Pichilemu

The Pichilemu coast was home to the Promaucaes, whose shell middens at Pichilemu and Cáhuil were studied by early Chilean archaeologists. The name comes from Mapudungun: pichi, little, and lemu, forest. In the 1540s Pedro de Valdivia granted the area to Juan Gómez de Almagro as part of the Topocalma encomienda, and colonial haciendas such as San Antonio de Petrel produced leather, jerky and tallow, while the area was densely settled, especially at Cáhuil, whose salt deposits had already been worked by the Indigenous people.

In 1875 the Ortúzar family, heirs of San Antonio de Petrel, built a dock that served for a few years as a fishing port, and the commune was created on 22 December 1891. Agustín Ross Edwards, a wealthy politician, bought a 300-hectare property in 1885 and set out to make Pichilemu a seaside resort for Santiago's upper class, with a hotel, a park, terraces and stone walls, chalets and houses furnished with materials from France and England. His casino building, from the early 1900s, housed one of Chile's first casinos, which closed in the early 1930s. After Ross's death in 1926 his heirs gave the streets, park and forest to the town. The railway from San Fernando arrived in 1926 and carried passengers until 1986.

Pichilemu became capital of the new Cardenal Caro Province in 1979, named after Chile's first cardinal, born in the town. Corruption scandals shook the municipality between 2003 and 2009. The earthquake and tsunami of 27 February 2010 caused severe damage on the coast, and a magnitude 6.9 aftershock centred just north-west of the town on 11 March 2010 killed one person.

Surfing defines modern Pichilemu. It is regarded as the prime surfing destination in Chile, and Punta de Lobos, with its big waves and cliffs, was named a World Surfing Reserve in 2013. The national championship is held there every summer, international contests come to La Puntilla, and a big-wave contest is held at Punta de Lobos each April or May. Surf schools, board shops and surf radio stations give the town an international, laid-back feel, with visitors from Chile and abroad mixing on the beaches.

Beneath it lies an older identity. Part of the centre was declared a heritage zone in 2004, and the town has several national monuments, among them the Ross Park and former casino, the wooden railway station, the El Árbol tunnel and the Caballo de Agua. The cultural centre in the old casino houses galleries and the public library. Pottery has been made in the area for more than two thousand years, and Ciruelos and El Copao are still known for their clay work; weavings, ceramics and wood carvings are sold in the centre.

The Catholic calendar remains strong in the villages, above all at the colonial church of St Andrew in Ciruelos on 30 November, and the September national holidays are celebrated with traditional games, food, music and dancing through the night.

Pichilemu had nearly 20,000 residents in 2024, living in the urban centre and twenty-two villages spread over about 750 square kilometres, from Cáhuil and Ciruelos to Cardonal de Panilonco. The commune's population has grown steadily since the 1970s, after decades of decline in the first half of the 20th century.

Tourism is the main industry, in the town and in villages such as Cáhuil and Ciruelos. Pine and eucalyptus plantations make forestry the other large employer, while fishing — not very important in most of the O'Higgins Region — continues from the town's cove, and Cáhuil lives from salt, oysters and mussels. A state technical college began teaching courses here in 2023. Roberto Córdova, mayor from 2009 to 2021, was elected again in October 2024.

The year swings between a packed summer, when holidaymakers fill the cabins and beaches, and a quiet winter of storms, surfers and local life. Memories of the 2010 earthquake and tsunami keep earthquake and tsunami preparedness part of local life.

Pichilemu eats from the sea. The fish market at the fishermen's cove near the main beach sells the day's catch, and the town's restaurants serve the catch, alongside the empanadas and completos — loaded hot dogs — that visitors are told are the town's essential snacks. The range has widened as the town has grown, and Italian, Thai and Japanese dishes now share the streets with Chilean cooking. Even so, fish and shellfish from the cove and the estuary remain at the centre of most local menus.

The estuary at Cáhuil supplies two local specialities. Oysters and mussels are produced there, and sea salt is still produced beside it, from deposits that were already worked before the Spanish arrived.

Inland, the vineyards of the Colchagua valley are little more than an hour away, and their Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon are poured in local restaurants. Pisco sours remain the standard aperitif, and mote con huesillo, a cold drink of dried peaches with husked wheat, is sold in summer.