We just got back from a lovely spring break in Zapallar Chile visiting family. We took a Omni VR Camera Rig with us and spent a day shooting the areas along the Zapallar-to-Cachagua coastal area and upon my return and review of the footage i’m really excited by how it looks. I’ve got my 15 year old cineast son working on building a ~5m piece for VR which we’ll master at 8k+ using Pixvana’s software.
For now i wanted to post a few photos and production stills:
Just getting going with the equarectangular 4k elements… really exciting project.
Here’s a rough play-out of all shots:
And here’s an extremely rough, early version of the footage. Carlos will be doing a proper edit, sound design, effects, titles, giving it narrative cohesion, etc. Then we’ll master at full 8k and publish with Pixvana’s SPIN Studio. But here’s a preview of work in progress:
There are two high quality hotels in Zapallar, both open year round. Each is small–so if you are visiting during a holiday weekend or in the high-season of Dec 26th to Feb 28th, plan a few months ahead. Other than hotels, there are many houses for rent year round for short stays of just a few days, or for an entire month.
Both of these hotels are good options, but if you are staying for a week or longer, consider renting a house.
Hotel Casa Zapallar
This boutique hotel in Zapallar center of town has just 6 rooms. The hotel is very comfortable and romantic, but does not offer ocean views. It is about a 15 minute walk to the beach/coast, and just 5 minutes from the center of town where there are some restaurants and markets.
Hotel Isla Seca Zapallar
This boutique hotel in Zapallar is a bit larger than Casa Zapallar, and has more amenities including a pool, larger rooms, and a restaurant. It offers some ocean views. It is farther from town, about a 20 minute walk to the beach, and a 30 minute walk to the center of town.
The two most well known restaurants in Zapallar are “El Chiringuito” and “El Cesar”. Both serve excellent seafood and Chilean specialities and have full bars. While the Cesar and the Chiringito have by far the best atmospheres as far as restaurants go in Zapallar, they are also the most pricy. But either serve as a highlight to a day visit to town, accompanied by a stroll along the seashore before lunch to work up an appetite.
Cesar Restaurant
This restaurant is lovely and was once the only game in town–the more highly regarded Chiringuito is just a 10 minute walk away and has taken a lot of the energy away from Caesar’s. However, it is really hard to beat the immediacy of eating right on the beach, especially if you are watching your kids or other members of your group who might be coming to and from the beach during your meal!
Food is excellent and service is better than at El Chiringuito, and they have both indoor or outdoor seating. If you are in town for more than 1 meal, definitely have a meal at each of these two superb restaurants.
Chiringito Restaurant
Chiringuito restaurant is the best food and by far the most astonishingly beautiful setting + view of the restaurants you’ll find anywhere on the central Chilean coast. Reservations an absolute must on weekends and anytime during high-season in the summer. Fastastic seafood fresh caught by local fisherman.
New York Times journalist and travel writer Eric Lipton visited this restaurant and reviewed favorably in his article covering the region, read the New York Times article here.
Cachagua is just 3km south of Zapallar, mostly characterized by thatched-roof houses and it’s long, expansive beach. The flat beach is one of the popular places for a nice walk, perfect for taking off your shoes and walking. Going to the north from the beach is an easy walk on a rambla that takes you past an island with colonies of Humboldt penguins and on to the picturesque little beach of Las Cujas.
Cachagua has an equestrian club where polo matches are played during the summer and at times during the winter. There is a beautiful seaside golf course; be prepared for quite a trek up and down the fairways. It’s beach is one of the popular surfing spots in the area. And there is always the normal activities at the beach.
Maitencillo & Marbella
13km south of Zapallar is the village of Maitencillo. It is spread along a coastal road, perfect for bicycling except maybe during the crowded summer afternoons. Maitencillo has many restaurants, fish markets, and, in summer, craft fairs. On the hill above Maitencillo is the resort of Marbella, complete with a club house of Mexican architecture and a 27-hole golf course.
Horcon
32km south of Zapallar is the coastal town of Horcon. This very colorful little fishing village is a little bit lost in time. There are colorful buildings, colorful boats, colorful people. It is a wonderful place to go for people-watching, for the grizzled, old faces of the fishermen are precious. During the summer, the is an artesan fair at the far end of the town.
Just south of Horcon is the secluded little beach of El Tebo. Follow the signs out of Horcon towards Cau Cau. You’ll pass the good seafood restaurant Los Duendes and there is also a restaurant on the beach at El Tebo.
