on the weather. Horseback riding is also available. There are more than thirty hostels in Pucón. Prices in the hostels are much cheaper than the hotels in the area so many tourists prefer staying at hostels. When you get hungry, you can try many local restaurants with local food. You must try churrasco steak, which is a traditional Pucón dish. You can be sure that you’ll enjoy your time there, as there’s something to do for everyone!