Path of the eclipse

Workshop lodging and primary location

This is the home base as well as the first choice for photographing the eclipse, weather permitting. It’s situated in a quiet location on the south shore Lake Villarrica between the towns of Villarrica and Pucón, with a good view of the volcano and fairly dark skies at night. This is an excellent location with the convenience of not requiring further travel, however, the weather is not as reliable here, and based on historical data, there’s a 47% chance of cloud cover in which case we will drive to the backup location in the early morning of the eclipse.

Backup location in Argentina

Roughly 3.5 hours from the base location via a spectacular drive on excellent roads is the backup location for the eclipse, out in an arid region of Argentina. Like the base location, this is also directly in the centerline of the eclipse path, giving the longest possible viewing time regardless of which location is used. Most of the moist air that comes from the Pacific ocean is blocked by the Andes mountains along the boarder of Chile and Argentina, so the likelihood of clear skies here is very good. However, there is very little available here in the way of food and lodging, which is why the workshop is hosted on the Chilean side of the Andes.

Another consideration for a backup location is to drive 2.5 hours to the Pacific coast, although it’s unlikely to be better than the Argentina location since it doesn’t have the separation provided by the Andes. Only if the weather report shows it as better than the first two locations will the coast be considered.

Spacious and peaceful, with a private beach and great views of the volcano. Most meals and classroom sessions will be here, as well as time-lapse from the beach.

The weather here is very pleasant, with average highs around 22°C / 72°F and lows around 8°C / 46°F in December.

Directly in the line of the eclipse, weather-permitting will will photograph the eclipse from the private beach, with lunch served outside during the eclipse.

The beach offers an excellent view of the active Volcán Villarrica, which will be great for day to night and night to day time-lapse with the illuminated plume of smoke from the crater.

This central location will make for great access to the area’s attractions, including an hour drive up the volcano for a great vantage point overlooking the area for sunrises and sunsets, as well as hot springs and waterfalls.

We’ll have most meals served right here at the cabin by our resident hosts, so we’ll be well taken care of with hot breakfasts, pack lunches and communal dinners at the large dining room table.

We’ll do our best to accommodate any dietary requests, but certain things won’t be possible such as guaranteeing lack of gluten contamination for those with celiac disease. Please contact us before booking if you have any dietary needs or questions.

A collection of photos from my (Elijah’s) exploratory trip to the region in April 2019. The whole region is beautiful and offers a lot of opportunity for time-lapse and photography in pristine nature. As can be seen in the photos, April is a wetter time of year with more clouds, however when the eclipse takes place in December, it is more likely to be dryer with fewer clouds, and our backup location in Argentina is quite likely to have clear skies regardless.

Among the special features of the region are the Araucana trees. They can only be found in this region of Patagonia and are a great subject for photography. The fruit of the Araucana is like a giant pine nut, 3-5cm in length. These are a traditional food for the Mapuche people of the region, who are the only ones allowed to harvest them as the trees are protected.

The roads in the region are excellent, so it’s easy to get around. When driving places we’ll always be on the lookout and if anyone notices something they want to photograph we’ll pull over and jump out if possible.

Of the many volcanos in the greater region, we will especially focus on two: Volcán Villarrica, an active volcano visible from our lodging location, with smoke rising from the crater that is illuminated at night, and the much higher Volcán Lanín, the peak of which is on the border between Chile and Argentina. Both are excellent subjects for time-lapse and photography, and we’ll plan to get at least a day to night time-lapse of each.

The night sky in the region will be excellent as well, since there is little light pollution in the area and we will be there during the new moon. Additionally, for those from the North, there are a lot of new things to see in the Southern night sky.

For those from the Northern hemisphere, many of the birds in the region will be new. Birds are of particular interest to me, so you can be sure I’ll point them out and do my best to identify what we see. One of the most special birds of the region is the Magellanic Woodpecker, which unfortunately I failed to encounter during the April 2019 trip (although I did hear one!). In my brief time there, I managed to positively identify the following birds (which were all new to me): 

• California Quail
• Silvery Grebe
• Neotropic Cormorant
• Black-faced Ibis
• Variable Hawk
• Southern Caracara
• Chimango Caracara
• Red-gartered Coot
• Southern Lapwing
• Austral Parakeet
• Ringed Kingfisher
• Dark-bellied Cinclodes
• Thorn-tailed Rayadito
• Grassland Yellow-Finch
• Rufus-collared Sparrow
• Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant
• Long-tailed Meadowlark