Cascada de las Ánimas is an ecotourism venture linked to the Astorga family, with deep roots in San Alfonso.
At the end of the 19th century, Florinda Barriga, daughter of Tomas Barriga and Carmen Grossi, came to live on what was then a predominantly cattle-ranching estate...
Eduardo Astorga and Eugenia Moreno
Here she met, married, and raised a family of eight children with Máximo Astorga, then administrator of nearby gypsum deposits, founding a lineage that still maintains close ties with San Alfonso today. What's more, about a century ago, the Astorga Barriga family donated the land where the school, soccer field, police station, and other community facilities are located today, laying the foundation for the future town.
Four decades ago, one of the couple's sons, Eduardo Astorga, decided to start a family business dedicated to tourism. With the support of his wife, Eugenia Moreno, and their ten children, they came up with the idea of transforming the 3,600 hectares of the San Alfonso estate into the Cascada de las Ánimas Ecotourism Center, a novel move, since at that time the concept of ecotourism was unknown in Chile.
This marked the beginning of a series of innovations that have characterized the family's work in the Chilean tourism industry, always with a focus on environmental preservation. For this reason, it has promoted important projects for the recovery of endangered wildlife and soils affected by erosion, having planted over 30,000 trees, including native and introduced species, over the last two decades. Due to this same concern, for three years of tenacious struggle, he opposed the passage of the gas pipeline that, posing a serious threat to the flora and fauna of the area, was intended to be built by the consortium formed by Gas Andes and Nova Corporación within Cascada de las Ánimas. The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Astorgas, forcing the modification of the original route.
After this episode, it was decided to convert the tourist center into a Nature Sanctuary, which is why today it is one of the most important protected areas in central Chile.
The desire to preserve the natural environment of San Alfonso and the great potential that Cascada de las Ánimas has for special interest tourism motivated the numerous grandchildren of Eduardo Astorga and Eugenia Moreno to join the activities of the Ecotourism Center. This third generation, led by Sebastián Herrera Astorga as General Manager, has taken on the task of professionalizing the business and proposing new ecotourism projects, one of which is Cascada Lodge.
Thus, a legacy of more than 100 years and the current entrepreneurial spirit come together today to invite you to enjoy the different services offered by Cascada de las Ánimas, with the mountainous environment surrounding San Alfonso as an unbeatable backdrop. We look forward to seeing you!
Four decades ago, one of the couple's sons, Eduardo Astorga, decided to start a family business dedicated to tourism. With the support of his wife, Eugenia Moreno, and their ten children, they came up with the idea of transforming the 3,600 hectares of the San Alfonso estate into the Cascada de las Ánimas Ecotourism Center, a novel move, since at that time the concept of ecotourism was unknown in Chile.
This marked the beginning of a series of innovations that have characterized the family's work in the Chilean tourism industry, always with a focus on environmental preservation. For this reason, it has promoted important projects for the recovery of endangered wildlife and soils affected by erosion, having planted over 30,000 trees, including native and introduced species, over the last two decades. Due to this same concern, for three years of tenacious struggle, he opposed the passage of the gas pipeline that, posing a serious threat to the flora and fauna of the area, was intended to be built by the consortium formed by Gas Andes and Nova Corporación within Cascada de las Ánimas. The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Astorgas, forcing the modification of the original route.
After this episode, it was decided to convert the tourist center into a Nature Sanctuary, which is why today it is one of the most important protected areas in central Chile.
The desire to preserve the natural environment of San Alfonso and the great potential that Cascada de las Ánimas has for special interest tourism motivated the numerous grandchildren of Eduardo Astorga and Eugenia Moreno to join the activities of the Ecotourism Center. This third generation, led by Sebastián Herrera Astorga as General Manager, has taken on the task of professionalizing the business and proposing new ecotourism projects, one of which is Cascada Lodge.
Thus, a legacy of more than 100 years and the current entrepreneurial spirit come together today to invite you to enjoy the different services offered by Cascada de las Ánimas, with the mountainous environment surrounding San Alfonso as an unbeatable backdrop. We look forward to seeing you!