Cáhuil, Coastal village in Pichilemu, Chile.

Cáhuil is a coastal settlement at the mouth of the Nilahue Estuary, about 15 kilometers south of Pichilemu, with salt production facilities spread along the waterfront. The landscape consists of shallow salt ponds and modest buildings that reflect the long tradition of salt harvesting in this area.

Salt pans here predate written records; the indigenous peoples of the coast were the first to work them, using rudimentary methods. Over time the technique was refined, and by 1978 more than 60% of Cáhuil's population lived from salt production, which remained outside industrial companies. The plots, called cuarteles, stayed in the hands of local peasants, while some titled owners rented out units from outside the settlement.

The name derives from Mapudungun, meaning "place of seagulls", after the cáhuil gull common on these coasts. Salt is still worked in family-held cuarteles, small production plots, rather than by industrial firms. The municipality of Pichilemu laid out the Ruta de la Sal, which starts in Pichilemu and passes through Cáhuil, Barrancas, La Villa, El Bronce, La Palmilla and La Plaza, with the rural ranches Oro Blanco and El Bronce serving local food.

The Salt Route starts in Pichilemu and passes through Cáhuil, Barrancas, La Villa, El Bronce, La Palmilla and La Plaza. Along it, two rural ranches, "Oro Blanco" and "El Bronce", serve typical food of the area. The estuary is used for fishing, swimming and boat trips, and the lagoon for sport fishing of pejerrey, carp and cachamba.

In 2008 the National Forestry Corporation set up a reserve on the island among the Cáhuil salt pans, protecting a hybrid ecosystem with hydrophilic vegetation that shelters endemic fauna. The same wetland holds at least 46 bird species, among them the coscoroba swan, the black-necked swan and the Cáhuil gull.