Explore Chile
 Chile is a beautiful country, and it's an easy, safe place to travel independently. It's also more than ten times longer than it is wide. With enough patience, time and money, you can easily backpack your way through Chile. There's a comfortable and convenient public transportation system, and there are plenty of places to stay if you don't want to pitch a tent. In the north, Chile boasts the Atacama desert, the driest desert in the world, with world-famous astronomical observatories and the world's oldest, 7,000-year-old mummies.  In the center of the country, the climate is comparable to California's. There you can visit the capital, Santiago. If you go in their summer (our winter), you can enjoy many local fruits from the central valley (the same ones that appear in our markets, plus ones you might not have tried, like cherimoya).  Farther south is the region of lakes, rivers and volcanoes. There you'll find the tallest trees in Latin America, the Fitzroya, or alerce. They may have second-longest life spans of any tree species on the planet.  At this point, you can take a short flight to Patagonia, much farther south. There you'll find spectacular scenery, including Torres de Paine National Park. There you can also see massive glaciers and several species of penguins.  The westernmost point of Chile is Easter Island, a Polynesian island famous for its 887 moai, giant stone human figures, weighing up to 86 tons.  The eastern border of Chile are the Andes mountains, and if you go in the Chilean winter (our summer), you can go skiing or snowboarding at one of the many Chilean or Argentinian ski resorts.  |
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