Puerto Montt / Chile

The port city of Puerto Montt is located in southern Chile, over a thousand kilometers south of the country's capital, Santiago. The city, which serves as the administrative, political, and commercial center of southern Chile, is home to over 200,000 people. Its climate is humid oceanic with temperatures always below 25 °C, but very rarely below freezing. It rains a lot throughout the year, though slightly less in summer than in winter.

The area where Puerto Montt is now located was originally covered with dense forests and was called Melipulli, meaning "four hills". In the 1850s, Germans who were colonizing southern Chile at the time decided that the place was a suitable access point to Lake Llanquihue. They began cutting down trees at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound, and in 1853 the city of Puerto Montt was officially founded. It was named after Chilean President Manuel Montt, who was responsible for the government's support of German immigration to the area.

The city quickly outgrew its neighbors due to its strategic location and role as a gateway to the regions of southern Chile, including western Patagonia. This was further aided by the railway, which connected Puerto Montt to Santiago in 1912. The 1960 earthquake nearly leveled the city, but it was rebuilt – more modern, larger, and more important than ever before.

Puerto Montt is the main seaport of southwestern Chile and is often considered the "capital" of Chilean Patagonia. Its economy is based on agriculture, livestock farming, and wood processing, with fishing, particularly salmon fishing, being the main activity within the fjords. At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, the city benefited from the country becoming the second-largest producer of salmon in the world, though it was also affected by the later salmon crisis, which left many of its residents unemployed.

The city's culture is a mix of the original Chiloé culture and German heritage, and the area has attracted many newcomers from all over Chile in the last 30 years. They come here for job opportunities, further enhancing the city's diversity.

Puerto Montt is also an important tourist port. It is the gateway to the Chiloé Archipelago and the island of the same name, as well as to other smaller islands of the Chilean inland sea of Chiloé.

Places worth seeing

Volcan Osorno – Be enchanted by one of the country's most active volcanoes, Chile's Mount Fuji, with its snow-capped peak rising above the beautiful Lake Llanquihue.

Parque Nacional Alerce Andino – Take a walk through the beautiful nature of the national park and admire the three-thousand-year-old larch tree.

Angelmo – Taste some Chilean specialties and shop for handicrafts by local artists at the traditional market.

Catedral de Puerto Montt – Visit the wooden church built in 1892, elevated to cathedral status in 1939.

Mall Paseo Costanera – Go shopping for clothes, food, and other necessities or enjoy a good coffee at the city's largest shopping center.

Sentados Frente al Mar – Take a photo at the city's most famous landmark, a 10-meter-high statue of lovers celebrating the city's 149 years of existence.

Museo Historico de Puerto Montt Juan Pablo II – If you love history, don't miss the small museum describing the city's past from its beginnings to the great earthquake.