Volcan Chaiten Sendero | Tourist Attraction

Chile

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Verified:
about 2 months ago
Altitude:
781.0 masl
Contributor:
penguin-bingo.com

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Description

This is a 3hr return track up to the caldera of Volcan Chaiten, which erupted in 2008 (and is still smouldering!).
It's a great hike, but the horseflies are relentless (only in summer) - we'd recommend staying as covered as possible! The track is steep gravel towards the top, and can be slippery on the way down.
600m of elevation for 2.3 km

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Challenging steep hike. Loose rock and tall steps made me regret not bringing trekking poles. Make sure to bring enough water, there is none on the trail after an early creek crossing. We finished around 6pm and had to wait 2 hours for a ride. There is usually a 6pm ferry that would provide hitchhiking options, but there was not one on this day. We were not prepared to stay, so it was a little concerning.

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The hike is worth the effort. The view at the top is really beautiful, with the Chalten volcano still smoking. The trail is quite difficult, with many large steps all along (600m of elevation for 2.3km gone). We took 1h30 to go up and 1h to get off. Take something to cover yourself, there are a lot of horsefly at the top. In the parking lot, there is water, toilets, and explanatory panels.

La randonnée vaut l’effort. La vue au sommet est vraiment magnifique, avec le volcan Chalten qui fume encore. Le sentier est assez difficile, avec beaucoup de grandes marches tout le long (600m de dénivelé pour 2,3km allé). Nous avons mis 1h30 pour monter et 1h pour descendre. Prenez de quoi vous couvrir, il y a énormément de taons au sommet. Au parking, il y a de l’eau, des toilettes, et des panneaux explicatifs.

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We took a nap on the parking lot after coming from the night ferry and did the hike in the afternoon. Still a lot of people, very popular trail. Strenuous going up, some of the stairs are more than a meter high. 3 to 4 hours round trip, including some chilling at the top, enjoying the view of the two smoking titties of the Chaiten Volcano.

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I know we think it's great when the park is free or the ranger doesn't turn up to collect the money for camping, but if it went towards maintenance I'd be happy to pay. No Pumalin campsites open here in November/most of December, Ventisquero camping and roads and trails closed at El Amarillo now, alte valle camping in Patagonia NP closed so one has to hike in from the road, etc. The view here was much nicer than I expected and sad to say it is worth the effort because it is a relentlessly steep climb, not helped by leaving in the midday sun! The trail is rough but doable but needs a lot of maintenance - it's probably the most popular trail in the park and it is a bit of a mess which is a shame. Superb views from the top though, interesting dead trees and the red smoking volcano is quite impressive. Rec: excellent documentary about the Kraffts, 2 French volcanologists who
died in a volcanic explosion in Japan, called Fire of Love!

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Nice hike, we did it after the ferry coming from Hornopirén. Steep climb, but quite short (~2.4km one way) so very doable. View over the volcano and the laguna on the one side and over the valley on the other. We got up in 1h and down in 1h as well.

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I did it with my 6 year old daughter after some days of rain. It is very steep and some steps are as high as my daughter. First part super muddy second part snow and slippery. Nevertheless great views! But your kids have to be tough 😅

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Tuff hike but really beautiful! A lot of stairs to go up. 600m gain elevation for 2.5km one way. At the top you see the laguna and the volcano with some little smoke. We came here during a rainy and cloudy day but it was still worth it even though we didn’t have the view during the hike, we could still see the volcano and laguna at the top.
2h up and 1h down
IG: on.vagabonde

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Great hike ! Free. Nice views at the top, you can see the volcano smoke going out.
Clean Bathroom in the parking lot

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Nice and easy hike, 2.5 hrs return. You reach the outer rim of the caldera. Good views of the volcano 🌋 and the coast. Not a must see, but definitely one of the best hikes in Pumalin.

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It is too steep and it cost us too much time and energy. The Vulcano was disappointed 🪨🌋 Nive view at the top, when you look the other side

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Nice hike and nice view on the volcano and the valley ! As it's describe before... lot of stairs. so quite steep but not too long.

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Great hike, we didn’t had the view because of the clouds but still think it was a nice hike to start in Patagonia. We walked 1 hour up and 45 minutes back. Luckily no horse files seen.

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Awesome hike to the edge of the Chaiten crater. Like all the other reviews say... this is mostly steps, all the way to the top. 2000' gain over 1.7 miles. Prepare to battle the giant flies at the top. We arrived at 8:00am and when we got back park staff told us we couldn't camp there overnight! Like it was so shocking someone might hike before 9am. Go (reasonably) early to avoid the crowds.

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Very nice view on the Chaiten volcano and its laguna. You can see the smoke! The trail is up all the way, a lot of steps and a short steep part at the end, but if you are used to hike, there's no difficulty. It took us 1h30 up and 1h down. Better to leave early as it can get very hot up there and there's no water. Toilets and water at the parking.

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Steep almost all the way, and really really hot if the sun is shining- we were told it's shaded but it isn't really!
If you've seen other volcanoes e.g. in Central America this might be disappointing in comparison. The views back out to the coast are beautiful but you don't need to go fully to the summit to see them. The flies are awful, bug spray works a bit- until it's all sweated off
...

