Villa O'Higgins
| Villa O 'Higgins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Town | ||
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Villa O'Higgins at dawn | ||
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| Coordinates: 48°28.1′S 72°33.6′W / 48.4683°S 72.5600°WCoordinates: 48°28.1′S 72°33.6′W / 48.4683°S 72.5600°W | ||
| Country | Chile | |
| Region | Aysen | |
| Province | Capitán Prat | |
| Commune | O'Higgins | |
| Population (2012) | ||
| • Total | 612 | |
| Website | http://www.municipalidadohiggins.cl/ | |
Villa O'Higgins is a small town in the Aysén Region of southern Chile, located 220 km south of Cochrane and 550 km south of Coyhaique. Founded in 1966 and named after the Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins, it is the capital of the O'Higgins commune of Capitán Prat Province.
Villa O'Higgins is connected to the rest of Chile by the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway) – the final 120 km of which were completed southwards from Puerto Yungay in 2000 – and is the gateway to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
Facilities
The town has an airport, several guesthouses, a radio station, and a number of shops. In the summer (Dec-Feb) a regular boat service takes passengers from Villa O'Higgins across the O'Higgins / San Martín Lake to Candelario Mansilla, from where it is possible to cross the border into Argentina via a footpath (no road).
External links
- Municipalidad de Villa O'Higgins (in Spanish)
- Unofficial website containing information on the Commune of O'Higgins
- Jorge Leon Cabello's Flickr photos
Media related to Category:Villa O'Higgins at Wikimedia Commons