La Villarrica is a huge private country estate in Chile’s Lake District, encompassing rivers, lakes, pasture, and native forest.
Set beneath the mighty Villarrica Volcano, the 3,500-hectare estate is reached through an unmarked gate followed by a long drive through native woodland. At its heart is Don Cristóbal, the family’s six-bedroom country house: comfortable and informal, with log fires, family photographs and an assortment of wellies by the door. A separate two-bedroom house sits down by the lake.
Horses are kept for riding and there’s miles of private country to explore on foot. It is also a working estate, producing its own honey and raising Angus cattle for organic meat. The excellent Chilean team has looked after the family for years.
What we love about La Villarrica
- The spectacularly remote, private setting: 3,500 hectares of working estate with no through road, and unrivalled access to secluded forests, rivers, and lakes.
- Cosy, traditional Chilean interiors, with wood panelling, comfortable sitting rooms and log fires.
- The garden has majestic views of two lakes and three volcanoes (Villarrica, Llaima and Mocho Choshuenco), with a hot tub, fire pit and several lovely places for lunch beneath the trees or overlooking the water.
- The excellent estate team, including gamekeeper Andi, house manager Alexander, and a Chilean chef and housekeeping team.
- The estate works with a local university to manage the native forest, and carefully controls wildlife populations.
There is enough to do here to spend several days without leaving the estate.
There are miles of walking trails, a waterfall 15 minutes from the house, and the lake for kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming. Head out on horseback through native forest and open pasture, stopping for an asado at a small house elsewhere on the property; five horses are kept for riding, and more can be brought in from neighbouring farms when needed.
Fish for trout and carp in the lake, where the chef can come down to cook the catch. For more serious fishing, we can arrange a helicopter to take you towards Valdivia for Chinook salmon. Wildlife is plentiful across the estate, including puma, pudú and güiña, as well as some 500 red deer and 200 wild boar. The red deer rut, from mid-February into early April, is quite a sight, with stags gathering and fighting around established viewing areas.
In October and November, a helicopter can collect you directly from the main house for a morning’s heli-skiing on five surrounding volcanoes, followed by a late lunch by the lake.
La Villarrica overlooks Lake Huilipilún in Chile’s peaceful Lake District. Roughly 780 km south from Santiago, the lodge sits close to the Argentinian border.
There are flights from Santiago to La Araucanía International Airport (ZCO), the nearest airport to La Villarrica. The flight duration is around 1 hour and 20 minutes. From there, a private transfer takes you to the private property.
When to Travel
In the Chilean Lake District, the climate tends to be Mediterranean, with temperate, short summers and cold humid winters.
For riding, hiking, fishing and swimming, visit between October and March, when the Lake District is at its warmest. For heli-skiing, we recommend October and November. For stalking, February and early April are best; the red deer rut runs from mid-February into early April, although March is generally reserved for the family.
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