Quirilluca Park is positioned as an example of ecological protection with educational infrastructure, free access, and an ideal environment for connecting with local biodiversity.

Located on the coastal area of the commune of Puchuncavi, Quirilluca Park offers more than 125 hectares of biodiversity, geological history and unique landscapes that are now available to the entire community. The space has been conditioned by the Maratue project, which has not only ensured the conservation of the ecosystem, but has also installed a network of trails, viewpoints and information stations that can be explored on foot or by bicycle.

“The park represents a real opportunity to learn about the environment and to conserve it, without raising barriers to access. Here anyone can have an educational experience in contact with nature,” Franco Venegas, Maratue’s Socio-environmental Manager says.

Nestled between the towns of Campiche and Maitencillo, just five kilometers from downtown Puchuncavi, the park includes a parking lot with a connection to Luna and Quirilluca beaches. From its trails you can see cliffs cataloged as geosites and sclerophyllous forests inhabited by the northern acorn, a species protected because of its endangered status.

The Maratue project has promoted various active conservation actions, such as the annual census of piqueros (blue-footed boobies) and chungungos (marine otters).

“We have a detailed record of the main natural elements of the park. We have identified and listed the 197 specimens of acorns present in the forest, ensuring that no intervention harms them and preventing visitors from entering their exclusion areas,” the team explains.

In addition, one of the priorities of its development has been the constant work with the educational, scientific and labor community of the territory. These actions are part of a management plan that brings together sustainable advances, conservation and climate change.

Free Access All Year Round:

Quirilluca Park is permanently open to the public. Admission is free and does not require registration. Only during the summer (December 15 to March 15) there is a parking fee, from which vehicles with Puchuncavi license plates are exempt.

Vehicular access is available from route F-30 E, in front of the town of Las Catitas, between 10:00 and 18:00 hours (until 20:00 hours during the summer season). Pedestrian and bicycle access has no time restrictions.

“The commune of Puchuncavi has historically been seen as a sacrifice zone, but there are also areas of high environmental value that must be preserved. Quirilluca Park demonstrates that it is possible to safeguard an ecosystem, and that after opening it to the educational and scientific community and to those who seek to learn or simply contemplate,” Venegas concluded.