Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez, Agricultural village in Río Ibáñez, Chile.
Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez sits on a bay on the north shore of General Carrera Lake, at the mouth of the Ibáñez River, 116 km south of Coyhaique. It is the capital of the Río Ibáñez commune and had 764 inhabitants in the 2017 census. A paved road links it to the Carretera Austral, and a car ferry crosses the lake to Chile Chico.
Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez was founded in 1924 and named after Cornelio Ibáñez, a Chilean miner who spent several seasons in the area. It became the capital of the Río Ibáñez commune, and the 2017 census recorded 764 inhabitants.
Local crafts include wool textiles and utilitarian and decorative pottery made from greda clay, plus containers lined with goatskin. The pieces are decorated with grecas, geometric motifs attributed to the Tehuelche, the area's ancestral culture. The January jineteada and folklore festival, Chile's largest of its kind, draws around 7,000 visitors.
A car ferry connects this village to Chile Chico across General Carrera Lake with regular service throughout the day. Plan around the ferry schedule and be prepared for weather delays, as this remote location can experience sudden lake conditions.
The village benefits from a localized climate created by the lake, allowing crops to thrive at a southern latitude where farming would normally be difficult. This natural advantage has shaped the settlement's agricultural economy since its founding.
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