FRIGORÍFICO DE PUERTO BORIES

At the time, it was the most important industrial refrigeration complex in Magallanes. Today it is a testimony to the greatness (and decadence) of the livestock industry in Patagonia. It is the work of the pioneer Rodolfo Stubenrauch who imported 300 sheep from the Falkland Islands in 1877, then from the Tierra del Fuego Mining Company from 1893. A railway was used to get there from the town of Puerto Natales. In 1914, the structure was more or less complete, although a washhouse (for wool) was only built in 1923. At its peak in 1932-1942 (400 workers were working there at that time), its production amounted to 207,000 sheared wools (170,000 of which were frozen, representing about 3,000 tons), plus 340,000 kg of lamb leather and 150,000 kg of sheep leather. Then it was decadence, and the refrigeration stopped working definitively in 1970. The architecture, in English style, is interesting and deserves a look. A whole village was built around this industrial pole...this is what explains the existence of the small town of Puerto Natales today.

In 1996, Chile declared the complex a Historic Monument. Then, in 2011, a luxury hotel opened its doors: the Singular (a marvel of comfort and architecture). Inside, you can visit the old refrigeration plant, well restored (free if you stay in a hotel, in the future you may have to pay for outside visits).