From Pucón it looks like a cone of snow with a small flag of steam on top.
Up high the snow has frozen to firn, and the air smells of sulfur.
Inside the crater sits a lava lake. Right now, that is exactly why nobody is allowed up.
Scroll –
the climb begins
On September 4, 2026 SERNAGEOMIN raised Villarrica from green to yellow: the lava lake is rising, and small explosions are throwing rock over the crater rim. CONAF's climbing protocol applies only at green – so the crater climb is off. The ski center, the chairlift and the trails in the national park stay open.
The protocol allows climbs to the rim only at alert level green and without a safety perimeter. Neither has applied since September 4, 2026. How high guided tours currently go has not been set by any authority – in the last yellow phase they ended at 2,000 to 2,400 m (6,560–7,870 ft).
The road to the Juncalillo parking lot is public. The chairlift runs in winter for skiers and sightseers, 9 am–5 pm. In summer (mid-January to early March) there are scenic rides and sunset evenings.
Trails to viewpoints and lava fields below the slopes, no guide needed. Entry Mon–Sun 8:30 am–5:30 pm, last entry 4 pm. Ticket online only from Pases Parques – nothing is sold at the gate.
Photo: Natalia Reyes Escobar · CC BY-SA 4.0
At green, Villarrica is a long, honest day: leave Pucón at 6:30 am, chairlift to 1,900 m (6,230 ft), then four to six hours over firn and volcanic sand with crampons and an ice axe. At the top the plan allows ten minutes on the crater rim – sulfur, steam, and with luck a view of the lava lake. The descent is a slide down the snow on sliding pants. None of that is available right now. Agencies still sell the tour; before booking, ask how high it really goes at yellow.
What remains is not nothing: the trails in the Rucapillán sector between lava fields and araucaria trees, the chairlift ride with its view over Lake Villarrica, the lava tube at the Cuevas Volcánicas – and at night the lakefront in Pucón. From there you can see what the mountain is up to.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. At alert level yellow no tour reaches the crater. Before booking, ask the operator where the tour currently ends and what is refunded if it is called off.
Photo: Bkwillwm · CC BY-SA 3.0
Since the crater reopened on November 22, 2024 a safety protocol by CONAF, SERNAGEOMIN, SENAPRED, the municipality of Pucón and the mountain guides' association has been in force, tightened in September 2025. It sets who may go up, when and with what – and it applies only at green.
Every person signs in at the CONAF Rucapillán checkpoint; agencies register their groups. Anyone arriving later does not set out. The ascent cutoff is 2:30 pm.
Minimum age 18. Without a guide only with documented mountaineering experience (FEACH card, course certificate, club membership), emailed in advance to parque.villarrica@conaf.cl. Everyone else goes with an authorized agency.
Helmet, crampons, ice axe – plus GPS, proof of insurance and a gas mask. Agencies provide the technical gear; anyone going alone has to show it all.
Waiting area 500 m below the crater, at least 20 m from the rim, no more than ten minutes at the top. A 1.5 km exclusion perimeter around the crater center whenever conditions require it.
| Villarrica National Park, north sector (Rucapillán): foreign adults, seniors, people with disabilities · about €10 | CLP 11,000 |
| Foreign teenagers 13–17 · about €5 | CLP 5,500 |
| Chilean adults 18–59 / teenagers 13–17 | CLP 5,000 / 3,400 |
| Children up to 12 (all); Chilean seniors and people with disabilities | free |
| Pillán chairlift, scenic ride from age 15, regular / high season · about €18.50 / €23 | CLP 20,000 / 25,000 |
| Adult ski day pass, low season / weekend / high season | CLP 52,000 / 63,000 / 69,000 |
| Parque Cuevas Volcánicas (private, km 14.5): adults · children 7–15 CLP 14,000, under 7 free | CLP 18,000 |
| Standard route to the crater (northwest face) | From the Juncalillo parking lot (about 1,400 m / 4,600 ft) over the ski slopes and the firn to the crater rim at 2,847 m (9,341 ft). Ascent 4–6 hours, an hour less with the lift; descent 2–3 hours, often sliding on snow. Agencies plan 8 hours from Pucón, start 6:30 am. Only at alert level green – not since September 4, 2026. |
| Silla Panorámica chairlift | From the Juncalillo base (about 1,400 m) to the top station with restaurant (about 1,900 m / 6,230 ft), a few minutes. CLP 20,000, in high season CLP 25,000, from age 15. Winter operations usually July–September, summer operations mid-January to early March, 9 am–5 pm. Snow chains mandatory in winter, Carabineros check. |
| Trails in the Rucapillán sector | From the checkpoint to viewpoints and lava fields below the slopes (about 1,400–2,000 m / 4,600–6,560 ft), 1–3 hours, no guide, year-round. Only the park ticket is needed. The “Cráter Villarrica” trail is listed as 3.3 km (2 miles) one way – that figure comes from a magazine, not from CONAF. |
Photo: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Anyone planning the climb is planning against the alert level. The last time the crater was closed it stayed closed for two years – and the agencies in Pucón lost up to 90 percent of their clients.
