Chile > Introduction

Situated along the south western region of South America, Chile is a long slender country bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the high Andes Mountains, with Peru to the north, Bolivia and Argentina to the east.

It is a land of great contrasts with a temperate desert climate in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south and totally freezing in the south, with glaciers, fjords and lakes.

Places of Interest
by Ale Mcalister

Robinson Crusoe Island
Where Charles Darwin made his first notes about his theory of evolution, and bought during his first expedition there, some souvenirs and fossils.

Arica
The city of the Eternal Spring they call it, as it never rains, and has this amazing weather all year long. Close to the frontier of Peru and Bolivia, you can easily take a cab and get to the city of Cuzco in Peru, and visit the Machupicchu with no problem. The photo above is taken in Arica´s nearest Park and volcano, towards the Andes.

San Pedro de Atacama
One of my favourite places in the North of Chile, that has one of the driest deserts in the world, Atacama Salt lake and has an amazing view at the Valley of the Moon, which brings the sensation of being in the moon on earth. Early 4 am view the geezers of Tatio which are worth to see.

La Serena
The city with the major tourism for Chileans that live in the city and go for summer holidays to the beaches it counts with, and also one of the places like Coquimbo region that is so called the star region as it has one of the clearest skies to observe stars in the world. Many Astronomic observatories are laid out in this region and many have tourist access.

Santiago City
With its rich architecture from the 1800´s and the opposite financial modern area on the other side, which makes it a unique cosmopolitan city. Two hills in the middle that are parks and places to visit as well as the Mapocho river that crosses all the district, coming from the spectacular mountain that you can view from your balcony, and ends in the Pacific ocean.

The Mountain range of the Central Valley or the Andes, Ski resorts near Santiago: Valle Nevado, Farellones, Colorado or the ones near Los Andes: Ski Portillo where the Mendoza Argentina frontier is. Why not go to our main Port, Valparaiso, which is the World Heritage and counts with the poetry of Pablo Neruda´s Museum and harmonic European Architecture and landscape that will make the view unforgettable and unique.

Viña del Mar Resort, right next to Valparaiso, with a long range of coast and sun during the summer months of November, December to March.

Southern Chile
We can’t stop mentioning the wonderful South, that counts with many places like Villarica or Pucon, which have great volcanoes and lakes to do some fishing or fly-fishing. Furthermore, you have Valdivia, and Temuco, where the mayor number of natives are concentrated now days, called the Mapuches, which means men of earth. Puerto Montt, the mayor salmon industry exporter, wood carved made handcrafts, and port to departure the lake adventure.

The Lake district
This is where we start with the mayor islands in Chile, small, and with the nearest and biggest island of chile is, Chiloe. Navigate through these islands, then get to Puerto Natales where the entrance city for the Torres del Paine are. An indescribable paradise that is worth to visit. You want to see a Condor bird? Then you must hike the trail in the Park. So much fun and things to do, we can close up our tour with Punta Arenas, which is the last city and the closest to the Antarctic, the end of the World.

Wine
If you’re a wine lover and want to experience with visiting the Chilean wine valleys, well, I am the best wine guide that will lead you to the main luxury premium vineyards. The Colchagua Valley, for example, the well known as the Paradise for enologists, and for the red varietals and reserved wines such as its Malbec, Syrah´s Cabernets and of course why not saying its Carmeniere unique in Chile. If you want to continue with the wine trail, lets take a detour to Mendoza, Argentina. We can either go by land or plane, as its frontier path crosses the Andes that is located 2.5 hours from Santiago. To get by land to Mendoza its about 5 to 6 hours. Once we are there, we can stay at a winery and compare its Malbec which seems not to be a problem if you want to compare quality with many other Chilean wine valleys.  Ale Mcalister, independent tour guide