Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral – the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945 – was once moved to write this of her country’s wondrous and varied landscape: “Do not trample the earth, do not crush the sweet-smelling fruit. For love it, bend down, smell it and give it your mouth.” These sentiments are still echoed today in travelers visiting Chile from all over the world. They come to trek through salt-flats and desert terrains, hike up active Andean volcanoes, drink the fresh water of melting glaciers, and, taste the matured wine dripping from an oak wood barrell. Chile is a long, narrow stretch of land on the western edge of South America. It is enclosed by the imposing Andes mountains along its eastern frontier, the starkly arid Atacama desert in the north, Cape Horn and a stretch of islands in the south, and 4,000 kilometers of Pacific Ocean to its west.
Just recently, Condé Nast Traveller elevated Chile to 5th place within the top 20 world travel destinations for 2009. Lonely Planet pointed to the southern Island of Chiloé as the third most important destination in the world to know in 2009. The Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa, along with the Chilean hot springs of Puyehue, were highlighted among the top 50 “Wellness” destinations worldwide by the prestigious National Geographic Traveler in 2009. Additionally, Frommer’s travel guide named the Chilean towns of Puttre, Pucón, Frutillar, Puerto Varas, and Tortel as some of the most charming exiguous towns to know around the world.
In addition to the praise given above, Chile is also, without a doubt, one of the safest and most relaxing South American countries to travel in. It is quite developed and its buses are comfortable and run on time. And, as Condé Nast mentions of the country’s polite inhabitants, “Chileans combine northern European aloof and measure with Latin American warmth and friendliness.” With such a variety of natural landscapes, remote towns, and activities to accomplish, it is impossible to see everything Chile has to offer in one trip. But, after careful thought, I have selected the top 5 places one must recognize when visiting this South American delight. These 5 hot spots are: 1) Santiago, 2) Torres del Paine National Park, 3) Valparaiso, 4) San Pedro de Atacama, and 5) the Colchagua Wine Route.
1. Santiago de Chile – We start with the capital city, the first place you encounter when you fly in from abroad. This very modern South American city, in the heart of Chile’s central valley, contains many secret gems that international travelers sometimes pass on as they quickly flee to natural wonders in the south and north.
The best way to get a bird’s-eye view of this spreading, urban metropolis nested between Andes and other mountains is by getting up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. At the bottom of the 860-meter cerro, or hill, you will see the platform to hop in the funicular, which takes you to the top along the hillside. Midway to the summit, the funicular stops at a small zoo for those who want to quickly check out some monkeys and zebras. Then, after you accept out of the funicular at the “Terraza Bellavista,” near the peak of Cerro San Cristobal, you will quickly remember why funiculars are always FUN. There, at the Terraza, you can buy Chilean snacks and café and scope out the view. However, for the best panoramic of the whole city, you climb the steep walk toward the 22-meter high statue of the Virgin Mary. Although she provides her powerful blessing as a spiritual guardian of Santiago, she cannot always clear the impressive smog as you try to witness the surrounding gorgeous snow-capped mountains. The Cerro also includes a teleférico, or cable car, that provides a ski-lift style fright circulating you around the hill.
When you return to ground level, you are placed right in another charming “must-see” of Santiago, the neighborhood of Barrio Bellavista. This is a long-time bohemian, artsy neighborhood that includes various theaters, wonderful chic restaurants, and funkily painted homes. You should also visit one of the former homes of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, La Chascona, while you are in Bellavista and you can take a real piquant tour in either English or Spanish.
For lunch, you should head over to the sharp central marketplace, aptly named Mercado Central. Here, vendors and patrons alike hold nothing back in hawking for whole fresh fish and seafood that includes bright conger eels, salt-crusted oysters, clams, reineta, tentacled squid, and the Chilean staple, salmon. Even if you find yourself timid from seeing the lines of hooked-up grey and pink fish hanging around, you unruffled have to sink your teeth into a filet at one of the numerous restaurants around. Then, after lunch, have a gander at the nearby Fería La Vega, a vibrant market bizarre full of vegetables, colors, and fruits right by the river’s edge.
