Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Chile

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Clinging to the edge of South America, long, narrow Chile has a fantastical serpentine shape: some 4300km in length equivalent to the distance between Norway and Nigeria and with an average width of just 175km. Once you set foot here, however, these unlikely-sounding measurements make perfect sense, and it soon becomes apparent that Chile is a geographically self-contained unit essentially an island. The Andes, the great mountain range that forms its eastern border, are a formidable barrier of rock and ice that cuts the country offfrom Argentina and Bolivia. The Atacama Desert, a 1000km stretch of parched wasteland, separates it from Peru to the north. And to the west, just a few islands dotted in the Pacific Ocean break the waves that roll onto Chiles coast from Australasia.

All this has created a country distinct from the rest of South America and one that defies many peoples expectations. It is developed, relatively affluent, and with the notable exception of the horrific Pinochet dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s boasts a tradition of political stability. Today, Chile a place of geographical extremes is one of the safest, easiest and most rewarding South American countries to travel in.

Chiles dazzling diversity is also reflected in its people from the alpaca herders of the altiplano (the high Andean plain) and the huasos (cowboys) of Patagonia to the businessmen of Santiago and the hip young things in Valparaso and its cuisine, which runs the gamut from the sweet tropical fruit of the arid north to delicious king crab from the southern fj ords. Above all, though, it is the countrys remote and dizzyingly beautiful landscapes that draw visitors. With a population of around eighteen million largely confined to a handful of major cities, much of the country is made up of vast tracts of scarcely touched wilderness where you can be days from the nearest tarmacked road.

FACT FILE

Chile lives and breathes football: the national team won the 2015 Copa Amrica on home soil and the Copa Amrica Centenario in 2016, but disappointingly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Around 18 million people live in Chile, consisting of a fairly homogenous mestizo population with a few indigenous peoples: Mapuche in the Lake District, Aymara in the far north, Easter Islands Rapa Nui, and Ymana and Kawskar in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

Chiles national motto is Por la razn o la fuerza meaning By right or by might.

In 2017, Tompkins Conservation and the government signed an historic agreement to expand the area protected by national parks by more than 40,000 square kilometres roughly the size of Switzerland.

In the longest recorded dry spell in Chiles Atacama Desert, it didnt rain for more than forty years.

Chile legalized divorce in 2004 and abortion (in certain circumstances) in 2017.

Few countries can match Chiles sheer diversity of scenery and range of climatic zones from the worlds driest non-polar desert to immense ice-fields and glaciers. Spread between these extremes is a kaleidoscope of panoramas, taking in sun-baked scrubland, lush vineyards and orchards, virgin temperate rainforest, dramatic fjords and endless Patagonian steppes. Towering above is the jagged spine of the Andes, punctuated by colossal peaks and smouldering volcanoes.

Given the huge distances involved, its important to plan your before you go. The country splits roughly into two halves, with the capital, Santiago, the jumping-off point for both the sunny north, all vineyards, beaches and desert, and the capricious south, comprised of glaciers, mountains, forests and fjords.

Santiago boasts some fine monuments, museums and restaurants, and is handy for visiting a number of Chiles oldest vineyards. Nearby, the quirky port of Valparaso provides an interesting contrast, with a bohemian but gritty vibe, and splendid bay views from its many hills. North of Santiago, highlights include the handsome colonial city of La Serena and the lush Elqui Valley, its hills ideal for horse treks and its distilleries perfect for pisco sampling. A succession of idyllic beaches lies spread out along the dazzling fringe of the Norte Chico, which comprises semi-arid landscapes and hardy vegetation that takes all the moisture it needs from sea mists. The mining city of Copiap is a springboard for excursions to Baha Inglesa, one of the countrys most attractive seaside resorts, and east into the barely trodden cordillera, where youll find the mineral-streaked volcanoes of Parque Nacional Nevado de Tres Cruces and the turquoise Laguna Verde.

Further north, the Atacama Desert, stretching for more than 1000km into southern Peru, presents an unforgettable, otherworldly landscape; sights include ancient petroglyphs, nitrate ghost towns, fertile oases and some of the worlds most powerful telescopes all the better to lose yourself in the clear night skies. Tiny San Pedro de Atacama makes an ideal base for exploring this arid, moonlike region. Up in the Andes, the vast plateau known as the altiplano encompasses snowcapped volcanoes, bleached-white salt flats, lakes speckled pink with flamingos, grazing llamas, alpacas and vicuas, whitewashed churches and Aymara communities. The best points to head for up here are Parque Nacional Lauca the highest of Chiles many national parks, and accessible from the city of Arica and Parque Nacional Volcn Isluga, near the city of Iquique.

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CHILES WILDLIFE

Chiles diverse animal kingdom inhabits a landscape of extremes. The countrys formidable natural barriers the immense Pacific, lofty Andes and desolate Atacama have resulted in an exceptional degree of endemism, with a third of the mammals that live here, such as the shy pud (pygmy deer), found nowhere else on earth.

Four species of camelid alone live in the barren altiplano: the shaggy, domesticated llama and alpaca