Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A hobbit and an Ewok walk into a bar... Amazing rainforest hotel shaped like a volcano that spews water (and is only accessible by rope bridge)

  • Montana Magica lodge lies deep in southern Chile on Unesco nature reserve
A strange volcano-like building spews water instead of lava; its welcoming windows adorned with moss and vines, complementing the surrounding trees.
It looks like the kind of place the blue folk from Avatar might hook up with hobbits and Ewoks to go on holiday.
But this is neither Pandora, Middle-Earth nor the Star Wars forest moon of Endor.
Deep in southern Chile lies the Montana Magica Lodge - an extraordinary hotel hidden away in the centre of a 300,000-acre private nature reserve.
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It might be completely artificial but the Montana Magica lodge in Chile even 'erupts' every day, sending water running down the outside of the 13-room guest house
It might be completely artificial but the Montana Magica lodge in Chile even 'erupts' every day, sending water running down the outside of the 13-room guest house

A bar in the hotel, hidden away in the centre of a 300,000-acre private nature reserve at Huilo-Huilo in Los Rios
Just the kind of place a hobbit might hang out... at a bar in the hotel, hidden away in the centre of a 300,000-acre private nature reserve at Huilo-Huilo in Los Rios
If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a pudu - the world's smallest deer which is just 13in tall
If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a pudu - the world's smallest deer which is just 13in tall
It might be completely artificial but the lodge actually 'erupts' every day, sending water running down the outside of the 13-room guest house.
The 'Magic Mountain' retreat, in Los Rios, is accessible only by foot and intrepid guests must brave a swinging rope bridge to enter it.
 
Among the activities on offer are a wild-course mini-golf, where the holes form part of the natural terrain, hiking and access to the longest zip wire in South America, which run through the grounds at a height of 1,500ft.
And, if you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a pudu - the world's smallest deer which is just 13in tall.
At the end of the day, guests can relax in hot tubs carved from gigantic tree trunks - as the calming sound from the waterfall cascades down the side of the building.
Prices at the rainforest hotel - which lies in the grounds of the Huilo-Huilo Unesco biosphere reserve - range from £150 to £260 per night.
The 'Magic Mountain' retreat is accessible only by foot and intrepid guests must brave a swinging rope bridge to enter it
The 'Magic Mountain' retreat is accessible only by foot and intrepid guests must brave a swinging rope bridge to enter it
Martin Freeman as hobbit Bilbo Baggins
A forest-dwelling Ewok
A blue character from the film Avatar

They would feel right at home (l to r): Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, an Ewok from Star Wars and a character from Avatar would all probably love to spend some time at the hotel


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