COCHRANE, LAND OF PIONEERS AND ADVENTURE
Culture, history, fields, glaciers, rivers, mountains and its friendly people. We reached Cochrane surprised by its great cultural and natural diversity, receiving us there a quiet town where a viewpoint on top of a hill surprises us. At its summit we managed to see a large sign with the name of the city written in a style very similar to that of Hollywood. But, beyond the charm of this high point of Cochrane, the tourist who reaches the main urban center of the southern Carretera Austral finds himself with a succulent offer of activities, ranging from a museum in the center, to adventure tourism in around lakes and glaciers.
This area of the Carretera Austral is characterized by being an immense bioregion with a very varied geography and fauna. Undoubtedly the king of this area is the huemul, which can be seen more easily in the Tamango National Reserve, a few kilometers from Cochrane, a city and commune with 8,500 square kilometers and an urban center of 3,000 inhabitants. To get here we do it by land from Balmaceda or Coyhaique, having to travel 345 kilometers along Route 7 that combines gravel and pavement.
Already in this area we marvel at the Baker, Nef and Colonia rivers, which are fed by water from the glaciers of the Northern Ice Fields. In fact, the Baker, the largest in Chile, is fed -among others- by the Cochrane River. To learn about the history of Cochrane, you have to travel a few kilometers to the north, specifically the sector of Valle Chacabuco (now Patagonia National Park), one of the main natural life resources. Thousands of guanacos came here called by the extensive grasslands of coirón. There are also foxes, ducks and a wide variety of vegetation that amazes us especially in autumn. Not far away, Lake Cochrane is a kind of paradise for fishermen due to its crystal clear waters and abundant presence of trout and salmon.
An entertainment option that has been developed in recent years is born in that same body of water: diving with an oxygen tank and snorkelling, activities that have been well received since we can see the underwater bottom of the crystalline lake. It is discovering another world in Patagonia. Back in Cochrane, we find the Association of Craftsmen. A much-requested experience is to participate in rural tourism activities, with visitors participating in a roast lamb on a stick while the locals talk about how the area is worked, as well as going to get the eggs from the chicken coop and the vegetables from the allotment greenhouse. The pure waters of the area also allow the proliferation of exquisite craft beers, such as Baker Beer.
THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF COCHRANE
Regarding the birth of Cochrane, history tells that it was the Tehuelche families who settled in the surrounding areas before the arrival of settlers. Today in the pampas there are only memories of these giants called by the Spanish "Patagones", a term that dates back to the first European expeditions to the south.
These lands were also the scene later of the first explorers, among them the geographer Hans Steffen. The history of colonization dates back to the 1920s in the Las Latas sector, until the 1960s, when these lands were used for cattle ranching and commercial development. The Baker company, under the order of the Chilean State, in 1929 built the first settlements in a valley located near Lake Cochrane, renamed Pueblo Nuevo. Years later, in 1954, the village was renamed Cochrane in honor of the British naval officer Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane. It was then that the town began to grow at the hands of the first pioneers and its first Governor, Esteban Ramírez Sepúlveda.
In 1975 the province was created, with Cochrane becoming the provincial capital. Currently, the city promises a good future for the tourism sector, especially since the offer of restaurants, transportation, services and accommodation has increased significantly (it currently has more than 600 beds), most of it around the beautiful Plaza de Armas. Here we find tourist services around ecotourism activities, rural tourism and adventure tourism. Museums have also been created, the Tamango Municipal Market, and there is a good offer of traditional festivals, highlighting the Patagonian jineteadas and sheep activities at the end of February. On this day, the aim is to revive the almost forgotten ancient customs of the settlers who populated this land a century ago.
LIVING NATURE AROUND COCHRANE
In terms of nature and the outdoors, in the surroundings of Cochrane we can enjoy some important attractions, among which we have glaciers, rivers and lakes. One of them is the Calluqueo glacier, located 45 minutes southeast of the city and where a gravel road leaves us face to face with the ice giant and a lagoon where large ice floes float. The most daring will choose to cross the body of water on board a zodiac, to disembark at the foot of the glacier.
The place allows trekking on the ice. On the other hand, we also visited Brown Lake, located 48 kilometers south of Cochrane, with tributaries of Andean snowmelt and steppe-type vegetation. The place has tourist services such as sailing and horseback riding that take us to have impressive views of Mount San Lorenzo, the highest and most imposing in Patagonia.
Categorías - Photo - People - History - Adventure - Culture - Nature - Accesible Heritage