The Mapuche Experience

Transfer from Temuco or Valdivia Airport to the Budi Lake. You’ll arrive at the Llaguepulli community, which is the touristic center of the Lake, and it has a broad spectrum of activities and accommodations. After the initial welcome by the people of the community, you’ll receive an interesting introduction about the Mapuche culture worldview, about their beliefs and customs.

The most attractive elements of te Mapuche culture are the dance and the music. We are introduced to some traditional dances, in which we are invited to participate.

Accommodation in Family Ruka.

After breakfast, you will visit a garden with medical plants, where you will be able to appreciate some secrets of Natural Mapuche Medicine. You will be impressed by the large variety of plants and herbs in the garden, whereby each one has its clearly defined purpose.

We will also listen about the “Machi”, who can cure diseases with their wisdom where traditional medicine does not work. In the Mapuche culture, not all communities have a Machi because they are not being selected or elected. They are discovered for having special abilities and being gifted persons for this function.

Following, you will learn about the art of cooking Mapuche food, and you will be able to taste and enjoy the results for lunch.

In the afternoon, you will depart for an excursion to the Puaucho beach, where you will visit the place where the ship “Joven Daniel” wrecked during the Tsunami after the great Earthquake in the year 1960.

On the way, we drive by the mountain Tren Tren, an important place in the mythology context for the creation of our planet. According to the Mapuche culture, the earth was created by the confrontation between Tren Tren (the snake which gives origin to the ground) and Cai Cai (another snake which gives origin to the sea). The Mapuche culture does also say that there are regular disequilibria between the forces of Tren Tren and Cai Cai, which have to be restored.

Return to Llaguepulli. Accommodation in Family Ruka.

Today: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

In the morning, you will have the opportunity to work hand in hand with the craftspeople, making typical products made out of drapery and using staining techniques. They will show you different ancient ways of working materials and at the end you can take your self-made handicraft home as a souvenir.

You’ll say goodbye to the family and depart to Llepu Island. The trip will show you the western coast of the Budi Lake, where you will find an extraordinary variety of birds. In many opportunities, you’ll get close to the lake in order to observe them well.

After lunch in the restaurant of Mrs. Norma, you’ll continue by boat to the Llepu Island. During the boat tour, you will be able to appreciate numerous families of black-necked swans and other birds as the Kingfisher.

Upon arrival on Llepu Island, you will visit a small museum, and you can walk a bit in this beautiful place where only 17 people live. With a bit of luck, you will enjoy the famous Waikil for dinner, a delicious fish, which does only exist in this lake.

Accommodation in the rustic Hostel Piuke Leufu.

After breakfast, you will return by boat to Collieufu and the following transfer will bring us back to Temuco or Valdivia. Here is where our tour ends!

We know you will never forget this experience!

Let us know what you want to do next, so we can organize it for you.