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You can access to this city from any pass of southern
Neuquén: Tromen, Carirriñe or Hua Hum. From Pucón -if
you read this there-, going along Villarrica lake.
Besides, it's on the best way to go on towards Temuco or
Valdivia.
Facing the great volcano and by the lake, surrounded by
Toltén river, Villarrica (more than 22.000 inhab.) is,
as its slogan says "Much more than a summer".
Brief history
It was founded three times, first by natives. Later, in 1552,
by spanish conqueror Gerónimo de Alderete, who called it
"Villa Rica", because of the native's rumor - exaggerated-
about the gold wealth in the zone.
The last one was in 1883, when chilean Gral Urrutia obtained
-at the same time of Villegas in the argentine side- the peace
of " Araucanía". Villarrica had been abandoned soon after its
foundation, after the spanish defeat of Tucapel (1555), when
Pedro de Valdivia died. Afterwards it was occupied by means of
the royal audience of Lima in 1556. The place had, at the
siege in 1599, 600 inhabitants which resisted the mapuche for
three years before surrender, staying alive eleven men and
thirteen women. Since then, mapuche people resisted for three
centuries till ends XIX. It was a strategic zone for the
access to the andean passes, allowing to get the great plains.
You can observe the remains of the Villa Rica of XVI century -
still unprotected - at Urrutia st. and Carrera st. If you are
there in January or February, don't forget to visit Mapuche
craft fair, in the main avenue. You'll see how they work on
the sheep wool colored by extract of vegetable roots. There
also are baskets, silver pieces and native musical instruments
(pifilca, cultrun and tutrucas).
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