Must see attractions in Chile

Dubbed as the Serengeti of the Southern Cone, the 690-sq-km Parque Nacional Patagonia features Patagonian steppe, forests, mountains, lakes and lagoons…

This striking cultural and performing-arts center – named for Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in…

The spectacular setting on a windswept ocean headland makes it easy to understand why Isla Negra was Pablo Neruda’s favorite house. Built by the poet when…

The best views over Santiago are from the peaks and viewpoints of the Parque Metropolitano, better known as Cerro San Cristóbal. At 722 hectares, the park…

Bellavista's most famous resident writer was Pablo Neruda, who made a point of watching Valparaíso's annual New Year's fireworks from his house at the top…

When poet Pablo Neruda needed a secret hideaway to spend time with his mistress Matilde Urrutia, he built La Chascona (loosely translated as 'Messy Hair')…

In 2010, 33 miners were trapped more than 700m underground after a devastating collapse within the mountain where they'd been working. Following a…

Among South America’s most fascinating cemeteries, with both humble immigrant graves and flashy tombs, like that of wool baron José Menéndez, a scale…

Shrouded in folklore and Huilliche mythology, Chiloé's 'Dock of Souls' was built in 2007 by architect Marcelo Orellana. The curved boardwalk spans 17m…

See the 32 excavated Chinchorro mummies in situ at this tiny museum below El Morro. They were discovered when an architect bought this former private home…

The magnificent Unesco-listed church (1837), for which the town is named (Tenaún means 'three mounts') has been meticulously restored down to the last…

Italian Eduardo Provasoli chose a marriage of neo-Gothic and classical architecture in his design for the elaborate Iglesia San Francisco, one of Chiloé's…

Achao's 18th-century Jesuit church, on the south side of the Plaza de Armas, is Chiloé's oldest (1740). Crowned by a 25m tower, the World Heritage site…

Opened in 2010, this striking museum isn't for the faint of heart: the exhibits expose the terrifying human rights violations and large-scale …

Exquisite pottery from most major pre-Columbian cultures is the backbone of Santiago's best museum, the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. As well as…

This cultural center built from the bones of a prison has a little bit of everything the thinking traveler could ask for. There are excellent murals in…

This little village has good ocean views and a few restaurants and cabins. Head to the bridge for a 30-minute boat tour of the Laguna de Cahuil (CH$5000…

This little-visited museum on a quiet residential street in Vitacura boasts a stunning collection of contemporary Latin American art mixed in with…

There are over 3000 plant species in the nearly 400 hectares of parkland that comprise Chile's Jardín Botánico Nacional. It's 8km southeast of the city…

Don't even think about visiting Chiloé's Unesco-listed churches without first stopping in at this excellent museum housed in the former Convento…