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…
Must-see attractions in Chile
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…
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…
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…
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…
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')…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Centro de Visitantes Inmaculada Concepción
Chiloé
Don't even think about visiting Chiloé's Unesco-listed churches without first stopping in at this excellent museum housed in the former Convento…
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Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos
Santiago
Opened in 2010, this striking museum isn't for the faint of heart: the exhibits expose the terrifying human rights violations and large-scale …
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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…
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Santiago
This little-visited museum on a quiet residential street in Vitacura boasts a stunning collection of contemporary Latin American art mixed in with…
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Museo Regional de Ancud Aurelio Bórquez Canobra
Chiloé
This worthwhile museum, casually referred to as Museo Chiloé, offers interesting displays tracking the history of the island, including a full-sized…
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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,…
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…
Observatorio Interamericano Cerro Tololo
Elqui Valley
Probing the mysteries of stars billions of miles into the past is all in a night's work at the futuristic Observatorio Interamericano Cerro Tololo, which…
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…
Chiloé
Created and owned by Chilean business magnate and current president Sebastián Piñera (and run by his foundation, Fundación Futura), this private nature…
Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende
Santiago
Picasso, Miró, Tápies and Matta are some of the artistic heavyweights who gave works to the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende. Begun as a populist…
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…
Elqui Valley
The star of the stargazing show, the purpose-built Observatorio Cerro Mamalluca, 9km northeast of Vicuña, is Elqui Valley's biggest attraction. So big, in…
Parque Nacional Archipiélago Juan Fernández
Middle Chile
This national park covers the entire archipelago, a total of 93 sq km, though the township of San Juan Bautista and the airstrip are de-facto exclusions…
Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins
Southern Patagonia
Virtually inaccessible, Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins remains an elusive cache of glaciers. It can be entered only by boat. From Puerto Natales, full…
Elqui Valley
The gravesite of Gabriela Mistral lies on a hillside just south of Montegrande's main plaza. A winding path to the top is lined with quotes and…
Elqui Valley
Like Mamalluca, the shiny hilltop Observatorio Collowara in Andacollo is built for tourists; no serious interstellar research is conducted here. Two-hour…
Cajón del Maipo
A mix of Andean forest and scrubland make up this hilly, 100-sq-km nature reserve in a scenic tributary canyon of the Cajón del Maipo, 18km southeast of…
Elqui Valley
Capel distills pisco at this facility and has its only bottling plant here. Located about 2km (a 20-minute walk) southeast of town, this large pisco maker…
Santiago
Chile's presidential offices are in the Palacio de la Moneda. The ornate neoclassical building was designed by Italian architect Joaquín Toesca in the…
