Measuring 4300 miles from top to tip, Chile is one of the most diverse countries on earth, it’s landscape ranging from scorched deserts in the north to icy wildernesses in the south. BlueGreen Adventures’ unique trips will help you cram in as much of it as possible.
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Why Chile?
Chile occupies a strip of land 4300 miles long and barely 200 miles wide between the Pacific and the Andes. Stretching from Cape Horn to Peru in South America, this corridor is crammed with glaciers, ice fields, volcanoes, lakes, fertile valleys, sunny beaches, deserts and pristine wilderness. It’s an unbeatable destination for any holiday, from an action-packed adventure to a peaceful beach and wine tour.
Chile is also one of the safest countries in South America and, not surprisingly, Chileans love helping others discover it.
“This trip was one of the best ‘unplugged’ adventures we have ever taken!”
Why visit Chile?
Geography
Chile spans three continents; it has its primary territory on the South American continent, it’s westernmost border is Easter Island in Oceania and it has territory in Antarctica.
It is one of the longest and narrowest countries on the planet, bordering Peru in the north, Bolivia and Argentina in the east, the Antarctic in the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west, along its 4,300 km coastline (2,700 miles).
Chile boasts a huge diversity of natural terrain. Ancient glaciers, snow-white salt plains, the driest desert in the world and a multitude of forests, lakes and active volcanoes. The terrain is mountainous – only one fifth of Chile’s surface is flat.
People
The population of Chile today represents centuries of intermingling peoples and cultures. Pre-Columbian tribes ranged the length of the country, with the most ancient mummies ever found unearthed in the far north, and the southernmost indigenous populations living at the bottom tip of the Americas. Spanish colonizers intermarried with these populations beginning in the 16th century and immigration from around the globe has continued ever since. Today Chile’s 19.5 million inhabitants are the living embodiment of this fascinating and diverse history.
About 13% of the total national population self-identify as belonging to a particular ethnic group. The largest of these ethnic groups is the Mapuche, who were the last of Latin America’s indigenous peoples to surrender to Spanish colonial control. The Mapuche are concentrated in the Araucanía region of southern Chile in and around the city of Temuco. In the northern deserts and mountains, the Aymara and Atacameño peoples are the most prominent ethnic communities alongside smaller Quechua and Colla communities, while the Alcalufe (or Kawesqar) and Yaghan are the last remaining indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego. On Easter Island, the Rapa Nui ethnic group preserves its unique Polynesian traditions.
Language
Spanish is the official language of Chile, but many of the indigenous peoples preserve their own linguistic traditions. Mapudungun is still widely spoken amongst the Mapuches, while the indigenous peoples of Easter Island still speak Rapa Nui. Aymara, Quechua and Alcalufe are also spoken amongst small numbers of indigenous peoples.
Climate
Chile is a country of contrasting climates and weather. Many of its northern deserts have seen no rainfall for hundreds of years, but in parts of the Atacama Desert occasional brief showers make the desert blossom. On the island of Guarello, in the Straits of Magellan to the south, 9000 mm of rain (354.3 ins) fall each a year, more than Bergen in Norway—one of Europe’s rainiest cities.
The climate of the central zone is mild and warm, with rainfall increasing in the south, where it feeds the millenia-old forests of the Lake District.
The Patagonian south is changeable, it can be gloriously warm or icy and cold with strong winds. The Chilean Pacific islands – Easter Island and the Juan Fernandez archipelago – enjoy warm and subtropical climates.
The seasons follow the typical pattern of the southern hemisphere, with winter in the months of June-August and summer from December-February.
Time Zone
Time Zone GMT minus five in winter and GMT minus three in summer. Daylight saving begins the second Saturday of March and ends the second Saturday of October.
Chile's Food
Chile’s diversity of landscape and climate provides a bounty of produce, seafood and meat virtually unparalleled in the world. Seafood pours in from the nearly 4,000 miles of Pacific coastline. The pastures of Patagonia and the Lake District support herds of livestock, while the fruits and vegetables grown throughout the country are sent to markets and grocery stores throughout the world.
Specialities
Pebre: The basic condiment for any Chilean meal, this is a simple mix of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro and spicy ají, or red pepper paste. Use it with virtually everything. Most restaurants will serve a dish of this on the table alongside the typical Chilean bread rolls.
Seafood: A wide variety of dishes are made with Chile’s famous fish and shellfish, including soups and stews using clams, mussels, eel and other ingredients fished off the coast. Some more unique crustaceans like centolla or king crab (a large, sweet crab from the far south), locos (a meaty, white shellfish) and intensely flavored piure (or ‘sea squirt’, not for the faint-hearted) are generally served either topped with mayonnaise or a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Curanto: The regional dish of Chiloé, Chile’s largest island, was traditionally prepared by baking potatoes, chicken, meats and sausages in a large earthen pit lined with hot stones and covered to keep in the heat. Any Chilote (Chiloean) restaurant catering to visitors will serve some version of this dish. The traditional version prepared in the ground is a fixture of any major celebration. If you arrive in Chiloé while a festival is on, you should be able to try this dish.
