Hike to Cerro Piltriquitrón

Mount Piltriquitrón, known as "hanging from the sky" in the Mapuche tongue, is the magnificent mountain that lights up during sunset, as seen from El Bolson. The town itself is famous for its chilled out vibe and awesome handcrafts market. If you want to get a birds eye view of the town and the surrounding mountain range, this is the place to do it. 

The trailhead begins almost halfway up the mountain so getting there can be a little tricky. You can choose to walk the 13km gravel road or practice your Spanish while asking the taxi drivers if they will take you and bring you back. We had to ask quite a few because most drivers don't want to risk their car on the gravel road, but eventually were successful. From the trailhead, the trail wraps around the mountainside allowing unobstructed views of the valley. After about an hour of walking, we reached a small hut with a few picnic tables. Because we were there in the Fall (April), everything was shut down and we had the snowy compounds all to ourselves. 

From here, the path goes on and this time it is through Bosque Tallado, an exhibition of carved wood in various figures. Because we were there in the fall, all the leaves were striking hues of yellows, red and orange. If possible, I'd highly suggest going during this time of year. 

After another 30 minutes of following the path you will reach a small refugio where you can spend the night or buy snacks/water. If you continue on the path you will reach the actual peak after 2.5 hours. It's important the keep the weather and time in mind if continuing on the trail. 

To return back to the trailhead, follow your footsteps back the way you came. We asked the taxi driver to return about 6 hours after he dropped us off. We arrived with a little time to spare so we ended up walking to the hang gliding platform (to the right of the trailhead) and watching a guy jump off the cliff with his gear.