QUICK GUIDE CHILE

With its more than 4,000 km of territory from north to south, it is the longest country in the world and offers its visitors an infinite number of ecosystems and landscapes for all tastes; From the most arid found in the north in the Atacama Desert, to the center all the majestic of the Andes Mountains observed from its capital in Santiago de Chile, traveling south is the beautiful Lake District, further south is perhaps where Chile is best known, by its patagonic zone in Torres del Paine, its dominion reaches the most austral zone of the world is its Antarctic territory in Cape Horn but it does not finish there, Rapa Nui (or Island of Easter) appears in the middle of the Pacific in Oceania taking total protagonism by its mysticism, grandiosity and by the remote thing that is of everything.

This is a brief account of all that Chile can offer you in your next trip, go through its most beautiful postcards with us.

1. 1. A colorful phenomenon in the Atacama Region
   2. Antofagasta, the heart of the driest desert in the world
   3. Santiago at the center of it all
   4. Valparaíso, region of seaside resorts and colorful hills
   5. Wine route-Casablanca and Colchagua valleys
   6. Delightful Lakes Region
   7. Entering Patagonia by Carretera Austral in search of the Marble Chapels
   8. 8th Wonder of the World-Torres del Paine National Park
   9. Chilean Antarctica-Cape Horn National Park
   10. Rapa Nui, Island of the Giants

While it is true only by the name Atacama we would automatically assign it to the home of the driest desert in the world, but this is not the case since it covers several regions of Chile and its gateway, San Pedro de Atacama is located in the region of Antofagasta that we will up next. What is most surprising and that is why it is included in this account is because of a unique spectacle seen here which is where the desert flourishes in the middle of the Llanos de Challe National Park. The desert becomes a sea of little yellow and violet flowers, but it has to rain during the winter so that this phenomenon can happen. Did you expect this?

San Pedro de Atacama holds the key to one of the country’s treasures, and that is to have direct access to the Atacama Desert and its main attractions such as the Valley of the Moon, Los Flamencos National Reserve and its altiplanic lagoons, El Tatio Geysers, among others. This is also where you can have a front row seat to observe the stars and constellations with a clean and calm sky almost all year round. It is worth mentioning that Chile has wonderful routes for all those who enjoy astro-tourism and is therefore rightly worthy of the Astronomy Capital of the World.

Located in the central part of the country, it is the city that best serves as a starting point for travelers who wish to move to other regions in the north and south as well as outside the continent. As it is the case of all the capitals, it has its historical center where you can find, the Main Square, the Moneda Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, etc. Furthermore, as it is the most developed city, it has a cosmopolitan atmosphere and its most evident example is in the financial area known as Sanhattan or in its leisure neighborhoods such as Lastarria, or the traditional Paris and London that are quite visited in the afternoons to have tea, eat the famous Chilean empanadas or have some wine after work.

If you are visiting Santiago, you should not overlook, go to some of its viewpoints from where you can appreciate the natural wonders that surround the city, one of them and the most important, the majestic Andes Mountains.

The region of Valparaiso covers a considerable area with 8 provinces including outside the continent, Easter Island. We will focus on 2 of its coastal cities: Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, since both can be visited together and are easily accessible by car from Santiago.

Valparaíso, is one of the most touristic cities because of its famous colorful hills (Alegre and Concepción) that show its most bohemian side and that enchant with its calm and full of life rhythm. It is also where you can find much of Chilean culture, one of the places to highlight is the summer home of the poet Pablo Neruda, called La Sebastiana.

Viña del Mar, is the favorite area to spend the summer of the Santiagueños(people from Santiago), for its good climate, temperate similar to the Mediterranean, nightlife and is also very attended by locals and foreigners in the month of February for the Viña del Mar Festival that concentrates world class stars.

We invite all those who are in Santiago to dedicate 1 day to visit them.

As we mentioned before, Santiago serves as the base for many itineraries and for wine lovers it will be great to know that you can visit different valleys where you can taste different types of wine, at short distances of between 1 and 2 hours from the capital where you can enjoy excellent first class wines.

If the interest goes more to white wine, the Casablanca Valley is the perfect place because it has a cool climate ideal for the delicate production of this type of wine. While there, we recommend spending the time for lunch and taste the great gastronomy and then take a walk and appreciate all the beauty in some of its incredible wineries and vineyards that this incredible place has before returning to Santiago.

The Colchagua Valley is where the first wine route in the country was created and that is why this valley is considered a ‘must see ́ of the wine connoisseur. Here you can find more red wine productions such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. This last one, as a historical fact, was a vine that was lost in Europe for about 100 years until it was rediscovered by a enologist during a visit to Chile.

Let’s go now to the south, where forests, lakes and mountains rule and one lives around the beauty in its maximum splendor.  It is the kilometer 0 of the Carretera Austral and from its entrance in Puerto Montt, traveling north we visit Puerto Varas, a city created by German immigrants 168 years ago.  It is here that the famous Andean Crossing begins, crossing the Todos los Santos Lake and arriving in Bariloche, Argentina. Just a few kilometers away is the Llanquihue Lake which is the total protagonist of the place in front of the Osorno Volcano giving a show to anyone who visits it.

Another important destination in the Lake District, is the Chiloé Archipelago, which comprises a set of 40 islands each with charm and can only be reached by crossing a ferry as if it were a very distant place and total autonomy and that is why it would not be fair to mention it briefly so it will be pending for a future blog post.

There is a particular interest in visiting the Carretera Austral, because of its varied geography that offers unique landscapes and that is why it is very important to mention that before doing so, a good route should be drawn up beforehand with the help of those who know the area since it is a very austral area.

The Carretera Austral is divided in north and south between the Lake Region and the Aysén Region and a trip of at least seven or eight days is recommended in order to get to know the most representative features. Almost at the end of it, the Aysén Region offers activities such as the famous ice trekking on the glaciers but the most surprising is to find marble formations in the shape of cathedrals that leave visitors speechless.

We are now heading a little further south, to the most famous area in all of Chile, Torres del Paine National Park, but first it will be necessary to get to Punta Arenas (on a flight) to the southernmost city in this whole circuit. Here we recommend staying one night and the next morning visiting the beautiful penguins on Magdalena Island and next to it Marta Island where you can see the sea lions. You can visit them very early and by midday continue the trip to Puerto Natales or within the same park in Torres del Paine.

Torres del Paine National Park is known as the 8th Wonder of the World, and is a favorite for trekking and climbing lovers. The best known trek is Base Las Torres with an average of 22 kilometers traveled to visit its most emblematic postcard.  For the more adventurous, there are much more complete routes such as the 93 kilometer O route or the 76 kilometer W route, so a single trip can be dedicated to this incredible area in 5 to 9 days.

It is impossible to talk about Chile and not mention it, the particularity of this area is that the southernmost city in the world is located in Puerto Williams and not in Ushuaia, Argentina as it is known.

As it is an area far from everything, it can only be reached in two ways, by means of a cruise ship (at present there are two companies that transit it) and by flying over with a local, non-commercial flight.

It is one of the most unspoiled destinations in the world and the travelers who can reach it will be fortunate to take with them the most marvelous souvenir of their trips, since they will be merely at the end of the world.