Exclusion radius 500 m, from January 6, 2023 1 km, briefly orange in September 2023 with 8 km. Tours end at 2,000–2,400 m.
Registration, licenses, equipment checks. The protocol explicitly applies only at green and without a safety perimeter.
A 38-year-old tourist falls about 400 m. In September 2025 the protocol is tightened: ascent cutoff 2:30 pm, 10 minutes at the summit, GPS and gas mask mandatory.
Regional red alert until January 28, 2026. The municipality puts the loss at about 120 visitors a day.
Increased seismicity since August, small explosions, incandescence, rising lava lake. SENAPRED: Alerta Temprana Preventiva for Villarrica, Pucón, Curarrehue and Panguipulli.
Photo: Maxcostas · CC BY-SA 4.0
Without a car: No public bus to the ski center; agencies drive from Pucón. Pucón is reached by bus from Temuco (about 2 h) and Santiago (overnight bus, about 10–11 h); Temuco airport (La Araucanía) is about 100 km (62 miles) away.
By car: From Pucón take the Camino Internacional (Ruta 199) toward Argentina, after about 9 km (5.6 miles) turn off at 'Centro de Ski' and climb 11 km (7 miles) of gravel to the park entrance/ski center; chains mandatory in winter. Parking only at the Juncalillo base lot.
For the crater climb October to April (southern summer): more stable weather, ascent on firn and volcanic sand, start at dawn. June to September is ski season at Pillán with avalanche risk on the climbing routes; climbs then only for experienced people on skis or crampons. What really decides is the alert level – as of September 2026 the crater is out of reach anyway because of yellow; the glow is visible at night from Pucón.
Photo: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The region does not live off the climb alone: snowshoe hikes on the volcano, the hot springs nearby, the araucaria forest in the national park. None of these depend on an alert level.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. The Pucón selection is small; these tours still have few reviews.
Photo: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Not to the crater. Alert level yellow has applied since September 4, 2026, and the CONAF protocol allows crater climbs only at green. The park, the trails in the Rucapillán sector and the chairlift are open.
Guided tours CLP 80,000–150,000 (about €75–140) including equipment, plus the park ticket (CLP 11,000 for foreign adults) and usually CLP 18,000–20,000 in cash for the chairlift.
Online only at pasesparques.cl, sector Villarrica Norte. There is no ticket office at the entrance. Chileans and foreigners are booked in separate steps and paid together.
October to April: more stable weather, ascent on firn and volcanic sand. June to September is ski season with avalanche risk on the routes. The alert level is what decides – as of September 2026 the crater is out of reach anyway.
When things are quiet, only the glow and gas in the crater floor, rarely the lava lake itself. Since August 2026 it has been rising – at night the glow is visible from Pucón, and that is exactly why the crater is closed.
In winter, yes. The last 11 km (7 miles) to the ski center are gravel, and Carabineros check for chains on the access road.
Yes, but only with proven mountaineering experience (FEACH card, course certificate, club membership), emailed in advance to parque.villarrica@conaf.cl, with full technical equipment and registration at the Rucapillán checkpoint between 7 and 9 am. Everyone else goes with an authorized agency.
About 4–6 hours uphill from the ski center (an hour less with the lift) and 2–3 hours down, often sliding on the snow. Agencies plan 8 hours from Pucón, start 6:30 am; under the protocol you must be at the top by 2:30 pm and may stay at most 10 minutes.
The crater climb is not: since September 2025 CONAF requires a minimum age of 18. For families there are the chairlift, the lower trails and the Cuevas Volcánicas; children up to 12 pay no park entry.
Stiff mountain boots, waterproof layers, hat, gloves, glacier glasses and sun protection. Helmet, crampons, ice axe, gas mask and sliding pants are provided by the agencies; anyone going alone has to bring and show everything.
From Pucón about 20 km (12 miles): Camino Internacional toward Argentina, after 9 km turn left to the Centro de Ski, then 11 km of gravel to the park entrance and ski center. Agencies pick up in Pucón; snow chains are mandatory in winter.
It is Chile's highest-risk volcano: lava lake, gas bursts, ejecta and avalanches in winter. That is why there are exclusion radii by alert level and a strict protocol. Most accidents, though, are falls on the descent – a tourist died that way in 2025.
Alerta Técnica Amarilla since September 4, 2026 (SERNAGEOMIN); SENAPRED keeps Villarrica, Pucón, Curarrehue and Panguipulli under Alerta Temprana Preventiva. Daily updates at sernageomin.cl/alertas-volcanicas.
Yes, for the Rucapillán sector: CLP 11,000 for foreign adults, CLP 5,500 for ages 13–17, children free; Chileans CLP 5,000. Online only at pasesparques.cl – nothing is sold at the entrance.
Yes, but then it is a ski mountaineering trip with avalanche risk (CONAF names June–September). The ski season at Pillán usually runs July to September, day passes CLP 52,000–69,000; the scenic ride costs CLP 20,000–25,000.
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
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