If you have another day in town, or some more time this day, you also have to check out Santiago’s central Plaza de Armas, the name historically given to the commercial and municipal center of any Spanish colonial town. Here, you can examine some of the first buildings ever constructed in Chile, dated from around the 18th and early 19th centuries. Of course, after seeing this, you will agree “they don’t build them like they used to.” The intricate colonial architecture of Catedral de Santiago, Chile’s central post office (Correo Central), and the National Historical Museum now contrast with the looming hyper-modern 50-75-floor buildings of present-day downtown Santiago, proper in the background. While you are here, you will also plant your rear and rest on one of the lovely plaza benches, watching older folks play chess and wonder at the beautiful paintings being done by the street artists.
With a few days stay in Santiago, and a healthy budget that can afford a rental car, you would do yourself a favor by excursioning to the quiet and gorgeous Cajón del Maipo, a canyon alongside Santiago’s main river (Mapocho) flowing from the Andes. There, you can do some fantastic trekking, horseback riding and whitewater rafting. Or, you can travel to Portillo for some top-quality skiing, or Pomaire to pick out some Chilean handicrafts and see how they’re made.
2. Torres del Paine – After experiencing the captivating introduction to the country through a stay in urban Santiago, many travelers, especially during the summer time, launch into serious nature adventure journies in the south of Chile. The Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in Southern Patagonia, for example, is a glorious, 180,000-hectare national park full of spectacularly beautiful landscapes at the deepest, most southern edges of the continent. In fact, some international travelers come to Chile only to experience the glaciers, ice fields, swerving fiords, enormous rocky masses, and dramatic Magellan forests of this region alone.
You can breeze along any number of trails, hiking through lenga forests and Patagonian tundra; walking alongside pumas, guanacos (southern Chilean llamas), woodpeckers, and nandues (S. American ostriches) with a condor flying overhead. Along with hiking and mountaineering, various tourist companies located in Torres del Paine offer horseback riding, kayaking, and relaxing ferry rides where you can just sit back and try to recall all the breathtaking scenery in.
There are, of course, unbelievable camping sites. But, even if you aren’t into roughing it, there are plenty of upscale lodges and resorts for the luxuriously inclined. Just remember, you not only need to keep yourself warm with such gear as leggings, fleece jackets, polartech socks, and a water repellent coat, you also need to stay financially warm with a very padded, stuffed wallet.
In addition to visiting this UNESCO declared “biosphere reserve” called Torres del Paine, it is also highly recommended to recede to the enchanting, nearby towns of Puerto Natales and Puerto Williams. It is also quite worth exploring the elegant, European-esque Punta Arenas, the cramped city of 120,000 inhabitants in which you first arrive to the location from Santiago by plane. Punta Arenas is the southernmost city on our planet (apart from the science-devoted posts in Antarctica) and its sights include a quirky cemetery, a historical naval museum, and day tours for penguin watching.
3. Valparaiso – Back to the central region we go as we visit the 3rd most populated urban position in the country, Valparaiso-Viña del Mar. Valparaiso, a vast port city 120 km west of Santiago, is the unique gem here that is really unlike any city on our North American continent. Funky, antique houses, shacks, and mansions of all colors, shapes, and quality drape over the 45 steep hills staring straight at the Pacific, seemingly clinging on for their dear structural lives. Yes, Chile gets plenty of earthquakes and, no, these houses just do not fall. I think that’s where we can say the “magic” of Valpo (as it’s locally called) begins.
A Spanish captain named Juan de Saavedra first settled in this bay in 1536. In 1544, Pedro de Valdivia confirmed the city’s name of Valparaiso and defined it as the natural, principal port of Santiago. The town grew rather slowly for a few centuries during the colonial period. But, in the 19th century, Valparaiso started becoming a South American center of lively economic activity. In fact, the city grew to become the most notable port in all of Latin America – an obligatory stop for ships going around the Cape Horn and then northward. That is, until the Panama Canal was finished and opened in 1914. It is said that, in 1849, a year after gold was discovered in California, up to 800 ships could be counted at any time on Valparaiso’s shore.
