‘I can’t think of a place more pristine’: 133,000 hectares of Chilean Patagonia preserved after local fundraising

The turquoise waters of the Puelo River. Only 15,000 visitors a year are allowed into this pristine ecosystem. Photograph: José Miguel Calvo

A wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups, the Guardian can reveal.

The 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of pristine wilderness in the Cochamó Valley was bought for $63m (£47m) after a grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patagonia, and the title to the wildlands was officially handed over to the Chilean nonprofit Fundación Conserva Puchegüín on 9 December.