Zapallar

At the end of XVIII century these lands were property of the Vicuña family. In 1884, when Isabel Vicuña and Francisco Javier Ovalle died, this area of Zapallar was inherited by their son Olegario Ovalle Vicuña. He wanted to have an exclusive beach, for that reason he traveled around Europe looking for new ideas to develop his project in Zapallar

He gave the high parts of this area to his friends and to the best men that had worked for him and the low parts were offered to all those who wanted to settle there, under the condition that they had to build their houses within two years. Thus, in 1892 Manuel Valledor built his house, some years later a few German families came, such as Adolfo Petzold, the Johow's family, the Schaffer's family and the Moller's family.

Following many families settled in Zapallar in 1906. The next years the area saw great activity as many new houses were built using different European styles. The most prominent houses were those of Manuel Vicuña Subercaseaux's House and Carlos Aldunate Solar's House. These were built by Architect Josué Smith in 1912 and 1915.

New buildings and infrastructure was built in the town like church, squares, streets and the access to the beach.

A beautiful house on top of the hill was declared National Monument in 1975. This house was property of María Luisa Mac-Clure.

Traditional style in Zapallar was due to high social level of local residents, which still remains.

Nowadays, this town and beach has all the facilities needed by tourist.

Papudo

Papudo is one of the oldest resorts in Valparaiso Region.

The first Spaniard to arrive to Papudo was Alonso Quintero in 1536.

English Pirate, Francis Drake came to Papudo in 1578, and the legend tells that in one of the caves of the coast (nowadays called the pirate cave), he left a treasure hidden.

This place' name is well known in Chile's history because it was here where an important naval combat took place in 1865 in which the Chilean army capture the Spanish ship "Covadonga".

Papudo was founded by Fernando Irarrazaval Mackenna. He settled in this place with his family.

The area started to have importance, when it was connected to Santiago by rail, and rivalled Viña del Mar as a fashionable resort in the 1920s but has long since declined.

Principals Attractions

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Church

It is located in the coastal zone. This church was inaugurated in 1918 and declared National Monument in 1995. It was built by the architect Alberto Cruz Montt. This place has the shape of Latin cross.

The Pirate Cave

This cave is located 3 kilometres of the cove. It is in the rocky cliff, water of the sea goes inside the cave and crash with the walls of this.

The legend says that in the cave, pirates left a treasure hidden.

This cave is also known as Indio Cave, because near this place were discover human remains and some archeological objects

Marbella Resort

Marbella is a modern tourist complex located 90 kilometres north of Viña del Mar. It has 270 hectares, with green areas, forest and beach. This place has Restaurant-Bar, Swimming Pools, Halls, Tennis Court, Golf, paths and Playground for children. Also Marbella Resort has a five stars Hotel with 68 rooms.

It is a good place to enjoy with your family.