Introducing Pucón
Pucón's fame can be boiled down to three things: the lake, the volcano and its easy access to every kind of outdoor sport imaginable. How often do you come across a small town smack in between a divinely blue lake and a perfectly conical volcano? Just to add to the effect, the volcano's crater spends most of its day billowing smoke - even the occasional giant smoke ring - and on clear nights it gives off an eerie red glow. Pucón is a place where a variety of earthly wonders conspire to create a point of inspirational natural energy. For better or for worse, a lot of people have already picked up on that fact. The town receives alternating floods of package tourists, Santiago holidaymakers, novice Brazilian snowboarders, adventure-seeking backpackers and New Age spiritualists.
While the popularity and international feel can be off-putting for some (people tend to love or hate this place), Pucón boasts the best small-town tourism infrastructure south of Costa Rica. That means quality accommodations, efficient tourism agencies, hundreds of activities and excursions, vegetarian restaurants, Mexican food, falafels, a casino where you can lose all of your money; you name it.
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