Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins
Southern Patagonia
Virtually inaccessible, Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins remains an elusive cache of glaciers. It can be entered only by boat. From Puerto Natales, full…
Must-see attractions in Chile
Cajón del Maipo
A mix of Andean forest and scrubland make up this hilly, 100-sq-km nature reserve in a scenic tributary canyon of the Cajón del Maipo, 18km southeast of…
Norte Grande
The influence and wealth of the nitrate boom whisper through the deserted ghost town of Humberstone. Established in 1872 as La Palma, this mining town…
Santiago
Chile's presidential offices are in the Palacio de la Moneda. The ornate neoclassical building was designed by Italian architect Joaquín Toesca in the…
Norte Grande
El Tatio is ringed by volcanoes and fed by over 80 gurgling geysers and a hundred gassy fumaroles. Contrary to popular opinion it is not the world's…
Norte Grande
San Pedro has its own mini version of the Dead Sea, a mere 22km south of the village. This topaz-colored lake allows you to float effortlessly because of…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Ahu Tahai is a highly photogenic site that contains three restored ahu (ceremonial platform). Ahu Tahai proper is the ahu in the middle, supporting a…
Elqui Valley
You won't get far in the Elqui Valley without someone offering you a Guayacan, and if you're even vaguely interested in beer, you should accept. This…
Santiago
This striking shell-shaped temple in the Andean foothills is a tranquil spot to relax – even for those who don't ascribe to the Baha'í faith – with an…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Unusual for its inland location, Ahu Akivi, the first scientific restoration on the island (in 1960), sports seven restored moai. They are the only ones…
Parque Nacional Llanos de Challe
Norte Chico
This 45,000-hectare desert park north of Huasco is a great place to escape the crowds. Several well-marked trails take in a bit of the desert flora (and…
Elqui Valley
The town's landmark Museo Gabriela Mistral, between Riquelme and Baquedano, celebrates one of Chile's most famous literary figures. Gabriela Mistral was…
Sur Chico
The stone-domed Museo de Volcanes is Sur Chico's most impressive archeological museum, covering Chilean indigenous cultures, including one of the best…
Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos
Norte Grande
The big draw of San Pedro is this magnificent reserve that covers some 74,000 hectares. It's divided into seven geographically distinct sectors south,…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Maunga Terevaka is the island's highest point (507m) and the youngest of its three volcanoes. This barren hill is only accessible on foot or on horseback…
Norte Chico
The cold Humboldt Current flows up the desert coastline, bringing with it its peppy namesake penguin and abundant marine life. The worthwhile 44,000…
Museo Arqueológico San Miguel de Azapa
Norte Grande
This museum, 12km east of Arica, is home to some of the world's oldest-known mummies. There are superb local archaeological and cultural-heritage displays…
Parque Nacional Radal Siete Tazas
Middle Chile
The upper basin of the Río Claro marks the beginning of the ecological transition between drought-tolerant Mediterranean vegetation to the north and moist…
Norte Chico
The subtriangular-shaped Isla Pan de Azúcar lies a tantalizingly short distance offshore, its base often shrouded by camanchaca (thick fog) at twilight…
Norte Chico
This catch-all museum provides an overview of the region's natural and human history, its mineral wealth, and key events that have shaped history over the…
Middle Chile
Exhibiting the impressive private collection of controversial entrepreneur and alleged arms dealer Carlos Cardoen, this is the largest private museum in…
The Lakes District
This amazing 12-years-in-the-making, US$25-million world-class performing-arts center opened in 2010, and has single-handedly put Frutillar on the global…
Norte Grande
What at first glance looks like the ruins from some ancient indigenous settlement in fact dates only from the turn of the 20th century. Created by…
Norte Grande
While not in Antofagasta proper, but rather 22km north of the city, this enormous offshore arch – the centerpiece of a 31-hectare protected zone – is the…
The Lakes District
Territorio Mapa Lahual protects some 60,000 hectares of mature forest and indigenous territories south of San Juan de la Costa and into Río Negro province…
Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay
Middle Chile
The great range of challenging hikes at this well-organized, easily accessible national park will leave you as short of breath as the fabulous views. Its…
Northern Patagonia
Verdant and pristine, this 2889-sq-km park encompasses vast extensions of temperate rainforest, clear rivers and seascapes. A remarkable forest…
Arica
This imposing coffee-colored shoulder of rock looms 110m over the city. It makes a great place to get your bearings, with vulture-eye views of the city,…
Monumento Arqueológico Valle del Encanto
Norte Chico
An intriguing gallery of pre-Colombian rock art can be found at Monumento Arqueológico Valle del Encanto, a rocky tributary canyon of the Río Limarí 19km…
Middle Chile
Between Angol and the Pacific, the coast range rises to 1550m within the 68-sq-km Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, one of the last non-Andean refuges of…
Norte Grande
The jagged crust of the Salar de Atacama looks for all the world like God went crazy with a stippling brush. But in the midst of these rough lifeless…
Arica
One part of the old rail line that linked Arica with La Paz, Bolivia, has been restored, allowing you to ride a tourist train that runs once a week…
Norte Chico
Housed in the right flank of the old train-station building, this museum houses dramatically lit ceramics, most of which are Diaguita, dating from around…
Santiago
More than just a graveyard, Santiago’s Cementerio General is a veritable city of tombs, many adorned with works by famous local sculptors. The names…
Sur Chico
The 125-sq-km preserve, founded in 1912, is a little wonderland of waterfalls, alpine lakes and araucaria forests and the creatures that traverse them,…
The Lakes District
Parque Nacional Puyehue protects 1070 sq km of stark landscape defined by sand dunes and lava rivers, the result of Volcán Puyehue's 1960 eruption that…
Middle Chile
Looming large within this national park are two of the highest mountains in the coastal range, Cerro El Roble (2200m) and Cerro La Campana (1890m), which…
Norte Chico
Tabalí is a great little winery that's making waves in the Limarí Valley. Located at 1600m and planted on a mix of soils (alluvial, transitional, granitic…
Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda
Santiago
Underground art takes on a new meaning in one of Santiago's newer cultural spaces: the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda beneath Plaza de la Ciudadanía. A…
Arica
About 10km south of the center, the serene beaches give way to an area of jagged cliffs, rocky shorelines and caves that were used by the Chinchorro…
