Chile: The Rough Guide

Introduction

A long, narrow sliver of land, clinging to the edge of a continent, Chile has often drawn attention to itself for its wholly implausible shape. Seen in the pages of an atlas, the country's outline strikes you as aberrant and fantastical: almost 4000km in length (the equivalent of Scotland to Nigeria), and with an average width of just 180km, the very idea of it seems absurd. Once on Chilean soil, however, these boundaries make perfect sense, and visitors quickly realize that Chile is a geographically self-contained unit. The Andes, the great mountain range that forms its eastern border, are a formidable barrier of rock and ice which cuts the country off from Argentina. The Atacama desert, a thousand-kilometre stretch of parched wasteland separates it from Peru to the north. And to the west, only a few islands dotted in the Pacific Ocean break the waves that roll onto Chile's coast from Australasia.

All this has created a country distinct from the rest of South America, and one that defies many people's expectations of an Andean country. It is Westernized, relatively affluent, and - with the exception of the infamous military regime of the 1970s and 1980s - boasts a long tradition of political stability and orderly government. It is, without doubt, one of the safest and most relaxing South American countries to travel in. Its police are uncorrupt, helpful and reliable. Its buses are comfortable and run on time. Its people are warm, hospitable and generous.

Above all, though, it is for its remote and dizzyingly beautiful landscapes that visitors head to Chile. With its population of fifteen million largely confined to a handful of major cities, and a land area three times greater than the UK's, much of Chile is covered by vast tracts of scarcely-touched wilderness - places where you can be days from the nearest tarred road, and where it's not unusual to stumble upon steaming hot springs, gleaming white salt flats or emerald lakes, and have them all to yourself. Few countries, moreover, can match the astounding contrasts of scenery you'll find here, ranging from the driest desert in the world to immense icefields 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 bleak Patagonian steppes. Towering over it all is the long, jagged spine of the Andes, punctuated by colossal peaks and smoldering volcanoes.

You can experience this wilderness in whatever style you choose - Chile is not a developing country, and you don't have to slum it while you're here. There are plenty of modest, inexpensive accommodation options and camping facilities up and down the country, while those on a more generous budget will find some luxurious, beautifully designed lodges in spectacular locations, particularly in the south. Whatever your budget, you'll probably want to take advantage of the numerous possibilities for outdoor activities, whether it be jeep rides, bird-watching, skiing, horse trekking, wine tours, hiking, volcano-climbing, sea kayaking, white-water rafting or fly-fishing - all offered by an increasing number of local outfitters, and comprehensively detailed in this book. If you have less active plans in mind, you can sit back and take in Chile's scenery from various ferry rides in the south, or on organized bus tours from most of the main cities. However you do it, you won't be disappointed.

