TRAVEL GUIDE: CHILE

From sunny beaches to ski slopes, volcanoes to glaciers, Chile is a country of contrast and beauty. Located between The Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the country offers a multitude of wildly different adventures which travelers would normally have to experience in many different places. Northern Chile is home to the world’s driest desert, while the center of the country comprises farmland, beach resorts, lakes, ski slopes and looming mountains. The central valley is also home to Santiago, the country’s capital and most populated city. Visitors can explore the ice fields of Patagonia and Antarctica at the southern tip and then go out to sea to visit Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island.

TRAVEL GUIDES

72-HOUR VACATION
Patagonia
"If you walk further, you fall off this world", wrote Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet. You won't fall off the world if you visit Patagonia, but you will find a world much different than your own. This almost-virgin land shared by 150,000 humans, two million sheep and 500,000 penguins will surprise and delight visitors of any age.

72-HOUR VACATION
Santiago
A safe, modern European city, Santiago isn't your typical South American metropolis. Not just a destination, this diverse Chilean city is also a point of departure to places that attract visitors from all over, like Patagonia, Antarctica and Easter Island.

FEATURED HOTELS

TOP 10 EXTREME HOTELS
Robinson Crusoe's Cave
Travelers in the mood for an adventure can spend the night in a rustic cave formerly inhabited by Alexander Selkirk, who was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Located on Robinson Crusoe Island, the cave is where Selkirk lived for over four years before being rescued in 1709.

TOP 10 RANCHES WORLDWIDE
Hacienda Los Andes
This 1,000-acre spread at the gateway to the Andes reaches from the Rio Hurtado to the top of the Cerro Gigante Mountains. Among the options at this ranch are eight-day stays, which include overnight camping along riding trails.

TOP 10 WINE COUNTRY INNS
Casa Real, Santa Rita Vineyards
Just south of Santiago, the Maipo Valley is the country's oldest wine region, birthplace of many a Cabernet Sauvignon. This 19th-century manor house at the Santa Rita Winery includes sixteen swanky European-style bedrooms and gardens full of olive, almond, orange and lemon trees.

For more information, visit the official tourism website of Chile

Guides for other parts of the world

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(Updated: 03/09/11 CT)

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