Puerto Montt

The urban area spreads over 1,673 km² and is bounded by the communes of Puerto Varas, Cochamó, Calbuco, Maullín and Los Muermos. A wet oceanic climate brings heavy rainfall year‑round, while temperatures stay below 25 °C, making frosts a rarity even in winter. The original forest, once called Melipulli meaning “four hills,” was cleared in 1851–1853, and the town’s early economy relied on larch timber, distilleries, grain oil factories and breweries that imported German goods. The arrival of the railway in 1912 linked Puerto Montt to Santiago, reinforcing its role as a point of entry to Patagonia; the 1960 Valdivia earthquake later destroyed the port and train station, but the city rebuilt and resumed its commercial importance.

Today the city anchors one of the world’s largest salmon aquaculture sectors; hatcheries, fisheries and packing plants lie south of the urban core, and fresh salmon is flown daily to international markets while frozen product ships by sea. The cultural fabric blends Chilean‑Spanish traditions with German heritage, a legacy reflected in local music groups such as Bordemar and the work of filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. Puerto Montt’s identity as the second largest salmon producer of the world in the 1990s and 2000s remains its most distinctive hallmark.