With such international traffic and mingling, the native Chileans, along with Spaniards and other European immigrants, became the new inhabitants of Valparaiso, creating a unique culture, molding memories and developing an inimitable position and shape that characterize the city today. As the tour guides of Ruta Valparaiso describe, “The city was never officially planned… (but rather) built spontaneusly by its inhabitants going up the hill slopes… different architectural styles coexist naturally without any prejudice.” Along the way, Valpo developed its identity and soul as an inspirational, romantic city. A nourishing home for poets and paintors, pirates and fishermen, sailors and bohemians. Charles Darwin visited Valparaiso after crossing Cape Horn; Nicaraguan writer Ruben Diario worked as a clerk at Valparaiso’s customs; Sir Francis Drake made landfall here; as did Spanish Civil War refugees in 1939; and, Nobel prize winning poet Pablo Neruda lived in one of his houses here, “La Sebastiana,” (now a museum) overlooking the bay.
Among the “must-do’s” here in Valpo is taking one of the 15 outdoor elevators, or ascensores, that steal you way up to the top of those 15 hills, or cerros, for amazing, wonderful views. The elevators will creak and crank like they were taken directly out of Robinson Crusoe’s Island trudge at Disneyland; however, yes, they are still functional and safe and actually provide daily, effective public transport for the local residents. You would do yourself a favor by exploring the museums and hilly strolls of Cerro Concepción, along with spectacular view of the port from Cerro Playa Ancha. I think my original favorite cerro is Cerro Alegre with its diverse art exhibitions, inviting bars, and general curiosities intertwined with newly refurbished and beautifully painted homes funded by the valid people of Valparaiso Fundation, El Sendero Bicentenial, and the Chilean government.
Be sure to catch the red and violet shades of a sunset here from any number of the city’s titanic viewpoints (or miradors) on top of the hills. Then, for nighttime, the port lights up. Valparaiso is well known for its exciting and cultural nightlife in the pubs, restaurants, poetry cafés, and discotheques. There are no shortages of places to drink away and get lost (figuratively or literally) in the middle of the night. It can be a sailor’s ball, but, also, try to make an effort to be safe.
And, if you happen to pass through Valparaiso for New Year’s, you won’t be disappointed with the music, dancing, fireworks, and festivities. Unprejudiced be sure to eat lentils legal at midnight to ensure a year’s worth of economic prosperity!
4. San Pedro de Atacama – The fourth must-see destination in Chile lies in the far north, within the hypnotizing, vast, bone-dry landscape of The Atacama Desert. The Atacama, a 1,000-kilometer stretch covering much of northern Chile as well as parts of Bolivia, Argentina, is on recount as being the driest desert in the world in terms of least amount of rainfall per year. Within this desert of rising sand dunes, stark white salt flats, belching geysers, pink flamingos (it’s true!) and pre-Colombian archeological artifacts, there stands a diminutive, surreal village – an international, cosmopolitan oasis of sorts called San Pedro.
Located 1,575 kilometers north of Santiago, San Pedro is a picturesque hamlet that provides a center of tourism infrastructure and services to the growing number of international visitors embarking on various breathtaking excursions in the area. The town has an official population of just 2,500 Chilean locals, mostly direct descendants of Atamaceño natives. Yet, it is hard to tell who is working, who is staying, and who is just passing through. You will probably hear more German being spoken than Spanish on some days, and the English you do hear in the bars and alleyways are usually of the U.K. varieties. And, finally, because this town is such a starting point for nearby touristic activity, there are a wide variety of hostels, luxury hotels, tourist agencies, and plenty of Internet cafés (though I don’t really understand how things can get connected way out here). There are also swanky pubs and hip – even organic – restaurants. While in town, it is nice to meet some fellow travelers and local villagers alike, as well as check out the ragged, adobe Spanish colonial Church of San Pedro, dating relieve to 1774, and the Gustavo LePaige Museum of Archeology.
But, the trusty mesmerizing, natural spectacles are seen outside of town, either with a local tourist outift that takes small groups of folks in minivans, or as a lone explorer… granted, you do need an off-road vehicle to get to most of these places. The important highlights of the surrounding altiplano are: Valle de La Luna (Valley of the Moon); El Tatío Geysers; and the trip to Toconao and the Salar de Atacama.
