Awakening of the volcano On December 31, 1971 began the Villarrica volcano eruption which subsequently caused an avalanche, destroying homes, barns, livestock, forests and cultivated land in Pinohuacho and directly affecting the productive capacity of the community, that was already being affected by the improper explotation of the native forests.

Decades later, in 2005, Miguel Vásquez, son of Don Pedro, the woodsman, worrying about his future in Pinohuacho, suggested the idea of changing the line of business of the town by making a more proper use of the territory, thus opening the possibility to develop rural tourism and adventure tourism by constructing different kind of facilities to welcome visitors. This facilities are open until today.

What is the meaning of Pinohuacho? The name Pinohuacho derives from the colloquial name of the Araucaria araucana pine and the history of the Pacheco-Mella marriage. This family settled down in the town in 1940, beginning the extraction of the fruit of the araucaria, the pine kernel. The family story indicates that Miss Jovita Mella sowed some of these fruits, that ultimately gave life to two trees. Later, after her husband died, a curious and emotive phenomenon took place; one of the young trees dried up, leaving a solitary Araucaria. This fact would be used later to give the name to the town, since “huacho” in Spanish means orphan.

Tourism from 2006 From that year on the old logging roads were reconditioned for trekking and horseback riding. A canopy circuit was also built on the slopes of a hill with native forest and various recreational and gastronomical activities were created to be offered to the tourists. That same year a single architectural proyect was designed, having as a main goal to respect the environment while at the same time, enhancing the visitor’s experience.

GrupoTalca proyectIn this distinctive proyect the Chilean architect Rodrigo Sheward proposed two ideas; the building of The Hood Shelter and the Observation Deck, these two being constructed by the same inhabitants of the community, who re-used wood discarded by the timber yards. Both works offer a spectacular sight of the volcano and the lakes, due to their privilage location on the top of the hill, where the tourist activities take place.