Lake Villarrica, also known as Mallalafquén
(its pre-Hispanic name is
Mapudungun
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
), is located about 700 kilometers south of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
in
Chile's Lake District in the southeast area of the
Province of Cautín. On its east shore lies the city of
Pucón
Pucón (Mapudungun: "entrance to the cordillera") is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón https://www.mipucon.com/ sitio web. It is located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the south ...
, a major tourist attraction and a popular ski resort, and on the west shore lies the town of
Villarrica.
Water sports such as
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
,
kayak
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
ing,
sport fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
and
water ski
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a Surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a Cable skiing, cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or ...
ing are popular in the summer due to the lake's warm waters (surface temperatures range from 19 to 22 °C). In winter, the average water temperature is around 10 °C.
The
Villarrica Volcano
Villarrica ( ) ( es, Volcán Villarrica, arn, Ruka Pillañ) is one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rising above the lake and town of the same name, south of Santiago. It is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "great spirit's hous ...
, one of the ten most active in the world, is situated to the south of the lake. There are two Chile
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s close by: the
Huerquehue and the
Villarrica. The latter is famous for its natural
hot springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
.
Gallery
File:Villarrica, Lago Villarrica 2019 04.jpg, View of the lake from the town of Villarrica
File:Villarrica_town_and_volcano.jpg, Aerial view of Lake Villarrica, the town of Villarrica and Villarrica Volcano
References
Villarrica
Villarrica
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