Todos Los Santos Lake Crossing Day Trip
We have just completed number 74 of our 200 Things to do in Chile list
And it just about didn’t happen!!
The crossing of Lago Todos Los Santos (Lake) is only part of the journey which takes you from Puerto Varas in Chile to Bariloche in Argentina.
The only company that does the tour is Cruce Andino who have been doing it since 1913 (so you could say they’ve had time to perfect it) and yes, they do it EVERY day, rain, hail or biting blizzard. There are other tours and agencies that supposedly do the same thing, but in fact they are using Cruce Andino’s boats and services.
We booked the lake crossing tour at the tourist information centre on the Muelle (that jetty down by the water where everyone takes THE photo with the Osorno Volcano as backdrop) on our first day in Puerto Varas.
A quick rundown of the tour
1. The bus leaves from Puerto Varas at 8.15am (it starts in Puerto Montt at some earlier hour)
2. You stop off at the Saltos de Petrohué (waterfalls) for 15-30 minutes (depending on time)
3. You arrive at the little town/village of Petrohué where you board the catamaran (Leaves 10.30am)
4. The lake crossing takes about an hour and a half eventually arriving at Peulla.
5. At Peulla you either continue on to Bariloche, stay at one of two hotels in the town or you do one of 4 or 5 available excursions. Returning boat leaves Peulla at 4.30pm
6. You usually sleep the way back to Puerto Varas.
Our trip
The plan was simple, get up at 7, get the kids and ourselves ready, have the buffet breakfast and then stroll around the corner to the meeting point at 8.15…
Unfortunately we didn’t hear the alarm on the phone.
I woke up to a darkened room (we don’t have curtains in our apartment. I like to say it is because of the incredible view we have of the city that I want to keep unhindered, though it is more because we just haven’t got around to putting them up), so complete darkness is a novelty for us. This of course led us to sleeping in since we didn’t have the normal early morning sun blaring in your face that quickly wakes you up.
So, I got up just to see what time it was… 7.45! Double take, yes confirmed, we were LATE. I think we scrambled around quicker that morning than the night of the 8.8 earthquake.
Kids ready, check.
We are ready, not quite but, check!
We raced downstairs and looked at the buffet breakfast we were missing out on, wrapped up some Kuchen (yummy German-style tart) in serviettes and sped off to the meeting point which luckily was just around the corner.
Luckily, we made it just in time.
The morning was clouded over though the guide said that it is normally like this when the wind comes from the South and that we would be needing suntan lotion by midday. He was right.
First Stop
First stop was the Saltos de Petrohué (Petrohué Falls) in the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park which according to the guide was the first National Park in South America.
Entrance fee was $1200 (Chilean Pesos – Dec 2010).
Since there are other buses of tourists coming through at the same time, you may have to line up.
Despite there being less water than normal, the falls were still quite impressive. There are walkways and many vantage points to take half-decent photos from different angles and at least the resulting picturesque photos won’t show the dozens of tourists behind you clawing each other to get that perfect shot.
Petrohué
Next stop the little town of Petrohué sitting right under Volcan Osorno (the perfectly conical volcano) where you get herded onto the catamaran that probably holds about 200 people. You have to grab a seat, watch the safety video before you are set free to roam the deck.
TIP: If you plan to do an excursion in Peulla, make sure you immediately go to the tour counter after the safety video since there are limited spaces that quickly get filled up, even the helicopter rides!
As you leave Petrohué, head out to the back of the catamaran where you can take a fantastic shot of the little town on the lake’s edge with the imposing volcano looming over it.
The island
Before long you will go by Isla Margarita (Island) which is owned by the family of the owners of the tour you are on (they let you know this over the loudspeakers both in Spanish and in English). Keep an eye out for the circular house which is their summer holiday home (it appears in the video above).
When you go past the cemetery, the captain blows the ship’s horn three times in memory of the company’s founders who are laid to rest there (don’t know if its rest if you get a ship blaring its horn at you every day).
Did you know that sometimes the locals living around the edges of the lake sometimes row up to the boat to get new supplies or packages sent to them? Random fact that you didn’t really need to know!
A Tabano - these things bite!
F-ing Flies
Once you are half way across the lake and also in the small town of Peulla itself, you will encounter tabanos, big black horse-flies that bite. Yes, they seriously annoy you though fortunately they only live for about one month between mid December and mid January.
TIP: Don’t wear black. For some reason the flies are attracted to black (dark) clothing.
In Peulla
The little town of Peulla with its 120 inhabitants seems lifeless though there are many activities you can do in the surrounding areas. You can do:
1. Canopying through the tree tops
2. Horseback riding
3. a 4×4 adventure excursion
4. Trekking
5. a Helicopter ride
6. Nothing
NOTE: Those excursions can only be booked on the boat and not once you arrive.
If you book the 4×4 excursion you will be picked up from the wharf otherwise you take one of the buses to Peulla. Another option if you don’t have an excursion planned is to walk from the wharf to Peulla (800m) admiring the view and the peaceful isolation (except when a bus full of tourists goes screaming by).
We did the 4×4 adventure excursion which we will explain in an upcoming post (with a video).
Where to eat
NOW might be an idea to start your diet. Your eating options are limited in Peulla and what little is available is very experience (which is understandable because of its isolation). The Natura Hotel wouldn’t let us eat there saying it was only for hotel guests (we weren’t even that scruffy). There is another place called La Tejuela which is a self service place next to where the bus picks you up. However, make sure bring another set of arms and legs to pay for it. To give you an idea the following cost almost $10.000 (Chilean Pesos – Dec 2010) which by Chilean standards is not cheap.
Our meal at La Tejuela in Peulla, Chile
If you find yourself with some spare time in Peulla, there is a waterfall nearby that you can reach after a 20-minute walk. Follow the (only) dirt road up into the hill where they do the canopying. It will lead you into some native forest and you just follow the signs.
Be warned, once in the forest there are rabid man-eating monkeys. No, just kidding, the only danger is your (un)fitness as it can get a little steep in parts on the way to the falls. Don’t worry, there are steps, many of them, though remember it is a dirt track which will be muddy after rain.
And if you still have time to spare, then you can always walk back to the wharf.
The ride back to Puerto Varas seems quicker, maybe due to the little bit of shut-eye that embraces the weary traveler. 
Have you done the Todos Los Santos Lake Crossing?
What did you think?
