Best national parks in Chile

The lake district around Pucon and Puerto Varas has the volcano parks: Villarrica, climbed with a guide and an ice axe, Huerquehue’s araucaria forest, Conguillio’s lava and monkey-puzzle trees, and Vicente Perez Rosales, the oldest park in the country, with the Petrohue falls under Osorno. La Campana is a day from Santiago or Valparaiso. Rapa Nui National Park covers most of Easter Island’s archaeological sites; the ticket is bought on arrival and visits to the main sites now require a local guide. The south is for November to March.