Tours and Activities:

école! Inn and the Environment

This space has been specially designed as part of a project of great prominence tending to enjoy all aspects of nature without abusing it.

école! Inn and Restaurant lies on one of the oldest corners in the City of Pucón. Travel guides recommend it worldwide as a kind of accommodation supporting the concept of improving the relationship of man with the planet.

From the moment we stepped in, we felt as if we were at home. Two spacious sitting-rooms welcomed the sunlight and cozy armchairs showed people reading, using their notebooks or chatting. A generous library full of books and travel guides for reference or sale, in addition to a very coquettish coffee place came next.

As we checked in at the front desk, we observed people coming and going. They were getting ready to embark on various tours and exchanging experiences from the previous day. Just like us, they had special requirements; that is why they chose that place to stay. Hispanic voices were mixed with other languages. However, they seemed to have successful communication, as if the good vibes of that place were the means. We spotted the breakfast area, where other meals are served as well. Then we went out to an inner yard, where some guests found shelter under the shade of an old vine.

We had the chance to chat with one of the partners who founded this site, Hernán Verscheure, who told us about the purpose of the inn. It all began in the early 1990s, when a group of people heard some entrepreneurs were planning to purchase an area of the Cañi Mountain Range. That way they would get the wood from the monkey-puzzle trees for their own economic benefit. In those days, national parks did not exist and the local denizens had to prevent these men from logging those ancient specimens.

“We took the matter into our own hands and spread the news about that precious local feature. We lodged visitors at the old inn called Don Pepe, pioneer of this inn. Then, as part of the program, we bought the inn and continued to carry out environmental and preservation projects with the profits”, said Hernán. At present, the inn aims at a sustainable management.

We had dinner at the vegetarian restaurant, where the variety of the menu, the simplicity and good presentation of the dishes surprised us. Vegetables and legumes produced in the area are the ingredients used in multiple preparations with varied condiments. Quinoa, vegetables cooked in the grill or the wok, different kinds of salads and warm pita bread are also present. For dessert, we tasted some season fruit, homemade cheese and nuts. Everything included by this fresh cuisine with ingredients typical from the regional native culture was delicious.

After dinner, we sat at the living-room to chat with some Austrian young guests who were touring around the trails of the forests of southern Chile. It was evident for us that there was a common language when it came to joining initiatives aiming at improving environmental conditions.

école! Develops the idea of sharing the common space of the inn with local cultural groups basing their encounters on supporting the wise use of the soil in order to make it produce supplies, always watching renewable options and avoiding waste.

The facilities at the venue have been adapted in order to take advantage of the water and the heating using new technologies, such as solar panels and the so-called termo cañón. The echo of the footsteps on the wooden floor of the original ancient house still remains at école! They insist on reminding us that history lives there.

See also: Hotels in Pucón and other accommodation venues