Camping y Cabañas LikanTur

You could probably gaze at the view from Camping y Cabañas LikanTur until the sun sets, but when you’re ready for a change of scene, the sea, or rather the Pacific Ocean, is suitably close. The little fishing village of Quidico is 15 minutes’ drive away, with fish restaurants, wild beaches and walks to the lighthouse while looking out for migrating whales. For a sea trip of your own, take a boat from Tirua 30 minutes away to Isla Mocha: after around 15 minutes on the waves you'll be wandering a landscape of quiet green hills and white sand beaches that’s popular with sea fishers, walkers and fossil hunters, and full of relics from the pre-Colombian past. Walks and horse treks inland can be had at Contulmo Natural Monument (50 minutes), a trail-filled forest preserve where stands of ancient araucaria trees lead to a crashing waterfall. If you’re after a dash of culture to go with all that nature, the Mapuche Museum in Cañete (30 minutes) explains the life, beliefs and history of Chile’s largest indigenous group, in the town where colonial expansion was decisively curbed in a 16th-century conflict. In Contulmo (50 minutes), the houses and public buildings, street names and sauerkraut-filled menus provide a walking history tour of German immigration to these parts.