Valdivia is a city in southern Chile very close to the sea and surrounded by rivers and canals. It is the capital of the Region of the Rivers. It has a university and tourist environment as it is very popular in the country. In this post, you will find all the necessary information to visit this site, how to get there, and what is the best route.
How to get there?
Valdivia is 839km from Santiago de Chile, so it can be reached by plane, car, or bus. Prices usually vary in the high season (January and February). In Chile, you must book all tickets in advance, especially bus tickets, in Argentina you can go directly to the terminal and buy them there. But in Chile, they ask you a week in advance at this time. The price of the bus journey is between 20,000 and 40,000 Chilean pesos and it takes 10 hours, and the plane is between 20 - 40 euros if you look for it in advance and it takes one-hour maximum.
To find cheap bus tickets, I recommend you search the internet for all the companies, there are search engines like Plataforma10 for example, and then go to the terminal and buy them there with the ones that have the best price for you. We would compare the three that we liked the most and ask questions there. They usually have better prices and offers at the window, and they usually charge you more for buying online.
What to see?
The best of Valdivia are its streets, everything that surrounds it, and its environment. That is why even if you are now informed of everything you can see, do not forget to enjoy walking through this city.
When visiting Valdivia you can divide your tours into two areas: the city and its surroundings. If you have a little time the day you arrive in Valdivia, I recommend you tour the city, so the next day you can dedicate it to the nature and history of the surroundings (you have the guide in the next post).
At the end of the route, you will find the map with everything indicated.
As you walk through the city, you will realize the importance of water in it. It is a city - port since its foundation in the 16th century. It was a very important area and a strategic point, which is why there are so many fortifications.
Our route starts at the bus terminal (we recommend that you buy the tickets for the next day there).
From there, as the city is surrounded by three rivers, our first stop will be to walk along the Valdivian waterfront, which is located one block from where we were. It is a beautiful place and you can see the entire river bank.
After this tour, you have two options: go along the river bank to the river fair or get to it by walking through the city of Valdivia. I traveled both paths and I liked the river path better. But for tastes colors.
If you decided to go along the shore, the next stop is the river fair. But if you go through the center of the city, you can take the opportunity to visit the Plaza de la Republica and the municipal market. Everything is on the way to the river fair.
The Plaza de la República was built on top of a palín court (a Mapuche game) in 1552. Before the creation of the Municipal Market, this was the merchants' square. In the square, you can also find the Valdivia Cathedral built-in 1998 (the old one had to be rebuilt due to an earthquake).
El mercado municipal es el centro del comercio artesanal. En la planta baja está en comercio y en la primera planta están los restaurantes. Cerca del mercado se encuentra la oficina de turismo.
If you prefer to go along the shore, you can see it later (at the end of the entire route).
The river fair was one of my favorite parts of the city. You feel all the essence of the city in a piece of the walk, it is also next to the river.
There is a set of colors, smells and flavors all mixed together. It is the best place to find all the products of Valdivian gastronomy. At the fair, you will find stalls selling fresh seafood, fish, vegetables, and cheeses. The fishmongers clean your fish right there and that causes vultures to be around waiting for lunch. Also waiting for leftovers are the sea lions in the river. If you get closer to the shore you can see them eating and sunbathing.
In this area is where they offered us all the boat trips (it cost about 2,500 Chilean pesos per person). We did not have time to carry out the activity but surely the official pages have more information.
Next to the fair, just before going up to the bridge, is the Valdivia sign, an ideal place to take a photo. Crossing the bridge, towards Isla Teja, we find our next stop: Saval park.
It is a very large park, where you can walk and ideal for a picnic (it has areas set aside for this). In addition, you can find a landscape all green and lagoons, where Lotus flowers grow.
Staying on the same island, we can visit the UACh botanical garden, a beautiful place. It is one of the places with the most intense green I have seen. It is full of trees and vines.
If you don't have much time, you can check out one of the two parks.
Crossing the bridge again and going down below the river market, you will find the Torreón de Los Canelos on the river bank. Built-in 1678, it is one of the remaining monuments from that era of fortifications made to defend the city.
There are many activities to do in Valdivia and it all depends on the time and budget you have. You can navigate the river or go skydiving, you can also discover the beer culture in the city or get on the only steam train that still exists in Chile.
In the next post, we will explain what are the activities around Valdivia. Would you add any more stops? Have you been to any of these sites?
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