5 Best Sights in Puerto Montt, The Lake District

About 3 km (2 miles) west of downtown along the coastal road lies Puerto Montt's fishing cove. This busy port serves small fishing boats, large ferries, and cruisers carrying travelers and cargo southward through the straits and fjords that form much of Chile's shoreline. On weekdays, small launches from Isla Tenglo and other outlying islands arrive early in the morning and leave late in the afternoon. There are dozens of stalls selling local handicrafts, and the fish market here has one of the most varied seafood selections in all of Chile.

About 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Puerto Montt, at this small town near Pargua—the ferry crossing to Chiloé—the Maullín River merges with the Pacific Ocean in spectacular fashion. Be sure to visit the expansive Pangal Beach, with large sand dunes teeming with birds. If staying overnight, there are cabins and a campground.

Latin America's ornate church architecture is nowhere to be found in the Lake District. More typical of the region is Puerto Montt's stark 1856 Catedral. The alerce-wood structure, modeled on the Pantheon in Paris, is the city's oldest surviving building.

This museum, east of the city's bus terminal, has a collection of crafts and relics from the nearby archipelago of Chiloé. Historical photos of Puerto Montt give a sense of the area's slow and often difficult growth, plus the impact of the 1960 earthquake, which virtually destroyed the port. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the grounds during his 1987 visit; one exhibit documents the event.

Close to Puerto Montt, the mountainous 398-square-km (154-square-mile) Parque Nacional Alerce Andino, with more than 40 small lakes, was primarily established to protect the endangered alerce trees that are spread out upon some 20,000-hectares (49,421 acres) of the park. Comparable to California's redwood trees, alerce grow to average heights of 50 meters (165 feet) and can reach 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter. Immensely popular as building material for houses and furniture in southern Chile, they have been nearly wiped out from the landscape. They are also the world's second-oldest living tree species, many living up to 4,000 years.