Arauco

(Water of greda)

The locality of Arauco has around 12 thousand inhabitants and it is only 45 miles away from the city of Concepción. It is a calm town, surrounded by hills, with a beautiful white sand beach. The town of Arauco was founded in 1555 by Pedro of Valdivia and transferred to its present location in 1590, on the foot of the hill Colo Colo. Destroyed, rebuilt, and repopulated infinity of times, it was always a military outpost of Concepción. In 1845 it was visited by Ignacio Domeyko, who found vestiges of the old outpost of the denominated San Felipe of Arauco (San Felipe de Arauco) and a stone shield of Leon of Castilla (León de Castilla). In 1886, French Basques pilgrims arrived, who gave to it a new impulse. Its present economy is related to the cellulose plant.

While in Arauco , you should visit its streets of commerce. In the plaza, you will see the church that conserves the bell tower and the columns of the church that was destroyed in the 1960 earthquake.

Among the main and attractive places that can be visited near the locality of Arauco , you will find:

Tubul

The small locality of Tubul counts on around 2 thousand inhabitants. Tubul is a fishing creek, located in the mouth of the river of equal name. It counts on a great amount of boats and motorboats to rent. Rise by the river and you see cliffs, used as marine nests of birds.

Llico

The beach of Llico is a pleasant white sand and protected against the wind, it is the best and the most beautiful one of the gulf. It counts on a fishing creek and summering houses.

Curanilahue

The locality of Curanilahue counts on around 30 thousand inhabitants. It is an attractive located mining center on a tablecloth of coal, with mines within the town. The motley city has a high density of houses in hills and a wide commercial street, very active.

Tucapel fort (Fuerte Tucapel)

The historical Tucapel fort, declared National Monument, dominates the valley. Its layout corresponds to the fortress constructed by Cornelio Saavedra. Presently, it is carried out the project Cañete of the Border (Proyecto Cañete de la Frontera), whose first stage is the reconstruction of the first fort. In the bordering valley was dead Pedro de Valdivia.

Cañete

The locality of Cañete has approximately 30 thousand inhabitants. The city, dedicated to agricultural, forest activities and services, is modest, but it has a great historical value. It was an area densely populated by lafkenches mapuches communities and an important landmark in the Route with the Conquerors (Ruta de los Conquistadores) and the War with Arauco (La Guerra de Arauco).

A few miles to the north of Cañete, on a place no identified, Pedro de Valdivia founded, in 1552, the Tucapel fort. Here, the conqueror was surprised, defeated and died by the cacique Lautaro, the 25 of December of 1553. Five years later, on 1558, García Hurtado of Mendoza founded the villa of cañete in tribute to his father, Marquis of Cañete and Virrey of Peru. After the revolt of the mapuche town, the seat was left in 1602, and was rebuilt only two centuries and half later, in 1868, by Cornelio Saavedra, during the campaign of incorporation of the Araucanía.

Tirúa

(the same level)

The commune of Tirúa counts on around 1600 inhabitants. The main local activities of the commune of Tirúa are the forest industry, agriculture, the artisan fishing and the harvesting of cochayuyo.

The commune of Tirúa extends between the Mountain range of Nahuelbuta (Cordillera de Nahuelbuta) and the sea, and includes in its jurisdiction the neighboring Mocha Island (Isla Mocha). It limits to the West with the Pacific Ocean (Oceáno Pacífico); to the North with the Pellahuén River (Rio Pellahuén, the Lleulleu Lake (Lago Lleulleu)and the Lleulleu River (Rio Lleulleu), that separates it of the commune of Cañete (comuna de Cañete), to the East with Contulmo and IX the Region of the Araucanía (commune of Lumaco). It also limits to the South with IX the Region of the Araucanía (commune of Carahue). Their Eastern and austral borders are mountainous chains.

Tirúa, the communal city head, is next to the mouth of the Tirúa River (Rio Tirúa), separated of a neighboring beach by a small wood that hardly protects it of the strong prevailing oceanic winds in the zone.

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