Where is Corralco?

Corralco is located on the southeastern flank of the Lonquimay Volcano in La Araucanía Region. Corralco Chile is only 10km (15 minute drive) from the little town of Malalcahuello, 120km (75 miles) east of Temuco, and 700km south of Santiago.

Flights

The Corralco Ski Resort is about 90 minutes drive from the Temuco Airport (Maquehue Airport), which receives flights from Santiago with Latam and Sky Airlines. The flight takes just over an hour and there are about 4 flights a day.

Guests of the Valle Corralco Hotel and Spa can get transfers from the airport, or it’s possible to rent a car at Temuco Airport to get to the ski resort.

Driving to Corralco

It’s also possible to drive to Corralco from Santiago. The 700km travels by reasonably quickly considering that most of the drive is on Ruta 5 which has a 120km/hour speed limit. Turn off at Victoria and follow the signs to Curacautin and then to Malalcahuello.

Driving between Malalcahuello and the Ski Resort

If you’re not staying at the Corralco Hotel on-mountain, you’ll need a car (or be on a tour) to get between the ski resort and your lodging.

Corralco is on google maps but for directions, head east about 1km past the “centre” of Malalcahuello and instead of veering right towards the town of Lonquimay, head left following the signs to Corralco and the Malalcahuello National Park. The road is paved for about 4km until the left turn to the volcano. The remaining 6km is unpaved but the drive is relatively easy. The road just meanders and it’s amongst the beautiful Araucaria trees, so there are no hair pin bends or scary drops off like you find with the Santiago ski resorts. After entering the national park you’ll come to a fork in the road. Veer right to head up to the day lodge or turn left to drive to the hotel.

Tours

Alternatively Corralco is incorporated in the itinerary of some Chile ski tours so the guides can look after all the transportation requirements. The tours include guiding so that you can get the most out of the ski area.

Getting Around the Ski Resort

The ski resort day lodge and the day car park are located about 500 metres up the hill from the Valle Corralco Hotel and Spa. In the future there will supposedly be a chair lift between the hotel and the day lodge to make the hotel fully ski-in ski-out. There’s a bus that goes every half hour from the hotel up to the day lodge.

The hotel is ski-in although the slope from the day lodge down to the hotel is very mellow and flat in places making it a little challenging for snowboarders. Very conveniently, you can ski right to the door of the ski and snowboard storage room.

Other Ski Resorts Nearby

Las Araucarias Ski Center is just to the south as the crow flies at the foot of the Llaima Volcano. Las Araucarias is located 82 km (51 mi) to the north-east of Temuco. 

The Pillan Pucon Resort on the Villarrica Volcano is also located in the region, 105km southeast of Temuco.