First, you should scope out a trip to Valle de la Luna, possibly with either Cunza Ecoturismo Caracoles, Cactus domingo Atienza, or other reputable tourist agencies. (You do not want to make the same mistake my wife and I made by visiting the high altitude El Tatío Geysers on your first day in town before letting your body produce a one or two-day adjustment to the local altitude.) The valley extraordinarily resembles the moon landscape – according to those who have traversed the moon, I suppose – with wind-beaten hills enclosing a layered valley floor. There is also a huge dune sweeping across the valley, from which you can have a tremendous appreciation of everything around, especially after making the climb with your fellow travelers to the sitting place on top. The sunset is, then, other-wordly, or, perhaps a shade of the essence of what this world truly is when we have the proper time, space, and dwelling for reflection. Cyclists also have an opportunity with a rented bicycle for a serious trek all the device, 14 km to the valley from the center of San Pedro and making it before the sunset.
On your second or third day in town, you can visit the El Tatío Geyser, and this is some experience you will never forget! Typically, one pays around US$20 per person with any of the local tours for a full-day excursion to the Tatío Geyser. El Tatío Geyser is a highly active geothermal field located far up in the Andes cordillera, which, at sunrise, exhibits impressive steam bursts, or “fumaroles,” blasting out of the ground because of the high underground temperatures of the water craters. First, a minivan picks you up at your hotel (or hostel) at around 4 am. It can get quite cold at this time in the high desert, so be sure to dress warm. Also, for reasons explained later, bring a bathing suit, towel, sunblock, bottled water, and lemons.
After picking up you and a few others, the minivan then begins the 3-hour journey, climbing 4,200 meters above sea level. Remember to chew on the lemons that you have either brought, or are offered to you, as they work to mitigate any altitude sickness (or “la puna”) you may suffer. Also, attendants in the van may offer maté tea, which works as well. You then near at the summit of this state, the highest geothermal field in the world, honest as the sun gathers itself. Here, you will be amazed at the wonderful blowholes of bubbling water spraying to and fro. But, be careful, the crust of the earth is very thin in some parts, and people have fallen. Finally, take a swim in the natural hot springs swimming pool end by. This is refreshing, therapeutic, and, by this hour, it will be a nice warm treat in the brilliant sun.
The third important trip to make while in San Pedro de Atacama is the journey 38 km south to Toconao and the inspiring Salar de Atacama. Thick layers of bright white ancient sea salt hide vast stretches of terrain as you stand in the presence of geological history. Go ahead, break off a piece and take a lick. It tastes objective like the sea salt that is presently hundreds of kilometers away. Along the way, you have wonderful sights of two imposing volcanoes, Licancabur and Lascar, along with sweet and upclose encounters with Llamas and Alpacas. You can get out of the van and try to pet them if they don’t timidly run away first. (They may be a bit shy because, for centuries, the local atacameños raised llamas and alpacas, making good use of their meat and wool.)
Enjoy your time in San Pedro and the surrounding environs. Just be conscientious of your imprint on the various ecological reserves and awe-inspiring landscapes because, with increased international tourist traffic, some of the locals have had to accomplish extra efforts for clean up and the like.
5. Ruta del Vino Colchagua-Santa Cruz
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 5-7 years, you have learned that Chile produces some of the finest wines around. Therefore, what better scheme to soak up the native fruits of Chile then by visiting some of the local vineyards? (It’s also a perfect conversation starter – to tell others of your journeys in the heart of wine-producing Chile the next time someone opens a bottle of Santa Rita or Concha y Toro at your friend’s dinner party.) So, let’s return to the central region of Chile, closer again to Santiago, where you will most likely be flying out of to return home.
Although Chile’s international prominence as a wine-producing nation has emerged only recently, wine has actually been cultivated here since the 1540s. It was then that the first Catholic missionaries planted vines so they could partake in the drink during Mass. The Spanish colonists continued small-scale production of wine until 1851, when the first proper winery was established. The first winery was developed by Silvestre Ochagavía, but, soon after, fellow aristocratic Spanish-Chilean families followed in his footsteps, erecting beautiful mansions and parks next to their vines. Today, there are over 250 total vineyards in Chile, producing various wines for both domestic and exported consumption. The principal grapes grown in the fertile Central Valley are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Carmenére. Many of the established wineries in the lush vineyards around Santiago offer tours and tastings. In total, there are 11 famous Rutas de Vino, or wine routes, across the country. Here, we focus on one of the nicest journeys through the world of wine with the Ruta Vino Colchagua through the town of Santa Cruz, which is about 2 hours south of Santiago.
