Araucanía Coast guide: Lake Budi and Puerto Saavedra

On the Araucanía coast, the Imperial river meets the Pacific at Puerto Saavedra and, a little further south, lies Lake Budi, home to Mapuche Lafkenche communities (source: Sernatur, chile.travel, January 2026). This guide covers what to do in Puerto Saavedra and around the lake.

Getting there from Temuco

• By car: route S-40, officially named "Temuco - Nueva Imperial - Puerto Saavedra" (source: Vialidad, via OpenStreetMap), runs west through Nueva Imperial, about 35 km from Temuco, and Carahue, about 56 km away (source: Wikipedia). It is about 85 km of paved road to Puerto Saavedra, with views of the Imperial river (source: Sernatur, chile.travel, January 2026).
• From the airport: from La Araucanía Airport it takes about an hour and a half overland (same source).
• By bus: intercity buses run from Temuco to Puerto Saavedra several times a day, and there are buses to Carahue with connections to Puerto Saavedra (source: Saavedra Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Services, destinosaavedra.cl).
• Lake roads: some rural stretches are gravel; Sernatur recommends a vehicle with good suspension (source: Sernatur).

Carahue, on the way

Carahue overlooks the Imperial river. Pedro de Valdivia founded La Imperial there in 1551, and the present town was founded on February 22, 1882 (source: Wikipedia, "Carahue").

Things to do in Puerto Saavedra

• History: founded on December 5, 1895 as Bajo Imperial, it took the name Saavedra in 1906 (source: destinosaavedra.cl).
• The 1960 tsunami: after the May 1960 earthquake, waves of 7 to 8 meters destroyed the town and the land sank between 1.2 and 2 meters (source: Inostroza-Matus, Molina-Camacho and Romero-Toledo, Íconos journal no. 66, FLACSO, 2020, with SHOA data). The river mouth moved (source: destinosaavedra.cl).
• Cerro Maule viewpoint, overlooking the river mouth: see its page, Puerto Saavedra and Cerro Maule.
• Casa del Telar, with Mapuche textiles (source: Sernatur, chile.travel).

Lake Budi

• It has about 56 km² of brackish water, and Sernatur describes it as the only brackish lake in South America (source: Sernatur, chile.travel, January 2026). The lake forms part of the boundary between the Saavedra and Teodoro Schmidt districts (source: Wikipedia, "Budi Lake").
• Birds: black-necked swans, gulls and cormorants; bring binoculars (source: Sernatur).
• More on its page: Lake Budi.

Puerto Domínguez and Huapi Island

Puerto Domínguez, known as "the garden of Budi", has the Lafken Leufu ruka. From there, the Carlos Schalchli ferry crosses to Huapi Island, a peninsula inhabited by Lafkenche communities (source: Sernatur, chile.travel). Check the ferry times locally.

Mapuche Lafkenche tourism

• On the lake's south shore, the Llaguepulli community has run its own rural and cultural tourism for almost 20 years, with codes of conduct set by the community (source: Álvarez et al., REDER journal, 2019).
• In Puerto Saavedra, Budi Lafken Mapu, run by Yesica Huenten Catrileo, won the best Indigenous tourism initiative award at WTM Latin America in 2024 (source: BioBioChile, April 17, 2024).
• Sernatur asks visitors to respect the traditions of the Mapuche Lafkenche communities (source: Sernatur, chile.travel). This is their territory: arrange visits with them and ask before photographing people.

Best time to go

Sernatur recommends it all year. The climate is mild and rainy, with a cold coastal wind even in summer; bring a rain jacket and cash, as ATMs are scarce (source: Sernatur, chile.travel, January 2026). Summer ideas in La Araucanía in summer.

Information reviewed on October 15, 2026. Bus and ferry times, services and road conditions change: confirm them before you travel.