Robinson Crusoe Island

In the year 1704, after a fierce fight with the captain of the buccaneer in which he was sailing, the mariner Alejandro Selkirk was abandoned on an uninhabited island. After four years and four months he was rescued. On his return to Great Britain, he told marvelous stores of an unimaginable natural treasure. The island that he described, Robinson Crusoe, is the history that would make its way around the world after being immortalized by writer Daniel Defoe, who turned Selkirk into the hero of his story.

The Juan Fernandez archipelago is made up of Robinson Crusoe Island, located 670 km from the Chilean cost, along with the islands of Santa Clara (2 km²) and Selkirk (50 km²), each located a great distance from the other.

The Island possesses an extraordinary mountainous and rustic topography and a Mediterranean climate. It is a National Park and was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The rains vary greatly in a short distance, creating dense forests of vegetation and endemic fauna, such as the two-haired fur seal and the Juan Fernandez humming bird. It is a dream of a landscape for those who enjoy virgin and surprising nature.

On Robinson Crusoe you can enjoy long walks through the hills of the Island, whose highest point is not more than 1500 meters. In addition, you can enjoy scuba diving expeditions to discover sunken ships or simply to help the fisherman in gathering the tasty lobsters, which are captured without disturbing the ocean floor.

Shipwrecks, Pirates, and Hidden Treasure
The Island that belongs to the Juan Fernandez archipelago has always been a stopover for explorers and sailors. Its discovery in 1574 by the shipwrecked Alejandro Selkirk motivated the writer Daniel Defoe to immortalize it in one of the classics of literature, Robinson Crusoe. The island was a refuge for pirates like John Cook and John Eaton, Edward David and the feared Bartholomew Sharp, who, it is said, left magnificent buried treasures aquiered through looting. The interest in discovering the treasures was intensified in 1998 when a historian from the U.S. by the name of Bernard Keiser began archaeological excavations in Puerto Inglés (English Port) with the objective of discovering a buried treasure of sailor and Spanish noble of the Santiago order, Juan Estéban Ubilla y Echeverría. However, the search still continues.

Flora and Fauna
The natural park that takes in the entire Island is one of the places of greatest botanical interests in the world. The flora present is noteworthy for being largely endemic (70%), that is to say, exclusive of the island. Such is the case of the Juan Fernández apple tree, "coralillo", the cabbage of Juan Fernández, the cinnamon tree of Juan Fernández, the "narnjillo" (similar to the eggplant), the "chonta" (a type of palm), "luma" (Myrceugenia fernandeziana), wool grass, "the mayu monte", the "madera dura", and various climbing ferns. Its fauna is also characterized by species that we can only find on the Island. Worthy of mention are the "double-furred" sea lion, a sea mammal found in the locations of Santa Clara and Tres Puntas, the red hummingbird frequently seen in the interior forests and in introduced vegetation close to the town of San Juan Bautista, the major urban center of the Island. In areas of native vegetation, you can see the "cachitoro", the "cernicalo" and the "neque", to mention a few birds. Here they also make their nests in caves and cliffs.