Papudo
11km to the north of Zapallar is the township of Papudo. Less exclusive than Zapallar or Cachagua, Papudo is a small and unpretentious seaside town with great walks on an expansive beach. Many times when Zapallar has a cloudbank hanging over it, one can find sunshine just down the road in Papudo. The town has many restaurants; the restaurant Casa De Cesar on the main square is a good one for seafood.
La Ligua
30km north and inland of Zapallar, La Ligua is a small town whose real claim to fame is the dulces (sweets) baked and sold there. You will see woman waving white towels along the road; they are selling the Dulces de La Ligua. The town is also a great place to go to buy clothing (sweaters), inexpensive and of good quality. The neighboring town of Valle Hermoso has even a better, less expensive selection of clothing. The town of Placilla just towards Zapallar has a good seafood/shellfish market (on the left after turning next to shop Don Nico). The seafood is good, and the prices are lower than Zapallar and even Maitencillo. You can get frozen shellfish that you can’t easily find elsewhere, like Camerones Equatorio (Equatorian Shrimp that are bigger than Chilean national shrimp).
La Campana National Park
La Campana National Park is 80 km southeast of Zapallar. The park has a wilderness habitat that is considered exceptional for its biodiversity. This park is dominated by the La Campana peak, 1900m high, popular with climbers, and by one of the last remaining Chilean Palm forests. There are two entrances to the park; one from the north at Ocoa off highway 5, and the other from the south at Olmue.
From the Ocoa side of the park is where you will find the large Chilean Palm forest, one of only 2 forests left in Chile with wild palms. There are over 60,000 palms in the forest. A sight to behold.
There are several hikes to choose from this side of the park. There are hikes of 15-30 minutes (each way) through a landscape dotted with Quisco Chileno cacti to reach view points where the palm forest is spreads before you. There is also an all day hike to a waterfall as well. All hikes having the towering La Campana Peak towering over them. These hikes require that you bring sufficient water and sunscreen, and can be quite hot in summertime.
Entering through the Olmue side of the park, you have the opportunity to take hikes in dense forests of natiive Chilean trees, but the main attraction on this side is the hike up to the top of La Campana Peak. This is the same hike Charles Darwin took on one of his trips through Chile. The hike is 5 hours to the top, about 7 km; the last third of the hike is more of a climb than a hike. Upon reaching the top, one is afforded a view of the Andes range to the east, including the Aconcagua (the third highest mountain in the world), and a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Viña del Mar & Valparaiso
Viña Del Mar and Valparaiso are seaside cities, side-by-side, about 72 km south of Zapallar. Viña is one of the popular seaside destinations for tourists, Its beaches, along with those of Reñaca and Con Con to the north, attract people internationally as well as Chileans. While definitely bigger and more crowded than the Zapallar area, it offers things like the casino and other more varied nightlife. The Viña Del Mar Festival is a big thing in summer, attracting such people as Elton John.
Neighboring Valparaiso is a hillside city that reminds one of San Francisco, only very poor. Once the capital of Chile, it is the busy main port for international shipping and the base port for the Chilean navy. The downtown architecture is varied; take note of the building where they have constructed a new building up through the center of an old historical one. One restaurant recommendation in Valparaiso is Puerto Vieja near Plaza Echaurren.
On the hills above downtown Valparaiso, mainly on Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion, redevelopment is along the lines of small restaurants, boutiques and small hotels. One can access the cerros (hills) by going up and down on the old funiculars (ascensors); these trams are spread along the base of the hills. Go up one, walk the streets of the hills, and take another down.
Many of the buildings on the hills don the creativity of the local artists. Go to the area for the day or spend a night. A side trip to the Casablanca area offers the opportunity for wine tasting. The old whaling town of Quintay is south of Valparaiso.
Every Christmas Eve, Santa makes sure to stop in Zapallar. He arrives in Zapallar by boat rather than by sleigh. His boat is brightly decorated with multi-colored balloons. Santa sails in on the horizon and navigates his way around the bay to the beach, settling in just outside the waves. At that point, Santa distributes his gifts, as the balloons are released into the sea. The young ethusiastically swim out to gather their presents. The older brave the cold water to get those treasured prizes for the ones that cannot yet swim.
The joy of returning to beach, balloon in hand, is undeniable. All the children savor the moments before returning to their home to see what Santa has left them under the tree.
Mar Bravo is the spot in Zapallar where the Pacific Ocean meets up with the granite of the coastline in spectacular fashion. The township maintains a park which has become the focal point of the Mar Bravo experience. The park overlooks the ocean coastline and Cerro de la Cruz. During the summer, the kids can get a burro ride in this lovely setting between their romps in the playground. Mar Bravo is the premier place in Zapallar to view the sunset, and many a Zapallarino walk there to capture the sun going down into the Pacific, hoping to catch that last glimmer of green, indicating a good sunny day to follow.
