Parque Nacional Huerquehue

The 125-sq-km preserve, founded in 1912, is a little wonderland of waterfalls, alpine lakes and araucaria forests and the creatures that traverse them, including the pudú (the world’s smallest deer) and arañas pollitos (tarantula-like spiders that come out in the fall. Well-maintained and marked trails invite multiple days of exploration and Refugio Tinquilco, one of Sur Chico's loveliest lodges, beckons overnight stays, but a day trip from Pucón, about 35km to the southeast, is obligatory for the more hurried set.