CHILE

Central Chile is home of Santiago, the cultural and political heart of the country and city characterized by its diversity, a place where of any given day Chilean cowboys will be kicking up dust at a local rodeo even as a wine tasting takes place in vineyards known for some of the best wine in the world. The nearby port city is Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s a affluent neighbor Vina del Mar, are known for their many beach resorts. Just a few miles inland from Santiago, in the soaring Andes mountains that acts as backdrop the capital city, is Farellones, one of the most famous ski areas in South America.

San Pedro de Atacama, in the north is a popular tourist destination for its interesting Incaic adobe architecture, crafts made of cacti, volcanic rocks and wood, and the surrounding geysers, sand dunes and salt flats of the Atacama Desert.

Just off the central coast lies Easter Island, a Chilean territory that is one of the eastern most Polynesian islands. There, between cave explorations and sea kayaking, visitor can see the enormous humans faces carved in stone by the ancient RAPA NUI PEOPLE.

Heading into the Southern third of Chile, Patagonia there are breathtaking panoramas around every corner. Based in Puerto Montt, visitors can explore extraordinary frozen sights in vast protected and wilderness lands. Also, Punta Arena in the very southern tip of Chile, is the gateway to some Patagonia’s most legendary treasures. A labyrinth of fjord, inlets, canals, peninsulas and the islands of Tierra del Fuego encircle the Magellan Strait. Just north of Punta Arenas is one of the country’s most visited national parks, Torres del Paine, which was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

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