Asado: The term “Asado” actually refers to an event, not a food. Essentially a mixed grill, nearly every celebration or special event in Chile centres on the parrilla, or grill, where chicken, lamb, pork, longaniza (a Chilean sausage) and Chilean chorizo are cooked over smoking embers. During a visit to Patagonia you are very likely to experience the fabulous gaucho asado where you can try lamb cooked in this unusual and traditional way.
Tierra del Fuego
Hop on a ferry from Punta Arenas and arrive in a faraway land from a bygone era. With a stopover in the colourful and historic town of Porvenir continue south along empty windswept roads crossing mighty estancias with just the odd baqueano and plenty of sheep for company. Visit the only King Penguin colony found outside Antarctica and head south into a rugged and immense land of glaciers, fjords, icefields, mountains and channels – the perfect antidote to stress for hardy explorers and hikers.
We are working on some new offerings in this area, keep an eye on our newsfeed for more details.
Carretera Austral
The Carretera Austral, or Chile’s Route 7, weaves its way through the southern Lakes and Aysen regions of Chile’s Northern Patagonia. Described as one of the world’s best road trips by National Geographic, the scenery is diverse, exotic and dramatic with sleepy villages, lofty waterfalls, dense forests, hanging glaciers, mist and snow topped mountains and a fantastic network of hiking trails all nestled among a labrynth of rivers and fjords in this almost other worldly landscape. This remote and rugged environment can be explored in a rental vehicle or we can arrange a guide and driver for company and support with daytime explorations and nights in comfortable lodges and cabins.
For a dose of luxury and pampering at the journey’s end we highly recommend a stay at the Hotel Explora located in the Patagonia National Park offering a wealth of explorations and a chance to learn about the important conservation legacies of Doug and Kris Tompkins.
The Chilean Lake District
Both Chile and Argentina have their own Lake Districts, on the Chilean side the area is characterized by pearly blue lakes, perfect snow capped volcanoes and ancient forests, dissected by rivers and waterways, some of which can be explored by kayak or raft. Some of the towns have a German feel due to the arrival of German settlers in 1856. Many of them are immensely pretty with the long straight roads that link them and the abundant national parks making it relatively easy to explore the area by car as you marvel at the picture perfect landscape unfolding in front of your eyes.
There is plenty to see and do here too, hikers might want to visit Cochamo, Chile’s version of Yosemite which has the scenery to match with grassy valleys flanked by massive granite domes but without the crowds having only been discovered by trekkers in the 1990s. Or Chiloe which offers folklore, quirky palafito stilt houses of bright colours and a labrynth of intricate water paths and interior islands.
Easter Island
Easter Island, Isla de Pascua in Spanish or Rapa Nui in Polynesian, is one of the most geographically isolated places on earth. It is almost as close to Tahiti as it is to Chile so it is no wonder that they speak Pascuan, an eastern Polynesian language (in addition to Spanish). Lying in the Pacific Ocean 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile it was named Easter Island by the sailor Admiral Jacob Roggeveen from Holland who chanced upon it on Easter Sunday in 1772. Today it is justly famous for its Moais, monolithic statues of volcanic rock with oversized heads believed to represent deceased gods or chiefs. The tallest of the statues comes in at 33 feet and is known as Paro.
These days the island offers a wealth of cultural or active explorations where you can learn more about the history of this mythical place and the legacy of the Polynesian navigators. See the Moai at dawn for a magical display or take a horse ride out to Hanga Oteo and Terevaka volcano with commanding views of the Pacific Ocean. Experience ancestral dance and a revival of the old crafts by the descendants of the great carvers.
Aysen
Hidden in the north of Patagonia are the rich forests and waterways of Aysén. The forests are dense and opaque, covered with vegetation, moss and lichen. The waterways are found in many forms, from the enormous lakes that stretch across the land to crystal clear rivers, tumbling waterfalls, pristine fjords and frozen ice in the form of glaciers.
As with the south of Patagonia, the landscape is captivating and includes a unique network of tunnels and caves known as the Marble Cathedral located on General Carrera Lake. Kayaking the pristine Baker River, guided road trips, rafting the Futaleufu, fly fishing, trekking and riding are all possible in this area.
Destinations in Chile
Travel styles in Chile
Activities in Chile
Anything is possible: world class rafting, kayaking and fly fishing on the Futaleufu river; surfing big waves around Pichilemu; skiing in Portillo; camping and hiking in the northern deserts; boat rides and road trips through the Lake District and Aysen among alpine lakes and snow-capped volcanoes; relaxing in spas in northern Patagonia; wine tasting and cycling in the wine valley close to Santiago; shopping and being seen in the Providencia and Bellavista neighbourhoods of Santiago; hiking and riding across the gem of Patagonian’s southern landscape, the Torres del Paine National Park.
While we specialize in operating trips in the wild south of Patagonia we can design and organise trps in other parts of Chile, Argentina and Antarctica. Whether you want to fill a few days or a few weeks we can help you maximise your holiday by offering honest, specialist advice. With your own dedicated trip planner and travelling privately for the most part, you can choose the activities and travel style that suits you, your fitness, abilities, desires, travel times and budget.