Must-see attractions in Chile

  • The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a camelid native to South America, stands between 1.0 and 1.2 m at the shoulder and weighs 90 to 140 kg. Its color varies very little (unlike the domestic llama), ranging from a light brown to dark cinnamon and shading to white underneath. Guanacos have grey faces and small, straight ears. The name guanaco comes from the South American Quechua word huanaco (modern spelling: wanaku). Young guanacos are called chulengos.

    Parque Nacional Patagonia

    Northern Patagonia

    Dubbed as the Serengeti of the Southern Cone, the 690-sq-km Parque Nacional Patagonia features Patagonian steppe, forests, mountains, lakes and lagoons…

  • It takes a while to get there ! It's the most incredible natural place in Easter Island. The force and the beauty of the nature here is incredible.

    Orongo Ceremonial Village

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    Nearly covered in a bog of floating totora reeds, the crater lake of Rano Kau resembles a giant witch's cauldron and is a wild greenhouse of endemic…

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Polynesian Stone Carving at Rano Raraku Quarry in Easter Island, Chile

    Rano Raraku

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    Known as 'the nursery,' the volcano of Rano Raraku, about 18km from Hanga Roa, is the quarry for the hard tuff from which the moai were cut. You'll feel…

  • Moais of Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island.
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    Ahu Tongariki

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    The monumental Ahu Tongariki has plenty to set your camera's flash popping. With 15 imposing statues, it is the largest ahu ever built. The statues gaze…

  • Vitral en el techo del Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM)

    Centro Gabriela Mistral

    Santiago

    This striking cultural and performing-arts center – named for Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in…

  • Ahu Tongariki - the largest ahu on Easter Island.
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    Anakena

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    Beach bums in search of a place to wallow will love this postcard-perfect, white-sand beach. It also forms a lovely backdrop for Ahu Nau Nau, which…

  • Casa de Isla Negra

    Middle Chile

    The spectacular setting on a windswept ocean headland makes it easy to understand why Isla Negra was Pablo Neruda’s favorite house. Built by the poet when…

  • birdeye view of Andes and Santiago, Chile

    Cerro San Cristóbal

    Santiago

    The best views over Santiago are from the peaks and viewpoints of the Parque Metropolitano, better known as Cerro San Cristóbal. At 722 hectares, the park…

  • Muelle de las Almas (Dock of Souls) on Chiloe Island.

    Muelle de las Almas

    Chiloé

    Shrouded in folklore and Huilliche mythology, Chiloé's 'Dock of Souls' was built in 2007 by architect Marcelo Orellana. The curved boardwalk spans 17m…

  • La Sebastiana? Pablo Neruda House Museum

    La Sebastiana

    Valparaíso

    Bellavista's most famous resident writer was Pablo Neruda, who made a point of watching Valparaíso's annual New Year's fireworks from his house at the top…

  • Sign outside La Chascona, one of Pablo Neruda's homes.

    La Chascona

    Santiago

    When poet Pablo Neruda needed a secret hideaway to spend time with his mistress Matilde Urrutia, he built La Chascona (loosely translated as 'Messy Hair')…

  • Mina San José

    Norte Chico

    In 2010, 33 miners were trapped more than 700m underground after a devastating collapse within the mountain where they'd been working. Following a…

  • Church of Tenaun.

    Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio

    Chiloé

    The magnificent Unesco-listed church (1837), for which the town is named (Tenaún means 'three mounts') has been meticulously restored down to the last…

  • Historic cemetery.

    Cementerio Municipal

    Punta Arenas

    Among South America’s most fascinating cemeteries, with both humble immigrant graves and flashy tombs, like that of wool baron José Menéndez, a scale…

  • Inside the Church of Santa Maria de Loreto at Achao.

    Iglesia Santa María de Loreto

    Chiloé

    Achao's 18th-century Jesuit church, on the south side of the Plaza de Armas, is Chiloé's oldest (1740). Crowned by a 25m tower, the World Heritage site…

  • An interior view from the old jail building in Valparaiso Cultural Park.

    Parque Cultural de Valparaíso

    Valparaíso

    This cultural center built from the bones of a prison has a little bit of everything the thinking traveler could ask for. There are excellent murals in…

  • View of the laguna and tourist boats on summer day in Cahuil, Pichilemu, Chile.

    Cahuil

    Middle Chile

    This little village has good ocean views and a few restaurants and cabins. Head to the bridge for a 30-minute boat tour of the Laguna de Cahuil (CH$5000…

  • The Botanical gardens of Viña del Mar, Chile.

