Port of Valparaíso, Maritime terminal in Valparaíso, Chile.

The Port of Valparaíso stretches along the Pacific coast and serves as a major hub for container ships, cruise vessels, and general cargo operations. The facility includes multiple specialized terminals equipped to handle different types of shipping and loading systems.

Valparaíso received its first vessel, the Santiaguillo, in 1536, in a bay the Changos fishing people called Quintil. The Villaurrutia pier, Chile's first and the only one built during the colonial period, stood near the Cabo. Between 1910 and 1930 the English firm S. Pearson and Son Ltd built the present infrastructure, including a 1,000 m breakwater, after Law No. 2,390 of 7 September 1910 funded the works.

The UNESCO listing of 2003 covers Valparaíso's historic quarter, not the port's maritime industrial heritage. The bay was called Quintil by the Changos, the fishing people who used rafts of sea-lion hide and wooden planks before the Santiaguillo arrived in 1536.

The port lies at the foot of the hills, with the passenger terminal at Muelle Prat and the container terminals stretching north toward Barón. Public access is limited to the passenger and promenade areas; operational zones are closed. The harbor is best seen from the surrounding hills or from the waterfront near Muelle Prat.

The bay has a natural amphitheater shape that lets you see ships from multiple heights around the waterfront. A system of funicular elevators connects the harbor area to residential neighborhoods perched on the surrounding hills.