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The hike is nice and the view on top is really beautiful. However, the horse flies were terrible. Could not stand still for 10 seconds. All people we saw on the trail were clearly also very annoyed. Made us walk really fast so managed to do the round trip in 2 hours. Not the best experience and actually only saw how beautiful it was when looking at the pictures afterwards. Advice to go early morning to avoid the horse flies a bit and escape the heat (in summer).

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This is a beautiful place. 2 hours to walk.

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not so long but up all the time so nice and exhausting. didn't find the decent so dangerous, you just have to be careful in some parts. didn't see much of the view because of the weather but the forest is so lovely, on every hike in this parc

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We did it with a 3 and 5 years old children. 2h20 to get up and 2h20 to return. we found the descent a little bit dangerous. The last quarter was suite difficult. The view from the top is very beautiful.

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Lovely hike! Pretty tough going up as it’s all stairs or up-hill. Great view at the top, but very cold and windy! Took us 3 hours up and down with stops on the way.

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went up after a rainy morning but had relatively clear afternoon. very cool 360. took us 1:15 to get up. difficult, but nothing to be scared of if in decent shape.

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3 h aller-retour pour voir le volcan.Beaucoup d escaliers et le denivelé est d environ 600m.
Difficile avec les enfants mais pas insurmontable.Magnifique en haut.

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It’s recommended to be in good shape for this hike, as mentioned below 90% of the hike are stairs. Great views over the lake and river. Make sure you go up on a clear day, otherwise not worth it.

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Pretty tough going in the heat because it’s really straight up and down. A few people had given up en route. 2 hours up and 1.5 down. You don’t see into the crater itself at the top but you can see it smouldering away. The views along the path out are lovely but I’m not sure I’d need to go all the way to the summit again.

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Fabulous walk. Steep but it‘s woth it! Nice view in all directions, awesome crater. We haven‘t seen such a crater before.

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We didn't make it out of the tree-line as some of the steps were up to our 5 year old waist! And the steep part was still ahead. But even making it that far, the hike was great, beautiful views from the two scenic view points we conquered on our 1.5 hours up. Trail was in good condition. And do leave early....the heat, and the horse flies start to get pretty horrible when the sun is overhead!

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I'm not a "hiker"... it's 2.2 kilometers up there with 750 high, it's a moderate up, you get tired, and sometimes seems never end. but, we you less expect, you will be there... and it's amazing! the volcano is beautiful, still smoking... a crazy place! after this, to get back is very easy! after all it's just downstairs. Very recommend! and it's freeee!!!

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Trail is Almost completely stairs and pretty steep but nice view along the way up and with blue sky, the smoking volcano would be very impressive

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Trail is sandy gravelly and steep up to the rim of the crater. Fabulous views in all directions. We loved this hike.

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did it in the rain in 3.5 hour with a stop at the top for cocoa. it's definitely a bunch if stairs but it's not really that far. wish we could have seen more than just clouds at the top.

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This trail leads over a lot of stairs to the edge of the caldera of Volcán Chaitén, which erupted last in May 2008.

Duration: approx. 3 hours return
Distance: approx. 4.4 kilometres return
Difficulty: moderate-difficult

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Great short hike to do. Sign says 3 hrs return which is about spot on. Took us 1:40hr to climb, 20mins up top and 1:20hr to get down but we had 3 kids in tow so anyone else can do it faster if you're short on time. It was cloudy and raining when we went but what we did see was pretty cool. Must be pretty great when the sky is clear.
Track is 80% log stairs and easy. The last 20% is pretty steep and therefore slippery on the way down in wet weather. Wear shoes with decent soles.
A 5⭐️ family hike!

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great walk ! Nice plants all over the trek. it took us 2,5h to get up and 1,5h to return with a 6 years old with us ! worth it !

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Start of the steep sand stone slope. But we got to the top, it worths!!!!

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Nice and short hike. Start early to avoid too many horseflies.
The trail is well marked and easy to go although it is steep.
Took us 1:10h to go up and around 1:00h back. We stayed quiet a long time on top because of the amazing views.

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Nice and moderate hike in the beginning. Turns into steep steps only. The last third is almost climbing up the volcano, very slippery because of rocks and sand. You don't even see the trail anymore, so choose your own. Barely any shade, so bring a hat and good sun protection. And bring water, not just the usual bottle. Honestly, we don't know how anyone, no matter how sporty they are, could do that hike in 2,5 or 3 hours. It took us way longer because we needed to stop once in a while. Impressive views on top. The way back down is not easy either because of all the high steps. If you have hiking poles, bring them. Enjoy!

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Beautiful hike, amazing views, it totally worth the effort. For us that are not hiking machines and love to take pictures and enjoy the views, took 2 hours to hike up and 1,5 hours to come back. Would do it again!!!

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Stunning hike!!! Yes it's steep and slipery (sand and rocks) at the end but completely worth it. It took us 1h15 for going up and 1h for the way back.

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steep way up to the caldera of the volcano Chaiten. 700m uphill, 2,2km distance. On a sunny day there is very little shade, as the forest has been burned down in the eruption 2008, and grows back only slowly. Take enough water and sun protection. good view of the new emerging cone in the caldera.

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This is a 3hr return track up to the caldera of Volcan Chaiten, which erupted in 2008 (and is still smouldering!). It's a great hike, but the horseflies are relentless - we'd recommended staying as covered as possible! The track is steep gravel towards the top, and can be slippery on the way down.

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