    Jardín Botánico Nacional

    Viña Del Mar

    There are over 3000 plant species in the nearly 400 hectares of parkland that comprise Chile's Jardín Botánico Nacional. It's 8km southeast of the city…

  • Parque del Estrecho de Magallanes

    Southern Patagonia

    The historic sites of Puerto Hambre (Port Hunger) and Fuerte Bulnes are the centerpiece of this privately managed park, an excellent introduction to…

  • Museo de Sitio Colón 10

    Arica

    See the 32 excavated Chinchorro mummies in situ at this tiny museum below El Morro. They were discovered when an architect bought this former private home…

  • Iglesia San Francisco de Castro

    Chiloé

    Italian Eduardo Provasoli chose a marriage of neo-Gothic and classical architecture in his design for the elaborate Iglesia San Francisco, one of Chiloé's…

  • Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino

    Santiago

    Exquisite pottery from most major pre-Columbian cultures is the backbone of Santiago's best museum, the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. As well as…

  • Museo Ralli

    Santiago

    This little-visited museum on a quiet residential street in Vitacura boasts a stunning collection of contemporary Latin American art mixed in with…

  • La Confluencia

    Northern Patagonia

    Don't miss this dramatic viewpoint, where Chile's most powerful river, the Baker, froths into a broad, behemoth cascade before merging with the milkier,…

  • Dawn with moon at the Torres del Paine massif at Lake Lago Pehoe, National Park Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile

    Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

    Southern Patagonia

    Soaring almost vertically more than 2000m above the Patagonian steppe, the granite pillars of Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) dominate the landscape of…

  • Parque Nacional Rapa Nui

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    The vast majority of Rapa Nui falls within the boundaries of this national park. Think of it like an open-air museum with mysterious archaeological sites…

  • Valley of the Moon, Amphitheatre

    Valle de la Luna

    Norte Grande

    Watching the sun set from the exquisite Valley of the Moon is an unforgettable experience. From atop a giant sand dune, you can drink in spectacular views…

  • LLaima Vulcano, North Face

    Parque Nacional Conguillío

    Sur Chico

    The 3125m Volcán Llaima, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, forms the focal point of Parque Nacional Conguillío and the Unesco Biosphere Reserve in…

  •  The VLT, Very Large Telescope complex at the European Southern Observatory located on Cerro Paranal in the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile.

    Cerro Paranal Observatory

    Norte Grande

    In the world of high-powered telescopes, where rival institutes jostle to claim the 'biggest,' 'most powerful' or 'most technologically advanced'…

  • Adventure tourists near the San Rafael Glacier in the Laguna San Rafael National Park in the northern Patagonian Ice Field in southern Chile.

    Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael

    Northern Patagonia

    Awesome and remote, this national park brings visitors face to face with the 30,000-year-old San Valentín glacier in Chile's Campo de Hielo Norte…

  • Trekking in the Tantauco national park in southern Chile.

    Parque Tantauco

    Chiloé

    Created and owned by Chilean business magnate and current president Sebastián Piñera (and run by his foundation, Fundación Futura), this private nature…

  • View of Poike Mountain from Ahu Tangariki.

    Península Poike

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    At the eastern end of the island, this high plateau is crowned by the extinct volcano Maunga Pu A Katiki (400m) and bound in by steep cliffs. There are…

  • Tolhuaca volcano in Malalcahuello and Nalcas National Park, Chile.

    Reserva Nacional Malalcahuello-Nalcas

    Sur Chico

    Serving up one of the most dramatic landscapes in all of Sur Chico and easily the jewel of northern Araucanía’s protected reserves, the 303 sq km Reserva…

  • Huilo huilo Waterfall at Biological Reserve Huilo-Huilo in Chile.

    Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve

    Sur Chico

    This conservation project, begun in 2000, encompasses 1000 sq km of private land that has been developed for low-impact ecotourism and falls within a much…

  • People watching the sunset at Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), Atacama Desert, Chile.

    Valle de la Muerte

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    Around 3.5km west of San Pedro, this striking valley should figure high on any itinerary to the region, with jagged rocks, a towering sand dune and…

  • A man hiking Villarrica Traverse trail through Araucaria araucana forest on the mountainside in Villarrica National Park.

    Parque Nacional Villarrica

    Sur Chico

    Towering over the adventure capital of Pucón, Volcán Villarica is the centerpiece of Parque Nacional Villarrica, one of the most popular parks in Chile…

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