AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Lake Llanquihue is the second-largest lake in Chile, a vast fan of deep blue water in the Los Lagos Region whose shores are fringed with German-built towns and watched over by the snow-crowned cone of Osorno volcano. On a clear day the volcano throws a perfect reflection across the surface, a postcard that has made this the defining image of southern Chile's lake district.↗↗↗
More than a scenic backdrop, Llanquihue is a whole destination you can spend days or weeks exploring: lakeside cities for strolling and seafood, a ring road and bike path for slow circumnavigation, and the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park and Osorno volcano rising at its eastern end. It rewards both relaxed sightseers and active travellers—kayakers, anglers, hikers and, in winter, skiers.↗↗
A lake shaped by ice and volcanoes
Covering roughly 871 km² and plunging to 317 m at its deepest, Llanquihue ranks behind only General Carrera among Chilean lakes. Its unusual fan-like shape was carved by successive piedmont glaciers during the last ice age—the so-called Llanquihue glaciation, named after the moraine system ringing these shores. Today the lake drains westward through the Maullín River toward the Pacific.
