"Scenery Galore!" Chile by mad4travel

Chile Travel Guide: 4,891 reviews and 13,536 photos

Sunrise Torres Del Paine National Park - Chile

Majestic Scenery

What can I say about Chile. It was fantastic.

Its a long, thin country - Chile stretches over 4,630 kilometers (2,880 mi) north to south, but only 430 kilometers (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. This encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes.

Apparantly, is the world's 38th-largest country!

Because of its length it encompasses a wide variety of landscapes from the arid Atacama desert in the north through to the rainer Lake District in the middle and wild and windy Patagonia to the south.

Because of the range of climates its difficult to find a perfect time to visit. Summer is the best time to go because of getting better weather in Patagonia however its far from guaranteed. Visiting this time of year also means its very hot in Santiago and in the Atacama.

Loads to do

Cormorants at Puerto Natales

Still, there are some fabulouse places to go:

Atacama
Visit the village of San Pedro de Atacama - once a sleepy little village but now geared up for tourists but still in a low key way (certainly no McDonalds or KFC here thank goodness)
Experience the Valley of the Moon at sunset- although don't expect to share it alone unless you are renting a 4 wheel drive or are prepared for a desert hike.
Get up very early (4am) to drive up to the El Tatio geysers (and prepare to be VERY cold. Wallow in the hot springs while you are there
Visit tradional villages with picture postcard churches and munch on some home cooked empanadas.

Lake District
Check out the fish market (pooh!) and artisans market at Puerto Montt
Go for a trip on one of the many lakes flanked by snow capped volcanoes
Go to the top of a volcano for a fantastic view if the weather is good.

Patagonia
See the Penguin Colony outside of Puenta Arenas
Tour the Torres Del Paine National Park (and hope for good weather)
Wander the streets of Puerto Natales and go on a boat trip to a glacier

Theres lots of things to see and do. See my tips section for more....

Other impressions

Valley of the Moon at Sunset, Atacama Desert

Chile has a very European feel, being in downtown Santiago is like being in a city in Spain, once you get outside Santiago you keep running into places that remind you of other places - the Atacama reminded me of the SW USA (minus the volcanoes). The Lake District reminded me of British Columbia and Patagonia, well , I haven't been to Alaska yet, so maybe when I get there it will remind me of Patagonia!

Other things to recommend about Chile - you'll eat a lot of beef. Bad news if you are a vegetarian, its hard to avoid. Have a munch on an empanada, drink some Pisco sour (maybe not on an empty stomach!) and try the bread. Don't bother with the coffee - their idea of coffee is Nescafe- even in good restaurants, I was surprised at that considering how close they are to Brazil.

If you don't have much time then flying is your only option. LAN Chile operate a good service but be prepared for planes taking off late, no meals on domestic flights except sugar laden "Happy Boxes" and sometimes no inflight movies (they will be in spanish anyway). Sit on the mountain side of the plane and you won't need movies as you will have your own mountain and volcano scenery movie right before your eyes.

I also went to Easter Island which was fab but I've put that under a separate page.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Fantastic scenery
Cons:Its a long, thin country!!
In a nutshell:More than just Volcanoes and Glaciers

Last visit to Chile: Feb 2008
Intro Updated Aug 18, 2008
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Reviews (11)

Puerto Montt Things to Do (10)

Puerto Montt is a port city in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue... more travel advice

Desert Scenery Things to Do (10)

When you do the trip to the El tatio geysers most of it is in the dark, so you have no idea about the kinds of scenery... more travel advice

Salar de Atacama Things to Do (10)

Salar de Atacama is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is 55 km south of San Pedro de Atacama, is surrounded by... more travel advice

El Tatio Geysers Things to Do (10)

This is an early morning trip. Pour yourself into a bus at 4am in the freezing cold of the desert (it was minus 6 when I... more travel advice

Hotels (1)
Good Central Hotel

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Comments (3)

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spidermiss Jul 16, 2010 at 9:43 AM

I've been to Chile 3x and love the country. Look forward to returning in the future and seeing the North of the country. Happy travels, Dawn
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madamx Nov 22, 2008 at 6:27 PM

I can't believe that there aren't more comments here, this is an excellent page. Thanks for all the good info ~ Helen
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hindu1936 Jun 23, 2008 at 8:05 AM

Good stuff here. photos, infor, and useful comments about what you can see. thanks much