FAQ - Turismo Balcacura

Yes, Balcacura means "big rock" (balca = big, cura = rock) in Mapudungun, which is the native language of the Mapuche indians that used to live in this region.

At this moment the cabin does not have a telephone connection. We are considering to bring you this service in the future.
You are welcome to use our office phone at a reasonable charge.
If you have a cellphone that works in Chile you will be able to use it, depending on the roaming services of your mobile phone provider.

Pets are not allowed inside the cabin.
There are no exceptions to this rule, no matter the size or kind of pet that you would like to bring. This is not because we don't like pets but because of health and hygiene considerations.
Please also note that, for their and other people's safety, your pets are not allowed to run free on our grounds.

There is a television with satellite connection, DVD/VCD/CD/MP3 player and HiFi set in the livingroom. There are no connections for television in the bedrooms.

There's a slow-combustion woodburner in the living/diningroom area.
All bedrooms have a wallmounted electric heating unit.
All beds have electric underblankets.

Yes. The water that we use is the pure meltwater that comes from the top of the eternal snowcap of the Nevado mountain.
After it passes through our own water purification system (approved by the National Health Service) it is perfectly safe for human consumption.

We are connected to the electricity net.
In Chile the voltage is 220 volts.
For energy saving reasons the power companies reduce this with 10%. As a result of this reduction in voltage you can expect voltages around 200 volts. This has no negative effects on equipment that is designed for 220-230 Volts, as it is perfectly normal that on the power net there's always a fluctuation in voltage. Your laptop computer will work as expected.

There's an internet connection in our office that you can use at a very reasonable price. We hope to provide a personal computer in the cabin in the future.

It's always a good policy to assure your reservation well in advance.
If you want to reserve the cabin in high season or for national holidays, we suggest that you make your reservation with at least 2 months of anticipation.

Note: The cabin is considered available until the passengers confirm their deposit.

Reservations will remain on hold for 2 days awaiting their deposit. If after this period the deposit has not been received, the reservation will be canceled without further need of notification.

If, for whatever reason, you have to cancel your reservation, we will refund (part of) your deposit under the conditions mentioned on our page about reservation details

No, all bookings and reservations are non-transferrable. If, for whatever reason, you want to transfer your reservation to someone else, you will have to cancel your reservation and the other person has to contact us to make a new reservation. Special price arrangements or discounts that applied to your original reservation will be void.
Please also read our reservation details page

Yes, on request we serve a continental breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, pies, cakes, bread or sushi in our cabin at very competitive prices.
Information about these services is always included in our e-mail, when we respond to your request for details or availability of our cabin.

Sure, depending of the season, we will give you a discount of 5% on your total stay for a stay of 6 nights or more.
Besides that, Balcacura can decide to lower the prices or give discounts in certain seasons, as part of a publicity campaign or for other comercial reasons. Discounts are considered to be one-time. Receiving a discount does not automatically entitle you to receive discounts on future reservations.

We respect your decision to be a vegetarian. So yes, if you advise us in advance we will try to prepare foods according to your needs.
The same applies when you have an allergy to certain foods or ingredients.
Please note that we are not qualified nutricionists and do not assume responsibility when preparing foods according to your specifications.
Also note that in some cases, special food requirements can lead to special (i.e. higher) prices for meals.

All beds have down feather comforters, blankets, sheets, pillow(s) and an electric underblanket.
If you want to use the futon in the livingroom for a ninth person to sleep, we will provide a down feather comforter, blankets, sheets and a pillow for this person as well.

Experience has teached us that most kids prefer to play with their familiar toys, so it's better if you bring their own toys.
We provide a set of playingcards and a domino game in the cabin to use in case of extreme boredom.

There is a seesaw and a swing installed next to the swimmingpool area.

Ofcourse. Your friends or family can visit you while you are staying in our cabin, paying the additional fee per person specified in our pricelist, as long as the total number of persons does not exeed the capacity of the cabin, that is: 10 persons maximum.
Obviously, for security reasons we need to keep track of all people that enter our grounds, so you will have to report these visits to us.
If the capacity of the cabin allows for it, your guests can stay for the night, but please note that we will consider them to be paying guests and we will charge an extra fee per guest per night to your bill.

During the winterseason there are police checkpoints in effect to avoid accidents.
When weatherconditions require it, use of snowchains is obligatory by law.
If you have a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle, police officers may decide to let you drive without chains, but it's up to their judgement.
We suggest that if you have snowchains for your car, you bring them with you.
If you don't have snowchains for your (rental)car, you can rent them at a reasonable price ( approx. CLP 5.000 - CLP 8.000 per day) in the road. If you are planning to stay for a long time you can make an arrangement about these prices. You might even consider buying a pair of chains, as prices vary between CLP 18.000 and CLP 50.000 depending of size and type.

First of all, bring clothes that are suited for the season and the activity that you are going to make.
Then, remember that you are visiting a mountain area. In the mountains, weather conditions can change rapidly between extremes. So, bring clothes for all types of weather and dress in layers.

When I asked for the availability of the cabin you gave me a few dates. Now that I want to reserve, you tell me that the cabin is not available.
What happened?

The cabin is considered to be available until someone makes a deposit to confirm the reservation.
We receive many requests per day, so availability can change very rapidly. What happened is that someone else confirmed a reservation before you. To avoid problems, please contact us before you make a deposit. You can read more about this on our page about reservation details.