Valdivia Travel Guide

One of Valdivia's biggest claims to fame is the near total destruction wreaked by the 1960 "Valdivia Earthquake," at 9.5 the strongest ever recorded, and the resulting tsunami that covered the city in almost ten feet of water. And yet, its other claims to fame, like being one of the rainiest cities in Chile, having some of the best German-style beer and the hopping university feel and film festivals that go with it seem to be foremost in people's minds when they visit this Lakes Region town.

Valdivia is 520 miles from Santiago, easily accessed via overnight bus, and is also only 90 miles from Pucon, Chile's adventure sports capital which lies along the shores of Lake Villarica. Valdivia has a smattering of architecture from nearly every style in Chile's history, seemingly patchworked all over town, from aging apartment blocks to colonial structures from the German colonists. Unlike many cities in Chile, the city is focused on the river, rather than having its back to it. There's a lively market, and tours to old Spanish forts leave from nearby. Another outlying island houses the city's excellent histoircal and anthropological museum, and tours by ferry are quite popular.

Valdivia does good business in both chocolate and beer, with several restaurants serving "submarinos" which are a hot cup of milk with a chocolate bar melted in to make a decadent cup of hot chocolate, and several breweries nearby. Every summer there's a popular week-long festival called "La Semana Valdiviana" when the city's lodging may fill up, but aside from that, it's not that hard to find a place to stay, particularly off-season (not during Chilean summer from approximately Dec 15 to March 1).

Where to Go in Valdivia