Of course, the Mar Bravo is all about the waves. On good wave days, one cannot imagine a more spectacular display of water meeting rock. The waves here can be truely enormous. Take care to not approach too near the shoreline, for one slip or one big wave can mark the end of your enjoyment.
Zapallar invites visitors to just state at the ocean vistas which abound throughout the town and in most hotels and rental property homes. The Pacific Ocean is breathtaking. Hear the sound of the waves, the smell of local flowers and the ocean, and take in the vibrant sunsets.
“La Rambla”, a very well maintained coastal path with bridges, paved sections, and incredible views of the ocean. This path stretches (with some incomplete sections) from the cemetery to Cachagua’s beach–nearly 4hrs of marvelous walking end-to-end!
The coastline has a paved beach/coast walk-way called “la rambla” which can be walked for miles in both directions north and south of town. At times the rambla is not complete, but safe passage along the shoreline is achieved by walking over various boulders. If you start at the Cemetery to the north of town, you could walk for ~4hrs south through Zapallar town, to Cachagua, and onwards along the Cachagua beach until it reaches an impassable tide.
Here are some of the highlights of any visit to Zapallar.
Complete the partial rock-hop-hike from Zapallar all-the-way to Cachagua, or a partial hike from the rambla north from Cachagua Beach, passing Isla de Penguinos (Penguin Island) to the small beach of Las Cujas. Continue past this beach to get to the beach of El Pangue. This is a world-class walk with unparalleled beauty.
Hike the ridgeline between Zapallar and Cachagua on the El Tigre trail.
Once you have been in Zapallar for a while, go to the Hotel Isla Seca and look at the fasinating old pictures of Zapallar hanging on the walls. There are also old pictures in the hallways of the Municipalidad.
Driving directions from Santiago to Zapallar – Drive time approx. 2 hours <distances below are approximate>:
Follow Route 5 North to Puchuncavi turnoff <117km or 70 miles, about 2km past La Calera>. Look to the right at KM signpost 50 and on a clear day you will get your first look at the Aconcagua, the 3rd tallest mountain in the world. If you want to eat along the way, stop at Torofrut (around the 90km mark)
Take road over pass west from Nogales towards Puchuncavi until end <27km or 16 miles>
Turn right at end onto coastal road north to Zapallar <23km or 14 miles>
Turn left into the town of Zapallar
NOTE: If driving from the airport or Santiago, be sure to have at least CH$20.000 pesos for gas, road tolls…
Alternately, taking about 3 hours instead of 2, one can drive from Santiago to Valpariaso/Vina Del Mar, and then take the road up the coast to Zapallar. While doing this drive, one can stop in the Casablanca wine area for some tastings or tour the port city of Valparaiso
Travel to Zapallar by bus: The bus system is good in Chile (TurBus). You can get a bus from the airport to downtown (out the airport doors to the right) and then a bus from downtown to Zapallar. Be sure to get a direct bus (more direct) from downtown instead of one that makes all the stops. It is about a 3 hour bus ride from downtown Santiago.
The beach of Zapallar, nestled in the bay, is one of the most picturesque you will find. The clean beach of yellow sand is lovely. The water a clear, deep blue. The waves entering the bay and crashing on the shore. The founding fathers of Zapallar were right in preventing the roads that were laid out to go towards the sea, so today automobiles around the bay are limited to only two parking areas. The setting is truly unspoiled.
Late evening on a spring day Zapallar
The beach is usually an active place, with people from all over the world sunning, talking, playing paddle board, or simply reading a good book or taking in the vista. A collage of colorful umbrellas protects those who have got too much sun, or want an afternoon nap.
Of course, there is the ocean. Getting into the ocean takes a little mental preparation, for the Humboldt current makes the water cold and the waves can be big enough to be a challenge. Some only get in for a quick dip to cool off, but for those who can brave the elements, the waves are usually very good fun for frolicking and body-surfing. The hardy swim out to a floating raft, the ‘balsa’.
The Cesar restaurant literally sits on the beach, where one can eat seafood and shellfish, as well as getting a pisco sour, the traditional Chilean cocktail. The kids are attacted to the candy kiosk adjacent to the restaurant. Umbrellas and beach chairs can usually be rented next to the candy kiosk.
When the waves are crashing off Isla Seca, it can be spectacular. In winter, you often find this pristine beach totally to yourself.
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