Where to go: some highlights Given the country's great size, and the huge distances that separate the main attractions, it's important to give careful thought to your itinerary before you go. If you want to experience both the northern and southern extremes (highly rewarding), you should invest in an air pass, unless you're prepared to spend many hours sitting on a bus, or are in the country for an extended period. Otherwise, most visitors with just two or three weeks to play with tend to choose between heading north or south from Santiago, even then singling out a few chosen targets, rather than trying to fit everything in. Something else to bear in mind is that, on the whole, Chile's cities are not that exciting, and are best used as a jumping off point to get out into the backcountry. In light of this, you should seriously consider renting a vehicle for at least part of your trip, as public transport to some of the most beautiful areas, including many national parks, is sometimes non-existent. We discuss each region's highlights in greater detail in the chapter introductions; what follows is a brief summary of the attractions of each area. Santiago, though boasting some fine monuments, museums and restaurants, is not to everyone's taste, with its ceaseless noise and traffic, and heavy pollution, and two or three days here is enough for most visitors. The capital is handy for visiting some of the country's oldest vineyards, while a string of splendid beaches, as well as the romantic port of Valparaso and fashionable resort of Via del Mar, also sit on its doorstep. North of Santiago, highlights include the handsome colonial city of La Serena, the lush, deeply rural Elqui valley, and another succession of idyllic beaches, all contained within the brittle, semi-arid landscape of the Norte Chico. At the northern edge of this region, the tidy little city of Copiap serves as a springboard for excursions to the white sands and turquoise waters of Baha Inglesa, one of the country's most attractive seaside resorts, and east into the cordillera, where you'll find the mineral-streaked volcanoes of Parque Nacional Nevado de Tres Cruces, and the dazzling Laguna Verde. Further north, the barren Atacama desert, stretching over 1000km into southern Peru, presents an unforgettable, if forbidding, landscape, whose attractions number ancient petroglyphs (indigenous rock art), abandoned nitrate ghost towns and a scattering of fertile, fruit-filled oases. Up in the Andes, the vast plateau known as the altiplano, as high and remote as Tibet, encompasses snow-capped volcanoes, bleached-white salt flats, lakes speckled pink with flamingos, grazing llamas, alpacas and vicuas, tiny white-washed churches, and native Aymara communities. The best points to head for up here are Parque Nacional Lauca, reached from the city of Arica, and Parque Nacional Volcn Isluga, reached from Iquique. South of Santiago, the chief appeal of the lush Central Valley is its swaths of orchards and vineyards, dotted with stately haciendas, while further south, the famous, much-visited Lake District presents a picture-postcard landscape of perfect, conical volcanoes (including the exquisite Volcn Osorno), iris-blue lakes, rolling pastureland and dense native forests, perfect for hiking. A short ferry ride from Puerto Montt, at the southern edge of the Lake District, the Chilo archipelago is a quiet, rural backwater, famous for its rickety houses on stilts, old wooden churches, and rich local mythology. Back on the mainland, south of Puerto Montt, the Carretera Austral - a 1000km-long unpaved "highway" - carves its way through virgin temperate rainforest, and past dramatic fjords, one of which is the embarkation point for a 200-kilometre boat trip out to the sensational Laguna San Rafael glacier. Beyond the Carretera Austral, cut off by the Campo de Hielo Sur (southern icefields) lies Chilean Patagonia, a country of bleak windswept plains bordered by the magnificent granite spires of the Torres del Paine massif, Chile's single most famous attraction, and a magnet for hikers and climbers. Across the Magellan Strait, Tierra del Fuego sits shivering at the bottom of the world, a remote land of a harsh, desolate beauty. Finally, there are the two Pacific possessions: the little-visited Isla Robinson Crusoe, part of the Juan Fernndez Archipelago, sporting dramatic volcanic peaks covered with dense vegetation; and remote Easter Island, famed for its mysterious statues and fascinating pre-historic culture. Administratively, Chile is divided into thirteen regions, numbered one to tweleve (with the addition of the Metropolitan region). We've listed each region by number and name below, followed by the regional capital in parentheses. I

Tarapaca (Iquique) II

Antofagasta (Antofagasta) III

Atacama (Copiapo) IV

Coquimbo (La Serena) V

Valparaiso (Valparaiso) Metropolitana de Santiago VI

Libertador General O'Higgins (Rancagua) VII

Maule (Talca) VIII

Bo Bo (Concepcin) IX

Araucania (Temuco) X

Los Lagos (Puerto Montt) XI

Aisn ( Coihaique) XII

Magallanes y Antartida Chilena (Punta Arenas) When to go The north of the country can be comfortably visited at any time of year, though if you're planning to rent a 4WD and tour the altiplano, note that the unpredictable weather phenomenon known as the Bolivian Winter (or invierno altiplnico) can produce heavy, sporadic rainfall between December and February (the height of summer), washing away roads and disrupting communications. In the centre and south of the country, you should avoid the months of June to September (unless you plan to go skiing), when heavy snowfall often blocks access to the mountains, including many national parks. The peak summer months are January and February, but as accommodation rates and crowds increase in equal measure, you'd be better off coming in November, December or March, when the weather is often just as good.