Coñaripe: the volcanic sand beach, the 1964 memorial and Lake Pellaifa

Coñaripe comes from the Mapudungun Kona Rüpü, “the path of the kona” or “the warrior’s trail”. The town sits on the eastern shore of Lake Calafquén, in the Panguipulli district of the Los Ríos Region, and in summer it lives facing the water: its lakefront has a beach about three kilometres long, with dark volcanic sand, clear water and plenty of room to lay out a towel, while the snowy cone of Villarrica volcano rises to the north.

Coñaripe at a glance

Lake Calafquén

Calafquén is a glacial lake of about 120 km² and 25 kilometres long; its name means “another lake”, referring to neighbouring Lake Villarrica. On the Coñaripe side the shore is low, easy to reach and covered in volcanic sand, and in summer the water reaches about 22 °C, and it is good for swimming, fishing and sailing. It has eleven small islands, and the towns of Licán Ray and Calafquén also lie on its shores. It is one of the Seven Lakes, together with Riñihue, Panguipulli, Pirihueico, Pullinque, Neltume and Pellaifa.

The 1964 memorial

The beach also tells the town’s story. On 2 March 1964 Villarrica volcano erupted and a lahar, an avalanche of mud and volcanic debris, swept down to the lake and destroyed much of the original Coñaripe. Twenty-two people died. The town was rebuilt one kilometre to the south-west and, in memory of the victims, the monument known as the Black Christ (Cristo Negro) was raised by the lake.

Before the eruption Coñaripe had been a timber town: railway sleepers were cut from the coihue, raulí, roble pellín and tepa forests, and a barge called “Anchimallín” crossed the lake loaded with wood. Today tourism is the main activity, and in season the lakefront is the heart of town life.

The Llancahue River and Lake Pellaifa

At the northern end of the beach the Llancahue River flows in. It is a short river, about 5.6 kilometres long, that comes down from Lake Pellaifa, and it is worth following: Pellaifa lies a few kilometres from town, surrounded by hills of native forest, and at its eastern end, where the Malihue stream flows in, there is a small public beach. It is a small lake, about 7 km², with an unusual feature: many sunken tree trunks, left under water when the lake level rose after the 1960 earthquake. Its Mapudungun name is linked to frost.

To round off the day, there are signposted viewpoints around Coñaripe, such as Pillinque Alto, Nisoleufué and Ruka Klen, looking out over the volcano, the forests and the lakes. The Thermal Route towards Liquiñe also starts here, with several hot spring centres along the way.

Tip: Coñaripe is about 18 km in a straight line from the crater of Villarrica, one of the most active volcanoes in Chile; check the current alert level before you go and, once there, note the signposted evacuation routes.