Futaleufú River, Los Lagos Region, Chile

5Cynthia A 5:00 PM Feb 4, 2020

Beautiful, exhilarating river
A must-see for whitewater lovers. Huge whitewater with beautiful landscapes. I'm a whitewater guide in Maine, and before this trip my favorite river has been the Penobscot River. Futaleufu is in its own category of whitewater and landscapes. Mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, and merging rivers. This place is breath-taking!

5SwissPinkPanther 5:00 PM Jan 20, 2019

WOW ... As a nature lover, one of my all time favorite places !!!
Now let's face it..... Futalelufu is not on many peoples radar screen as a travel destination....by car from Bariliche it is a good 5 hrs including time to cross the border...fortunately the road trip from Bariloche is visually stunning , the roads are paved 85% of the way so the travel time passes quickly..... But given the rocks that were flying on the unpaved road if you are renting a car you should get insurance for covering at least any small scratches from flying stones.... The roads are relatively empty with seemingly safe drivers.... Another challenge that Futalelufu has is a shortage of high end lodgings...Uman Lodge (see my review) is the only place that I'm aware of .... BUT all of these shortcomings are worth it if you are an avid fisherman, lover of kayaking or river rafting of just hiking. I've travelled all over the world...the closest Futaleufu comes to visually....would be a remote part of Switzerland with snow capped mountains in the summer, beautiful expanses of pasture for milk cows and sheep and the ocassional lama..brisk clean air, almost no people AND what separates it from Switzerland is the magnificent Futalelufu river. A sizeable, powerful , turquoise colored, pristine river flowing through the valley ...absolutely stunning. During our stay in Futalelufu we went fishing, rafting and hiking. One guy in our party, an avid fisherman, claimed that it was one of his most memorable fishing experiences having caught 30+ trout in one day. The white water rafting..including class 5 Rapids...was over the top....see my review. For three relatively inexperienced rafters pushing the envelope.....we can all highly recommend the experience.....and lastly there is the hiking ... Down mountain sides, through fields of wild flowers and beautiful pastures .... all so pleasant. Lastly the town of Futalelufu can't be more than 5 blocks square.....it has a very nice park at the center off of which one can find "simple" restaurants , a church, B&Bs , etc. for one of the best views of the Futalelufu river venture up to Uman Lodge, order a glass of wine or coffee, Go sit out on their terrace and soak in the wonders of nature. Futaleufu and its river have clearly remained undiscovered due to its isolation and possibly the few upscale lodges that are located here ...but this is also an advantage for those seeking the very best that nature has to offer without being over run by tourists. If you plan to drive allow for four nights in Futaleufu ...your arrival night, then 3 days of activity...hiking, rafting and fishing and then returning to Bariliche..,and yes, there is a gas station in Futaleufu to fill your car up for your return trip. If you rent a car in Bariliche make sure you get the proper documents to cross the border into Chile ... Depending on the number of people the border crossing will take 30-45 mins ...but both in Chile and Argentina there were 4-5 people manning each border crossing.