Siete Lagos

At the northwest corner of its eponymous lake, tranquil Panguipulli [1] is the gateway to the “Siete Lagos,” a relatively little-visited series of lakes that lie east toward the Argentine border. The area’s dominant landmark is 2,415-meter Volcán Choshuenco, at the lake’s southeast end.

East of Panguipulli [1], the “Siete Lagos” area features a cluster of small towns and hot-springs resorts on or near elongated glacial lakes beneath the 2,422-meter summit of Volcán Choshuenco, a glacier-filled crater whose last major eruption took place in 1864.

Near Pullingue, paved Ruta 203 becomes a gravel road that turns southeast along Lago Panguipulli’s north shore toward Choshuenco, Neltume, and Puerto Fuy [2], where a ferry crosses Lago Pirehueico to the Argentine border at Paso Hua Hum for San Martín de los Andes; from the Pullingue junction, graveled Ruta 201 follows Lago Calafquén’s south shore to Coñaripe [3], Liquiñe, and the Carririñe pass to Junín de los Andes.

A narrow gravel road covers the 23 kilometers between Carriringue, on Ruta 201, and the south end of Lago Neltume, on Ruta 203, making it possible to loop through the area.