Cahuil

The Nilahue estuary at Cahuil holds shallow pans where sea water is let in and evaporated to salt, worked in essentially the same way since before the conquest - the Spanish found the salt trade already running here and took it over, and it supplied central Chile for centuries. The pans are divided by low earth walls into a chequerboard along the estuary, and the salt is raked into cones by hand in the dry months. Production is much reduced and is now a small artisanal operation, sold at the roadside and in Pichilemu, with flor de sal as the premium product. Flamingos and waders use the lagoon.

What you actually see

• Pans along an estuary - a chequerboard of low earth walls.
• Worked since before the conquest - the trade predates the Spanish.
• Salt raked into cones - by hand, in the dry months.
• Flamingos on the lagoon - alongside the working pans.

When to go

December to March, when the harvest is running. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Outside the dry season the pans are flooded and nothing is happening. It is a small operation now, not an industry. There is no visitor centre - viewing is from the road and buying is direct. No shade.

Nearby

Pichilemu is north; Bucalemu is south along the coast.