Isla de Los Muertos, Historical cemetery island in Tortel, Chile.
Isla de Los Muertos is a burial ground on an island where the Baker River meets the ocean, marked by wooden crosses standing among low vegetation. The site occupies a modest area of forested land, surrounded by water on all sides.
The island became a burial ground for workers of a timber company that operated in the early 1900s in this remote region. The graves date from when this isolated area was first systematically settled and developed for commercial purposes.
The crosses and burial site tell the story of workers who came to this remote corner during the region's early industrial period. Walking through the graves, you sense how this place became a final resting ground for those far from home.
You reach the island by boat traveling through fjords and along the river from the village of Tortel. Walking paths on the island allow you to move between the graves, though sturdy shoes are advisable as the ground is often wet and uneven.
Excavations revealed that the graves contained no human remains, raising questions about what truly happened to those buried here. This puzzle makes the site enigmatic and prompts visitors to wonder about the fate of those who came to this distant land.
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