Curacautín

Curacautín is a town of 16,500 people (2012) in Araucanía, Southern Chile. This area is known for its natural environment, and the Conguillío and Tolhuaca National Parks, and Malleco and Malalcahuello-Nalcas National Reserves are close by.

Understand
Curacautín is 90 km northeast of Temuco, in a valley near the volcanoes Tolhuaca, Lonquimay and Llaima, all of which can be seen from the city. Historically, it served as a highway of sorts for the Pehuenches that lived on either side of the Andes mountain range.

Get in
Buses from Temuco come in regularly (1½ hours) in the :
 * Bio Bio runs services via Victoria (9 times a day, 09:00-21:30) or via Lautaro (twice a day) from their office in the center of Temuco. 3,500 pesos one-way or 6,300 pesos return;
 * Curacautín Express runs minibuses every half-hour (06:30-21:00) or every hour on Sundays (07:30-21:00) from the Terminal de Buses Rurales in downtown Temuco. If you arrived in the Terminal Rodoviario by long-distance bus, exit the terminal by the main entrance, then turn left on Vincente Pérez Rosales and walk 300 m until you hit the Panamericana. Cross the street and you will see a bus stop in front of the shop named "Ruta 5". This is the minibus stop in direction Curacautín. 1,500 pesos one-way.

Get around
The town is entirely walkable, otherwise taxis are available.

Do

 * Go to Parque Nacional Conguillío . In winter, you can take a Captrén minibus from the bus terminal to the Guarderia Captrén $600 pesos, 45 min) or as far as the snow allows. From there you can do a magnificent hike with snowshoes to the Laguna Captrén, with views on the Volcán Llaima along the way. More options are available during summer as transportation can bring you deeper.
 * Several hot springs are reachable from Curacautín, ranging from rustic pools to full resorts, such as Cañón del Blanco, Termas de Malalcahuello, Termas de Tolhuaca, Termas de Manzanar.
 * Skiing is possible in the Corralco ski resort on the slopes of the Volcán Lonquimay.