La Ligua

La Ligua is known for two things sold together. The first is knitwear: the town has a long tradition of hand and machine knitting and its shops sell sweaters, blankets and wool by the kilo, which is why buses stop here. The second is dulces de La Ligua - manjar-filled pastries, alfajores, empolvados and chilenitos - sold at the highway turnoff by vendors in white coats and caps who stand at the roadside waving baskets at passing cars, a practice that has been going since the mid twentieth century and is unlike anything else on the Chilean road system. The town itself is inland from the stop.

Background

La Ligua is a city and commune and the capital of Petorca Province. The commune covers 1,163.4 square kilometers of marine plains and transverse valleys crossed by the La Ligua and Petorca rivers. People have lived here for approximately 8,000 years, among them the Animas, Molle, Aymara and Mapuche cultures, and the Inca reached the area around 1420. A decree of 21 June 1754 founded the town as Villa de Santo Domingo de Rozas. It was declared a city on 3 June 1874. In the early 20th century the economy turned to textiles, rooted in indigenous practice and updated with European techniques, and by the 1970s vest-making and candy had become local specialities.

Source: Wikipedia, "La Ligua"

What to look for

• Vendors in white coats at the roadside - flagging down cars with baskets.
• Manjar-filled pastries - alfajores, empolvados and chilenitos.
• Knitwear shops in the town - sweaters, blankets and wool by the kilo.
• A practice from the mid twentieth century - still running the same way.

When to go

Year round. Half a day.

What to expect

The famous roadside stop is at the turnoff, not in the town - the two are a few kilometres apart. Stopping on a fast highway needs care. The pastries are extremely sweet. Knitwear quality varies widely between shops.

Nearby

Papudo and Zapallar are on the coast west; Santiago is south.

Key facts