Chile Travel - Accommodation, Sightseeing Tours, Attractions, Information |
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| Chile is a country of startling contrasts and extreme beauty, with attractions ranging from the towering volcanic peaks of the Andes to the ancient forests of the Lake District. There are a multitude of very good parks here, and plenty of opportunities for fine adventure travel. Chile is justly famous as the location of Torres del Paine, considered by many to be the finest nature travel destinations in all of South America. | |||
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Travel to Santiago - The majestic Andean Mountain Range can be seen from
almost anywhere in the city. Due to its geographic location, Santiago is one
of the few capital cities in the world which has easy access both to ski
slopes -just 50 kms. away-, and beaches, 100 kms. away. It is in fact
possible to visit the modern ski resorts as well as the famous beach resort
of Viña del Mar or picturesque Valparaiso, Chile's main port, in just one
day. Numerous villages located in the countryside around Santiago invite the
visitor to relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of country life.
Tourists may also visit the vineyards and try the delicious Chilean wines.
The Santa Lucia Hill in the city center is an important historic landmark. It was here, at the foot of this hill formerly known as the "Huelen", that the Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago on February 1 2th, 1541. He planned the city according to the traditional Spanish checkerboard layout which is still evident in the downtown area today. Today, the Plaza de Armas with its colorful gardens is very different to what it was many years ago but the buildings that surround it bring back many memories. The Metropolitan Cathedral, on the western side of the plaza, stands on the same spot where the first church in Santiago was once built; to the north are three important buildings: the Post Office, the National Museum of History and the Townhall of Santiago. In the days of the Republic, new central neighbourhoods -now traditional ones- were added on to the colonial Santiago of the 16th century. By the 1930s, modern Santiago, with its green areas and architecture had come into being. The growth and development which have taken place during the past years are evident in the facilities which the city offers the visitor. |
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 Santiago City TourThe first port of call for most visitors to Chile is to the capital Santiago, and whether your stay here is short or long, you simply must do a city tour. You'll visit all the places that make this such a cosmopolitan city - the Plaza de Armas, the Parque Forestal and see the magnificent views from San Cristobal Hill. Click here for more information and Booking Details »
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Santiago Sightseeing Tours |
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Chile's Top Sightseeing Tours:
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Wine from Chile Chile has a wonderful climate for growing wine grapes. Located, west of the Andes, Chile's climate varies from the heat of the arid, rocky, mountainous desert to the north and the icy, cold, Antarctic expanse in the south. Chile’s vineyards flourish in the warm, fertile valleys that are positioned between the two areas. Viticulture has been established in Chile for centuries and there are a wide selection of global wine varieties planted, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and many more. Many of the wine grapes that were believed to be Merlot have recently been determined to be Carmenère, which is a scarcely planted variety of Bordeaux. Many of Chilean vineyards are situated within the fertile basin, bordered by the Andes and a lower coastal mountain range that runs about 50 miles north of the capital Santiago to 250 miles south of the city. Around Santiago, where many of the vineyards are concentrated, the rainfall is very low and the melted snows of the Andes provide the important irrigation waters. Temperatures are curbed by the mountains and by the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean and even in the summer, rarely rise above 95° F. The vineyards are located in the Central Valley, a plateau, bounded by two mountain ranges and crossed by the rivers Maipo, Maule, Aconcagua, and others. The wine regions of Chile include some sub regions. The northernmost region is Aconcagua, and due to its location, it is Chile's warmest region. The hot and dry conditions signify that there are some notable wineries here. In the intermediate region Panquehue, conditions are better, and some interesting wines are produced. Nearer to the coast is one of the cooler regions, Casablanca, where large plantings of white wine varieties, like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are grown. The Central Valley, which produces the vast majority of wines, is, composed of four main sub regions. These wine regions are the Maipo, Rapel, Curico and Maule Valleys, each which has rivers that run west from the Andes to the ocean. Maipo is Chile's oldest wine region. Cabernet Sauvignon and other red wine varieties are favored by these sub regions. Maipo produces some very good wines. South of Maipo is Rapel with its sub regions of Cachapoal and Colchagua. There are some wines of interest produced here, and also further south at Maule. Maule is also subdivided with the most significant region being Curicó, which includes Lontue. Nearby is Chimbarongo, which produces some appealing Pinot Noir wines. |
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Location, Geography ClimateFor anyone who has ever been fascinated by geography, the long, impossibly thin line of Chile has always produced a tiny moment of astonishment. Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,700 mi) along the southwestern coast of South America, a distance roughly the same as that from San Francisco to New York, or Edinburgh to Baghdad. At the same time, its width never exceeds 240 km (150 mi), making the country more than eighteen times longer than its widest point. The most obvious factor in Chile's remarkable slenderness is the massive, virtually impassable wall of the Andes, a mountain range that is still rising and that contains more than fifty active volcanic peaks. The western border is of course the Pacific Ocean, but it is a misconception to picture Chile as nothing more than the steep western slope of the Andean peaks. All along its length Chile is marked by a narrow depression between the mountains and the sea. To the north the land rises and becomes more arid, until one reaches the forbidding Atacama Desert, one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. To the south just the opposite transformation takes place: the land falls away, and the region between mountains and ocean fades into the baffling archipelagic maze that terminates in Chilean Patagonia. Chile's southern extremity is marked by Cape Horn, a treacherous headland surrounded by almost continuously storm-tossed seas and passable only through the foggy stillness of the Strait of Magellan. |
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Pure
Patagonia - SA25 Patagonia. Even the name conjures up images of the wild and the remote. Travel
across the rolling Pampas grasslands and between the soaring cloud-capped Andes.
Get to know the friendly locals and be charmed by beautiful, Swiss-style towns.
Amid spectacular glacial landscapes, try a variety of outdoor activities:
volcano climbing, horseriding, glacier trekking. Spot a variety of wildlife
under those big Patagonian skies: whales, penguins and pumas. Hike spectacular
trails in pristine wilderness. Sample wines at those Chilean vineyards, indulge
in fondues in Bariloche or take tango lessons in Buenos Aires.Click here for more information and Booking Details » |
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In the center of the country, however, is a long and expansive river valley, a five hundred mile corridor occupied in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primeval forests and enchanting lakes. Santiago, the capital, anchors the northern and more prosperous section of the central valley. The lush Lake District to the south, however, is the homeland of Chile's indigenous peoples, the Araucanians. Also part of Chile are two notable Pacific possessions-the Juan Fernandez Islands and the famous Easter Island, both of which are administered as national parks. The Juan Fernandez islands are located about 670 km off the Chilean coast, while Easter Island is situated 3700 km distant. Chile's climate is as diverse as its geography. Aside from the obviously extreme climatic conditions of the Andes an the Atacama, however, the country enjoys a comfortable temperate climate. |
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Moon Valley Excursion
Chuquicamata Copper Mine Tour
Akivi (Puna Pau and Seven Moai)
Iquique City Tour
Puerto Montt City Tour
Perito Moreno Glacier
Penguin Sanctuary and Otway Sound
Santiago City Tour
Pucon City Tour