The Paso Desolación is one of the best (and most visited) trails in the Puerto Varas area. And there is no question as to why: it gives you an amazing view of the magnificent scenery.
This trail is inside the Vicente Pérez Rosales national park and borders the Osorno volcano from the La Picada cafeteria to Petrohué, in the shore of the Todos los Santos lake. It takes between 4 and 5 hours to complete the whole trail.
You will need some things to complete this trek in the best way possible. For starters some good trekking shoes, preferably waterproof. Also a light rain jacket, even if you come during the summer, this is a very rainy region of the country so the odds of some water fall are relatively high. You also need a hat for the sun and sunscreen, the Paso Desolación gets its name (desolation trail) from the utter lack of trees. The vegetation is very low and scarce, which is fantastic for getting breathtaking panoramic views but provide no shelter from the sun.
There are also no streams crossing this path, so you need to bring water with you. The good thing is when coming in our guided tour, we provide a 1 lt bottle of water for each participant to avoid any dehydration. And finally, the trail is covered in volcanic ash, so it's very similar to walking on a sandy beach, the difficulty is not high, but it can be a little demanding.
One of the main advantages of coming in our tour is that there is no public transportation that will get you to the beginning of trail in la Picada. And our tour includes includes pick up from your lodgings in Puerto Varas at 9 am, we will have you back there again at about 5:30 pm. We also include a tasty and healthy lunch that we eat on the trail and a profesional guide that will be with you all along the way to help in any way you need and to share with you all the relevant information of the area.