Frutillar

Frutillar (population 9,118) is 63 kilometers south of Osorno [1] and 50 kilometers north of Puerto Montt [2] via the Panamericana. It comprises two separate sectors: Frutillar Alto’s busy commercial zone adjoins the Panamericana, while Avenida Carlos Richter leads to tranquil Frutillar Bajo, pinched between the sandy lakeshore and a steeply rising hill, about two kilometers east.

The region’s most self-consciously immaculate example of German colonization, the western Llanquihue village of Frutillar can seem a caricature of Teutonic orderliness—where a sign on the beach says “Deporte, Picnic y Camping Prohibido” (Sports, Picnicking, and Camping Prohibited), it nearly feels as if it should say “Sport, Picknick und Camping Verboten.” The lakefront is so tidy that, when a thoughtless smoker flips a cigarette butt, some burgher might well be there to catch it before it hits the ground.

Still, with its almost perfectly preserved European-style houses, Frutillar exudes both style and charm; for a Dorf its size, it also has impressive cultural resources, including a fine museum and one of Chile’s most important music festivals [3]. Mirrored in the waters beyond the sandy beaches, Volcán Osorno [4] soars symmetrically to the east.

Getting There

Bus services arrive and leave from Frutillar Alto; taxi colectivos shuttle back and forth to Frutillar Bajo. The major long-distance carriers are Tur-Bus (Diego Portales 150, tel. 065/421390) and Cruz del Sur (Alessandri 52, tel. 065/421552); both run north (Santiago [5] and intermediates) and south (to Puerto Montt [2]) along the Panamericana. Thaebus, at the Alessandri terminal, runs half a dozen buses daily to Puerto Octay [6].