Viña del Mar (Viña for short) is popularly known as the Ciudad Jardín (Garden City) for its manicured subtropical boulevards lined with palm trees and beautiful expansive parks. Visitors are greeted with the colorful, blooming Av Marina’s Reloj de Flores (Clock of Flowers). The cleanliness is in sharp contrast to the jumble of neighboring Valparaíso.
Known to most travelers as ‘that town that we passed through on the way from Temuco to Pucón, ‘ Villarrica is not without some appeal of its own. It is bigger and a bit more chaotic than its touristy neighbor Pucón, but has a down-to-earth feel, more reasonable prices and a faded resort glory that [...]
Snoozy little Vicuña, 62km east of La Serena, is a restful village of low adobe houses. It’s the easiest base from which to delve deeper into the Elqui Valley and indulge in the fresh avocados, papayas and other fruits grown in the region - not to mention the famous grapes that are distilled into Chile’s [...]
Undoubtedly the most unique city in Chile, and one of the most unusual in all Latin America, Valparaíso - ‘Valpo’ for short - has long been one of the continent’s best-kept secrets. Ignored by many Chileans, who prefer the more mundane charms of Viña del Mar next door, people are now beginning to catch on [...]
Valdivia is the most attractive city in La Araucanía and the Lakes District, although its competition is pretty dismal. This university town, with touches of German influence, loads of mist and its fair share of rain, is supremely relaxed and pleasant. The most striking characteristic of Valdivia is its superb location surrounded by the Calle [...]
Tierra del Fuego - the Land of Fire - is the island that forms the hooked tip and the end of Patagonia, and has always held a special allure to those of an adventurous spirit. Split down the middle between Chile and Argentina, the Chilean side is a practically untamed expanse of massive sheep farms [...]
The further south you go in Chile, the greener it gets, until you find snow-bound volcanoes rising over verdant hills and lakes. This bucolic region makes a great escape to a slower pace. The Araucanía, named for the monkey-puzzle tree, is the center of Mapuche culture. Colonized by Germans in the 1850s, the area further [...]
With around a quarter of a million people and some 50, 000 daily commuters, Temuco is one of Chile’s fastest growing cities. While it is impoverished around the outskirts, it has a developed core with lots of businesses, shops, markets and even the American fast-food chains that you surely traveled all this way to find. [...]
Talca folk are fond of repeating a phrase coined in their town, Talca, Paris y Londres. While that slightly over-hypes the Chilean city, this is a worthwhile place to visit. It has thriving universities, so there is a lot going on during term-time. But this is also wine country, and nearby viticulturists are now catering [...]
Mysterious, storied Patagonia may claim the lower third of Chile, but the heart and the ethos of the region lie in the southern states of Magallanes (Magellan), Última Esperanza (Last Hope) and Tierra del Fuego (The Land of Fire). Along with the deep Amazon and a few stretches of Alaska, this area at the bottom [...]