Zapallar Cachagua

Introduction

Zapallar is 165km northwest from Santiago, sandwiched between Papudo, in the north, and Cachagua in the south. This stretch of Pacific coastline, from Papudo to Cachagua, is one of the most exclusive in South America and certainly in Chile.

It is very much like a “mirror” image of Malibu, in terms of terrain and types of houses, on the Pacific coast in the northern Hemisphere on the coast of California USA., except the Chile version is nicer (the writer of this piece knows both places).

For visitors who have come to Chile on a full itinerary, a trip to the coast for the day, or a few nights, will be an excellent way to relax pre or post the rest of the trip.

Description

The Zapallar and Cachagua zone is the place where well off Chileans build, or buy, their second beach homes. And, the houses here are, mainly, in the league of those one may see in the Malibu hills north of Los Angeles in the United States.

Such is the appeal of this sector of coast that the area has seen incredible suburban development since 1995, but mostly, the properties are at the “high-end” of the scale and are not only “big”, but they also look nice.

The village of Zapallar is small and simple, with a handful of shops, some fashion stores now in a boutique style, and small grocery shops. Evidence of how upmarket the area has become can be seen with the presence of Sotherby’s Properties now occupying a space in the main village. Some homes on their books are in the multi-million-dollar end of the scale.

Access to the beach is at the base of the village whereupon there are two beach side restaurants - one is known for its fish menu and the other for a more general menu. The general food restaurant is located at the southern end of the beach (to the left if arriving at the beach from the car park). However, the other fish restaurant is located further around the bay and can be identified from a distance by its white-coloured parasols on its outdoor terrace. This restaurant is called "Chiringuito's" (although they did change the name ever so slightly for legal reasons about 10 years ago to something slightly different). It is situated right next to the sea with views to the fishing boats and back to Zapallar beach making the location incredibly quaint and special.

Chiringuito’s Fisherman’s Restaurant
Unfortunately, due to commercial greed the owner he has made the big mistake (in the writer’s opinion) of modernizing it from its original, rustic simplicity, and this has resulted in the loss of much of the charm and magic it once had. It is, however, still firmly ensconced as one of the "must go to" restaurants by the rich and famous.

The location, the style, the food; as well as the still, simple wooden tables; the parasols and old fishing boat forming the bar, plus the beautiful views of the sea and white houses covering the hill side all combines to make this particular place “World Class” outstanding on a nice day, but the cost of food is now pretty high too.

Walking Trail
There is a beautiful walk from Chiringuito’s restaurant, back to Zapallar beach that then continues beside the sea, passing by lovely, flowered gardens on one side and large rocks upon which the Pacific waves crash onto, on the other side. Sometimes you can see otters and dolphins in the sea, and star fish at the base of the rocks. Along this path is also a route up to one of our hotel partners called Isla Seca

Cachagua

South from, but practically adjacent to Zapallar is the village of Cachagua. Principally a residential conurbation with a handful of small shops for groceries and not much else. However, what Cachagua has that Zapallar does not is a very long, sandy beach.

The properties at Cachagua are a mix of older, more modest coastal, second homes that, in their day, were considered to be large and maybe exuberant, but compared to the new generation of huge, luxury homes carved into the cliffs these original properties are very modest.

Should you walk the length of Cachagua beach, heading south, towards Maitencillo, you will see on the left, firmly etched into the sandstone cliff, a number of stunningly modern, very affluent houses. And, next to these amazing properties is a golf course too.

The great thing about Cachagua is that it is, perhaps now, more traditional than Zapallar. It’s as though Zapallar has become the “New Rich” sector, whereas Cachagua is the “older money” sector. Cachagua also has its own polo club (say no more)!

At the northern end of Cachagua beach is a great little restaurant trying to emulate Chiringuito’s in Zapallar, but is actually, in many respects, better. It has outdoor dining right on the beach and therefore offers fantastic views to the Pacific Ocean whilst you eat.

If you should come to this restaurant, or just pass by it, and turn right (therefore heading back towards Zapallar) you will see an island to the left. On this island, which is a Natural Sanctuary, there are Humboldt penguins believe it or not! They look small, but through the binoculars you will that they are definitely there, along with pelicans and cormorants. Further past this point the path follows the contour of the coast, again passing by “dream-like houses” until you get to a small “lagoon-like” place where the water is, in places, turquoise in colour and the small beach is more of a white-sand colour. Indeed, it looks just like a place in the Caribbean.

For those with the energy, the path picks up again the other side of this small “lagoon” and follows the Pacific coast all the way back to Zapallar, arriving at Chiringuito’s restaurant. Only do this if you have a driver to meet you back in Zapallar, unless you intend to walk back the way you came.

All in all, both Zapallar and Cachagua are fine coastal destinations for any of our clients wishing to do a long day trip or stay for a while longer.

ExperienceChile.Org will be pleased to include these places in your itinerary – just ask.