Program
Itinerary
Dates & Prices
Inquire / book
Villarrica Geotour
1-day geotour around Villarrica volcano with a volcanologist guide and Villarrica expert
Villarrica volcano and the place called "Guillatun" (image: Werner Keller)
Villarrica volcano and the place called "Guillatun" (image: Werner Keller)
Old sequence of deposits known as "Pucon Ignimbrites" (image: Werner Keller)
Old sequence of deposits known as "Pucon Ignimbrites" (image: Werner Keller)

Villarrica Geotour

1-day geotour around Villarrica volcano with a volcanologist guide and Villarrica expert
Tour type
Short tours and excursions: geology & volcanism - active volcanoes
Difficulty
Easy
Duration
1 day
Custom tour dates
Price per person
140 € $£¥
Villarrica is the most active volcano in Chile, which rises above the lake and town of the same name. This volcano has had 120 eruptions since 1400! So the history of this volcano is very interesting! Caldera collaps, plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows..all this you will find there.
This tour is for those, who are interested in earth sciences, nature lovers and photographers, who wish an insight into the past and present of Villarrica volcano, from the perspective of an research volcanologist from POVI (Chile`s Volcanoes Foundation).
This trip do not require special physical conditions as you are transported from one sight to the other, and during each stop you make an up to 10 min walk around the place, listening to the guide's explanations and admiring breathtaking scenery.
1 / 6
2 / 6
3 / 6
4 / 6
5 / 6
6 / 6

  • Get to know Chile's most active volcano with a research volcanologist
  • In-depth geological / volcanological explanations
  • Breathtaking scenery
  • Private tour

1-day tour around Villarrica volcano

Day 1: Full day on Villarrica
Start of the tour in the front of town council Pucon

Stop 1: Mapuche sacred altar
In the native Mapuche religion, inside the sacred Villarrica volcano there are four powerful spirits, one for each element. In the face of an imminent eruption, the Mapuche´s perform a ceremony in this place called "Guillatun", to appease the spirits.
(distance: 13 km / elevation: 1162 m)

Stop 2: How a volcanologist interprets volcanic deposits
This place of interest shows the sequence of most of the youngest eruptions of Villarrica. At the base, a 3700 years BP old sequence of deposits known as "Pucon Ignimbrites" from a cataclysmic caldera forming eruption. In the middle, deposits from pyroclastic flow´s and pyroclastic fall. The upper segment shows pyroclastic fall deposits and pahoehoe lava flows eroded by lahars.
(distance: 13 km / elevation: 1149 m)

Stop 3: The last eruption in 2015: lahar path
Zanjón Seco-Carmelito historical lahar paths. 20 minutes after the start of the strombolian lava fountain on March 3, 2015, a hyperconcentrated lahar crossed this point and left behind more than 2 meters high boulders. This represents the huge potential destruction power of lahars, responsible for the death of more than 100 people during the last century.
(distance: 13 km / elevation: 829 m)

Stop 4: Earth History: From the ice age to the present
Morain, pyroclastic flow deposits, and the orange layer, is the Mocho-Choshuenco (50 km to the south) pumice from a plinian eruption (~10.000 PB).
(distance: 17 km / elevation: 868 m)

Stop 5: The power of nature.
Walk along a 300 m path to the lake. The small crevasses on the earth are from the 8.8 Maule earthquake of 2010. Later, on the left side, a 18 m long concrete bridge segment, carried 300 m by the lahar of December 1971.
(distance: 33 km / elevation: 221 m)

Stop 6: 14 km long andesitic lava flow of 1971
We observe the flow of andesitic lava or "aa" type from the fissure eruption of 1971, in an extension of almost 2 kilometers. This place not only arouses our admiration for the dynamic earth, it also instills an enormous inner peace.
(distance: 81 km / elevation: 391 m)

Stop 7: Conaripe: Lahar path of 1964, memorial site
March, 1964, 22 people was killed by a 4 meter high lahar wave. The eruption was by night, during heavy rain. The town was warned by a farmer by horse few minutes before lahar arrived, but only a few was able to find a safe place in the darkness.
(distance: 95 km / elevation: 210 m)

Stop 8: Liquiñe-Ofqui Tectonic Fault (FLO)
The Calafquén lake, of glacial origin. In the background, a view of the 1,200 km long active Liquiñe-Ofqui tectonic fault , source of hot springs and volcanism.Massive pumice deposits from Neltume plinian eruption from Mocho-Choshuenco volcano (~10,000 BP).
(distance: 100 km / elevation: 210 m)
Dates and details
Booking inquiry

Arrival info:

Meeting point is at the front of town council, Pucon

Additional info

Home > Villarrica Geotour
Sources: VolcanoDiscovery / VolcanoAdventures and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most text and images on our websites are owned by us. Re-use is generally not permitted without authorization. Contact us for licensing rights.
Adventure & Study Travel
Tours to Volcanoes and Volcanic Areas: walking tours, photo tours, study tours
Tours & Dates | FAQ | About us
Get our newsletter!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes
VolcanoDiscovery Home
Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Photos | Volcano News | App
Company info
Contact | Legal info | Terms & conditions
Follow us
Follow us on facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Visit our Youtube channel
EN | DE | FR
VolcanoDiscovery GmbH, Germany, Reg. nr.: HRB 103744, EU Tax Id: DE 297 465 123 owned and created by
Dr. Tom Pfeiffer, volcanologist, volcano photographer, tour organizer member of
IAVCEI
Volcanological Society
Ecotourism Greece
Insured by R+V
Made with love by Virtus+
VolcanoDiscovery © 2004- All Rights Reserved | Privacy - cookie settings