A Fascinating Look at Chilean and South American History

Located just 200kms from the capital of Chile, Santiago, in the lovely city of Santa Cruz (VI region), is The Museum Of Colchagua, a place that offers visitors a truly unique experience with a visually and highly informative exhibition about Chilean and South American history with a collection of fossils, jewelry, paintings and even trains! 

The museum, inaugurated in 1995 and with more than 3.300 square meters of exhibition, is divided into two zones. The first one is indoor, and it begins by allowing the visitor to “travel” 300 million years to the past and see fossils of fish, vegetables, insects, and even a live replica of the skeleton of a Smilodon in the paleontology section.

The exhibition continues with a display of Chilean Prehispanic Culture that shows the cultural development of the zone before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. Here you can see tools produced with different materials, ancient mummies, potteries and textiles. Next is the hall dedicated to Prehispanic Culture in America -Mesoamerica, Intermediate Area and Andean Area-, where you can see and read about the different art and artifacts produced by the Vicus, Viru, Chavin, Chancay and Inca cultures amongst many others.

Other sections include information and items from different periods of Chilean history like the Conquest, Colony, Independence and Republic. Paintings, firearms, pictures of Haciendas and even the original piano of the liberator of Chile, Bernardo O’Higgins are some of the items on display.

Finishing this last part of the indoor museum, you will find samples of religious art, paintings, clothing and the marvelous XIX and early XX century carriages section.

The outdoor zone of the Museum of Colchagua is also fascinating and interesting to walk, touch and feel. Here you can learn about trains from XIX century Chile and see antique farming machinery in a beautiful central patio, where you can snap a photograph.

Considered the biggest private museum in all of South America and with more than 18 sections to explore in this extraordinary place, including exhibitions about the huaso -typical Chilean character-, Jewels of the Andes -with items made by the Olmeca, Maya, Aztec, Moche, Chimu and Incas cultures-, and a hall filled with classic automobiles, the Museum of Colchagua is an excellent choice for travelers that want to know more about Chilean and South American history.