Futaleufú Services

Information & Other Offices

The Departamento Turismo Municipal office is just opposite the Plaza de Armas (summer only, daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. O'Higgins 596, Tel.: 72-1241 / 72-1370, E-mail: turismo@futaleufu.cl, URL: www.futaleufu.cl). The regional tourism office, Sernatur, is another excellent place to get information on Futaleufú and other destinations in the province (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 2:30-6 p.m. Alsea s/n and Carmona, E-mail: infopalena@sernatur.cl). Conaf has information on the national parks and reserves (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-5:45 p.m. Mistral s/n and Carmona). The carabineros station is next to the municipal tourism office (O'Higgins s/n, Tel.: 72-1233).

Money

Banco del Estado exchanges U.S. dollars and euros. Its ATM accepts only MasterCard and Cirrus cards; some travelers report success in asking for a Visa advance from the inside teller (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. O'Higgins and Rodríguez). Note: In the Carretera Austral region, the only other banks are in Coyhaique and Cochrane. ATMs exist also in Puerto Cisnes and Mañihuales. Centro de Llamadas Ruly exchanges U.S. dollars and Argentine pesos (daily 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Aguirre Cerda s/n, between Prat and Sargento Aldea, Tel.: 72-1425). Other businesses may be willing to exchange or accept non-Chilean currency.

Communications

The post office is at the Altimirano bus depot. Although mail is accepted throughout the week, it is picked up only on Thursdays (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 2:30-5:30 p.m. Balmaced s/n and Prat). Only a few cyber cafés operate in town. Cyber Lorena charges $0.80 per hour and has the more reliable computers (Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 4-9 p.m. O'Higgins 656). Another Internet provider is Fonosur (corner of Rodríguez and Carmona). Centro de Llamadas Ruly charges $1 per hour to use its half-dozen computers, which have a tendency to crash. Ruly is also the Telefónica del Sur call center (daily 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Aguirre Cerda s/n, between Prat and Sargento Aldea, Tel.: 72-1425).

Medical

Hospital Futaleufú is the town's health facility. It has an emergency room (Balmaceda 382, Tel.: 72-1231). The village has no pharmacy. Basic medicines can be purchased at Paquetería Para Ti (Aguirre Cerda 505).

Laundry

Drop your laundry off at the Stihl chain saw dealer, which charges $4 per kilo, with a minimum load of two kilos. It can do knapsacks and sleeping bags, and has same day service. (daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Aguirre Cerda 537). For laundry and mending, see Vicky (daily 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sargento Aldea 273) or Dervi (Mistral 393, Tel.: 72-1469).