Lake Chapo (55 square kilometers) is located in the province of Llanquihue, Los Lagos. It is a place to relax with beautiful scenery is located 43 kilometers northwest of the town of Puerto Montt, in the Andes in southern Chile.

At an altitude of 240 m, at the foot of the volcano Calbuco (2015 m) lake extends for 17 km long and 5 km wide. It has a rugged shape of the coast, surrounded by lush vegetation: tall evergreen oak «coigües», hazel and larch. There is also a cypress, and many species of ferns.

This is a good place to go fishing, because in his deep, warm waters - an abundance of rainbow trout. On the shore there are beaches and secluded coves. Access to the lake Chapo is only possible on a dirt road, so travelers on its shore a little meet. The coast is ideal for long walks on foot and by bicycle.

On its southern shore begins Alerce Andino National Park, on the north - Llanquihue National Reserve.

Thousands of years ago, next to the lake grew a forest of unique trees - fitsroyya kiparisovidnaya. In Spanish, the name - "alerce", in the language of the Mapuche - «lahuán» or «lahuén». Sometimes it is called Patagonian cypress. This is a very large tree - more than 50 m in height and a trunk diameter of more than 5 meters. Some specimens live more than 3,600 years. During the ice age lake Chapo has increased so much that water flooded the whole forest. Currently, these trees have very few. Now Chapo lake water used for hydroelectric power, which causes changes in the level of the lake. In recent years, the lake level has dropped down so much that the dead forest became visible again, or rather all that remained of the ancient trees - they now stand on the coast, like silent ghosts. And once it was a powerful, impenetrable rainforest.