Rural Tourism in the Mavidahue Ranch

We dared to spend a few days like true Chilean gauchos. We learned various rural activities while we were in a natural environment of unique beauty.

For lovers of rural tourism there is an incredible opportunity to feel like true agricultural experts at Mavidahue Ranch, located 30 km away from Futrono. Down here, its owners have set up a venture that features the best conditions for this old time activity which connects visitors with the Chilean roots. Agricultural tourism is an alternative that allows visitors to experience a different lifestyle from that of the city. Those who dare to be the protagonists of this experience just have to be willing to perform real country activities and enjoy the constant contact with nature.

To this end, Orlando Vásquez – owner and founder of more than 700 hectares – intelligently designed a variety of activities so that the guests of Mavidahue would feel like authentic Chilean gauchos. Among the many activities, working with the animals like feeding the birds, herding the cows, oxen and horses, harvesting grass, milking cows, growing a vegetable garden, preparing cheese and shearing stand out. The ranch is located in the middle of the mountain range and it is surrounded by thick Valdivian Forest sceneries, rivers and plains that also invite tourists to relax and enjoy the landscape. Also, this country center has all the necessary facilities to experience it with your family. It has 6 cabins equipped with all the necessary amenities to make your stay enjoyable and a management house with comfortable rooms subject to a half-board basis.

The vast extension of the ranch allows visitors to walk around it to get to know it. Entertaining rides, hiking or an attractive sightseeing tour on a cart pulled by oxen can be done around the area. Since the landscape has an interesting geography, there are plenty of possibilities to practice other activities as well. Orlando knows how to organize fishing trips, lunches in the open air, children’s games and sport both for children and adults. There is even access to a cypress pool heated by a boiler in the middle of the mountains. The management house or the quincho (BBQ area) can host 40 people at night and turn into meeting centers. Many families that visit Mavidahue get together for dinner and spend time playing board games, enjoying a barbecue, good Chilean wine or just a nice chat.

Pioneer of rural tourism in the region, Mavidahue Ranch is looking forward to welcoming tourists, showing them the typical country activities which mirror the customs and idiosyncrasy of the first settlers in Chile. Don Orlando’s kindness, together with the warmth and simplicity of his people, make it an unforgettable experience. We highly suggest visiting it and experiencing some days as true gauchos from the South.