Temuco Travel Guide
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677km (420 miles) S of Santiago; 112km (69 miles) NW from Pucón
Outside magazine called Temuco one of "The World's Great Towns," and although that claim might seem dubious to the average visitor, Temuco offers enough attractions to warrant a half day getting to know Chile's third-largest city. Unless you're flying in or out it does not really warrant an overnight stay.
Historically known as La Frontera (The Frontier), this is where the Mapuche Indians kept Spanish conquistadors at bay for 300 years until Chile's Frontier Army founded a fort on the shore of the River Cautín in 1881. The city grew like a boomtown as Spanish, German, French, Swiss, and English immigrants poured into the region. Temuco is still one the country's fastest-growing cities, as is evident by the thundering buses, bustling downtown crowds, and increasingly poor air quality that threaten to absorb whatever charm remains in this historic town.
Temuco serves as a jumping-off point to a handful of national parks, such as Conguillío, Villarrica, and Huerquehue. It is also the gateway to the wildly popular Pucón. If you plan to use Temuco solely as a transfer point for outlying regions, try to at least stop at the Mercado Municipal (Municipal Market).
