Villarrica National Park: sectors and how to get there

Villarrica National Park spreads across Villarrica, Pucón and Curarrehue in Araucanía, and Panguipulli in Los Ríos (source: CONAF). Each sector has its own road and ranger booth: here is how to reach each one, how to buy tickets and what's open today.

Sectors and how to get there

• Rucapillán: the Villarrica Volcano sector. From Temuco it's 112 km via Ruta 5 Sur and route 199; just before Pucón, take the volcano road and drive 8 km to the CONAF booth, where the pavement ends (source: CONAF). Sernatur, Chile's tourism board, puts it about 18 km from Villarrica or Pucón on a mountain road and calls it the closest sector to both towns (source: Sernatur, chile.travel, January 7, 2026).
• Quetrupillán: from Pucón, follow route 199 toward Curarrehue as far as Palguín, where there is a signposted turn-off; from the highway it's 17 km to the booth (source: CONAF). It sits by the Chinay campsite (source: Sernatur, chile.travel).
• Puesco: take route 199 through Villarrica, Pucón and Curarrehue, then the international road toward the Mamuil Malal pass (source: CONAF). For the road, see Curarrehue: things to do and how to get there.
• Huincacara: from Villarrica, take the road to Licán Ray and Coñaripe (S-95-T); the turn-off is at km 7.6 and from there it's 22 km to the booth (source: CONAF). More in How to get to Villarrica and Licán Ray.
• Los Cajones (Los Ríos): from Coñaripe, 15 km of paved road and 13 km of gravel (source: CONAF).

Without a car and in winter

• Without a car: to reach Rucapillán, Sernatur mentions car rental and authorized transfer or tour services (source: Sernatur, chile.travel). We found no official source on regular buses to the park booths. To reach the area first, see How to get to Pucón.
• Chains: in winter, snow chains are mandatory on the park's access roads (source: Sernatur, chile.travel).

Tickets and bookings

• Where to buy: at pasesparques.cl, which sells one ticket for the northern sector, in Araucanía, and another for the southern sector, accessed from Coñaripe (source: pasesparques.cl). CONAF refers visitors to that site for hours and conditions (source: CONAF).
• Climb and traverse: pasesparques.cl sells separate "Ascensión Volcán" and "Villarrica Traverse" passes (source: pasesparques.cl). To climb to the crater, see Climbing Villarrica volcano.
• How to buy: you pick a date on a calendar, prices vary by age, and Chilean and foreign visitors are added separately to the same cart (source: pasesparques.cl).
• Opening hours: they may change due to weather or safety (source: pasesparques.cl).
• Registration: when crater climbs reopened in November 2024, one of the requirements was to register at the park's access checkpoints, according to CONAF (source: BioBioChile, November 23, 2024).

What's open today (October 15, 2026)

• Closed: the Pichillancahue trail in Araucanía and the Glaciar Pichillancahue trail in Los Ríos, from July 25 to December 31, 2026 (source: CONAF). The pasesparques.cl page gives July 28 as the start of the closure (source: pasesparques.cl); either way, it's still closed today.
• The volcano: Sernageomin, Chile's geological service, changed Villarrica's technical alert from green to yellow on September 4, 2026 because its lava lake was rising, with effects limited to the crater area (source: Sernageomin, special report of September 4, 2026). Senapred, the disaster agency, declared a preventive early alert for Villarrica, Pucón, Curarrehue and Panguipulli (source: Emol, September 5, 2026).
• No other closures reported: when we reviewed this guide, CONAF reported no closures due to the alert apart from Pichillancahue.
• Weather closures: on September 5, 2026, the Araucanía section closed because of a strong wind forecast (source: El Periodista, September 5, 2026), and in July 2026 the park stayed closed after a windstorm because of power and water outages (source: BioBioChile, July 3, 2026).
• Wildfires: in January 2026, access to national parks was suspended under a red wildfire alert, and crater climbs with it (source: Pucón Municipality, January 23, 2026).

Seasons

• Winter: chains are mandatory (source: Sernatur) and there is avalanche risk from June to September on the Los Ríos trails (source: CONAF). Sernatur mentions Pucón Ski Center on the volcano's lower slopes (source: Sernatur, chile.travel).
• Summer: on the crater there is a risk of falling rocks from December to April (source: CONAF).
• Trails with distance and level: Hiking in Pucón: trails by level.

Services and rules

• Services: CONAF lists trails, picnic areas, a viewpoint, ski runs, horse rental and camping, although the same page says there are no camping areas (source: CONAF).
• Accessibility: in Araucanía there are trails for people with reduced mobility, a rope guide system for blind visitors, an information center with a ramp, an accessible restroom and two single-wheel chairs on loan (source: CONAF).
• Rules: fire of any kind is banned (Law 20,653), as are pets, leaving the trails and flying drones without permission (source: CONAF).
• Contact: parque.villarrica@conaf.cl; emergencies, 130 (source: CONAF).

Information reviewed on October 15, 2026. Open sectors change with the weather and the volcano's activity: check conaf.cl, pasesparques.cl and sernageomin.cl before you set out.