Puerto Montt is the capital of the Los Lagos Region and the Llanquihue Province, and the main sea port at the lower end of Chile's western continental land. The city is the principal commercial, services, and financial hub of the of Chilean Northern Patagonia�Zona Austral. As the geographic region's main port, Puerto Montt is often considered the 'capital' of Chilean Patagonia.
Puerto Montt is also the gateway to the Chilo� Archipelago and Chilo� Island across the Chacao Channel, and the many other smaller islands in Chile's inland Sea of Chilo�. Other major cities and towns around Lake Llanquihue include Osorno, Valdivia, Puerto Varas, the industrial town of Llanquihue, the cultural town of Frutillar, and Puerto Octay, all adding importance to Puerto Montt and the region.
The city's economy is now based upon agriculture, cattle, and forestry on the surrounding islands, and fishing and salmon aquaculture in the fjords and nearby Pacific Ocean. It is the fastest-growing city in southern Chile, mainly because of the explosive growth of the salmon industry's enterprises.
Salmon aquaculture
Puerto Montt is often referred to as The Salmon Capital of Chile. The city is configured as the hub of the largest salmon aquaculture industry in the world, closely followed byNorway. Hatcheries, fisheries and packing plants are all located south of Puerto Montt. Fresh salmon is flown daily to world markets and frozen salmon is shipped by ocean to all destinations. The tremendous growth of the region, mainly due to the salmon industry, but also due to rapid expansion of forestry, cattle, and tourism, has proven the massive economic potential of Puerto Montt and its surrounding area.
Airports
Puerto Montt has the El Tepual Airport, where two airlines operate regular flights to and from Santiago, Punta Arenas, Balmaceda, Concepci�n, Temuco and Bariloche (Argentina). The airlines operating at the airport are LAN Airlines (the
