Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas needs 2 days: the Llanquihue Lake promenade, with views of the almost perfectly conical Osorno Volcano, on one, an excursion to the Petrohué Falls, volcanic rock cascades by Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, on the other. December-March is best. It's mid-to-high priced for southern Chile. It was founded by German settlers in the mid-19th century, and its Central European-style houses, along with the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Church -a replica of a Black Forest church-, reflect that heritage with an intensity uncommon outside Valdivia.