As Pablo Neruda once wrote, “Wine opens doors with amazement, and in the refuge of the months, it runs over your body in soaked red wings.” The doors of Colchagua valley can be reached and opened either by a rental car, through a van tour, or, for a more pastoral ride, by an early 20th century locomotive. The train picks you up in Santiago, serves homemade cheeses and nuts, and includes Chilean folk singers on board as you stop and taste at various wineries.
Once you reach the lush valley of Colchagua, you have reached, what some call, Chile’s wine paradise. There are a total of 18 vineyards in the valley that boasts attractions that include unceasing vistas of coastal mountains, a horse-drawn carriage poke through the vineyards at Viña Viu Manent, and the chance to harvest grapes and create your own wine at Viña Montgras. Cabernet, Carménère, and Syrah are the varieties that thrive here because of their attraction to the local hot summers. Therefore, you should try these types of wines at Viña Montes, a pioneer in exporing Chilean wines 15 years ago, as well as at the award-winning, premier vintner of Casa Lapostolle and its opulent Clos Apalta winery.
There are several places to rest for a night in the charming, rural town of Santa Cruz if you have downed too considerable wine to even think of returning to Santiago on the same day. When you do return to the capital, you will understand why everyone, while raising their wine glasses in glee, shout, “De copas al sur del mundo,” or “Cheers, from our glasses to the south of the world.”
So, there you have the top 5 travel destinations for the increasingly popular South American getaway of Chile. Even though us “North” Americans would consider Chile a smaller, maybe a medium-sized country, there is actually so much to see that it cannot be done in objective one trip. With only a few population centers and a tremendously varied, open geography ranging from rolling Pacific waves to imposing jagged mountains, from ample fertile agricultural lands to craggy glaciers, from salt flats and hot springs to emerald lakes and araucaria forests, there is so many natural habitants to explore as well as the sophisticated tourism infrastructure to accomodate.
In our review of the top 5 essentials of this long, narrow sliver of land called Chile, we did not even get to cover the growing fly-fishing and Antarctica-visiting activities of the far south, nor the small Miami-like “garden” beach city of Viña del Mar, or the drive up the central coast along Reñaca, Zapallar all the way to La Serena. We did not visit the mystical, if not beautifully haunted island of Chiloé and its scores of wooden churches rising above every small village. Plus, it is an experience to check out the region surrounding Temuco and learn from the native Mapuche people. Or, it ahs bee highly recommended to explore the charming German-influenced town of Puerto Varas and the fishing center of Puerto Montt. If you happen to derive yourself in any one of the top 5 places of Chile discussed here, or in any of the other towns and areas mentioned above, chances are you are seeing and doing something highly out of the ordinary and having yourself an incredible time.
References mentoned above:
1. Poet Seers, “Gabriela Mistral Biography.” http://www.poetseers.org/nobel_prize_for_literature/gab/
2. Condé Nast Traveller, “20 Top Trips for 2009.” http://www.cntraveller.com/Special_Features/Top_20_Destinations_For_2009/Chile/
3. Lonely Planet, “Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2009.” http://www.lonelyplanet.com/press-centre/press-release.cfm? press_release_id=388
4. Husna Haq, “50 Top Wellness Destinations: South & Central America.” National Geographic Traveler. http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/wellness-directory/south-and-central-america-text
5. Frommer’s, “The Most Charming Small Towns.” http://travel.nytimes.com/frommers/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/chile/frm_chile_2319026232.html
6. Ruta Valparaiso, “Valparaiso.” http://www.rutavalparaiso.cl/web/win2_en.htm
7. Pablo Neruda, “Estatuto del vino.” http://www.neruda.uchile.cl/obra/obraresidencia2g.html
