Introducing Sur Chico

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 south is a provincial enclave of stocking-clad grannies, küchen (cake) and lace curtains. So perfectly laid-back, you’ll start to feel a little sueño (sleepy). Don’t. Outside your shingled dwelling tens of adventures wait: from rafting to climbing, from hiking to hot-springs hopping, from taking onces in colonial towns to sipping mate with the local huasos. Hospitality is the strong suit of sureños (southerners), take time to enjoy it.

Rural roots still mark most city dwellers (about half the population), who split wood and make homemade jams as part of their daily routine. Unfortunately, the rocket-growth of Temuco and Puerto Montt creates an atmosphere of crowded consumption. Seek out the green spaces bursting beyond the city limits. The isolated interior (from Todos los Santos to Río Puelo), settled in the early 1900s, maintains pioneer culture thanks to its isolation, but road building signals inevitable changes.