The region of Maule, with capital city Talca, has 908,097 inhabitants and spans 30,296 km2 in central Chile.
As the heart of Chile’s agribusiness industry, Maule ships a wide range of fresh and processed fruit and produce around the world, accounting for a significant portion of Chilean agricultural exports. Maule pioneered the now thriving extra virgin olive oil industry, and is the country’s largest winemaking region.
Nearly a third of the regional landmass is covered in native forests and tree farms which produce forest products for the export market. With expanding exports, the local meat packing industry has become a major contributor to the regional economy.
The region marks a transition between the Mediterranean forests of central Chile and the temperate rainforest of the south. Maule is noted for active volcanoes, tall peaks, and scores of world-class rapids. A leading attraction is a series of 7 consecutive waterfalls, each plunging into pools carved in the rock by falling water over thousands of years.