Valdivia

Sports & the Outdoors

Numerous rivers, lush coastal temperate rainforests, and the Pacific coastline are some of the attractions for sports lovers in and around Valdivia. This is a great place for anything related to the river. Bird watching is a joy, particularly when you can witness the rare black-necked swans, one of the world's smallest swans, which have made the Valdivia area their main habitat despite pollution problems from a nearby pulp mill.

Valdivia-based tour operator Pueblito Expediciones (San Carlos 188. 63/245-055. www.pueblitoexpediciones.cl) organizes marvelous rafting, kayaking, and nature appreciation trips on nearby rivers. An astonishing variety of wetland birds inhabits this part of the country. Hualamo (09/642-3143. www.hualamo.com) lets you get a close look if you join its bird-watching and natural-history tours based out of a lodge 20 km (12 mi) upriver from Valdivia.