How To Use This E-Book
Getting around the e-book
This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Chile, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Chile. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Chile are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Chile. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
2016 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
Chiles Top 10 Attractions
From the worlds driest desert and virgin ice fields to the mysterious ancient statues of Easter Island, here is a rundown of Chiles most spectacular attractions.
Top Attraction 1
Atacama Desert . It may be the driest place on earth, but the Atacama Desert is rich in natural and geological treats as well as indigenous history. Dont miss the El Tatio geysers and their stunning display of geothermal energy as they thrust columns of steam into the cold morning air. For more information,
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 2
Valparasos ascensores . These funiculars may look rickety but are, in fact, quite safe and afford spectacular views of the bay. One of the most curious is the Ascensor Polanco , which rises vertically through the heart of the hill up to a suspended walkway. For more information,
TIPS Images
Top Attraction 3
Torres del Paine . The undisputed queen of Chiles national parks lies at the southern tip of the Andes mountain chain. It can only be visited comfortably in the southern hemisphere summer (DecMar), but it offers exhilarating walks amid scenery of unparalleled beauty. For more information,
Chile Tourist Board
Top Attraction 4
Tierra del Fuego . There are few places where it is possible to be so alone as on this windswept island at the tip of South America. Youre more likely to see guanacos and, in the woods, beavers than other people. For more information,
iStock
Top Attraction 5
Chiles southern fjords . With their inlets, islands, glaciers, and dense forests, the fjords are a transport engineers nightmare, but the boats that ply the channels are a nature lovers dream. For more information,
iStock
Top Attraction 6
Volcn Villarrica . Look down into the molten lava, listen to its tectonic rumblings and sniff the sulfur; the crater of the conical snow-capped volcano is a relatively easy one-day hike from Pucn, and a sight few will ever forget. For more information,
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 7
The Colchagua Wine Valley . Although badly damaged by the 2010 earthquake, this prestigious wine-growing area retains its old rural traditions, alongside state-of-the-art wineries and boutique hotels. During the vendimia , or grape harvest, which takes place between early March and mid-April, there are numerous festivals. For more information,
Chile Tourist Board
Top Attraction 8
Easter Island . Famous for its mysterious stone statues, this Polynesian island is 2,000km (1,240 miles) away from the nearest inhabited land, farther than any other island in the worldFor more information, .
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 9
Palacio de la Moneda . Santiagos presidential palace is still the seat of government, although no longer the presidents home. This is the building that Chilean Air Force fighter planes bombed during the 1973 military coup; its courtyards are open to the public. For more information,