Discover Chile

Chile is situated in South America, bounded by Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, the Antarctic and the Pacific Ocean. Home of the Andes mountain range, it is a thin ribbon of land, 4200km (2610 miles) long and nowhere more than 180km (115 miles) wide. Arica, near the northern border with Peru, is an excellent tourist centre. It has good beaches and the famous San Marcos Cathedral. Chile's central region and the islands feature the snow-capped peaks of the Andes, rolling green fields, vineyards and orange groves. The modern capital city, Santiago, has a good range of hotels to suit all tastes and pockets. Easter Island, west of the mainland, is famous for the Moai, gigantic stone figures found all over the island. National dishes include empanada (meat, chicken or fish, with onions, eggs, raisins and olives inside a flour pastry) and humitas (seasoned corn paste, wrapped in corn husks and boiled). Chile is, of course, famous for its wine and pisco is a powerful liqueur also distilled from grapes. While many restaurants and hotels offer entertainment there are also a number of independent discotheques, nightclubs and late night cabaret spots.

Getting There

By Air
There are frequent services to main towns. The southern part of the country relies heavily on air links. Reservations are essential. Internal passenger air services are operated by the domestic subsidary of LAN-Chile, Lanexpress (LU), as well as by a number of air taxi companies. Services connecting the main towns are frequent during weekdays, and are fairly regular. There are 1-month ‘Visit Chile’ tickets available from Lanexpress and LAN-Chile covering the north and the south of the country.

By Road
Chile has about 80,000km (49,460 miles) of good roads. The Pan American Highway crosses the country from north to south (a total of 3455km or 2147 miles) from the Peruvian border to Puerto Montt. It is advisable in remoter areas to carry spare petrol and an additional spare tyre. Tyres should be hard-wearing. Traffic drives on the right. Bus: Intercity buses are cheap and reliable. There is a luxury north–south service running most of the length of the country. Most long-distance coaches have toilets and serve food and drink. Sometimes a lower fare can be negotiated. For details, contact.

By Rail
The state railway runs between Santiago and Temuco. Services are limited by the geography of the country, but there is one daily train each way at 2000, with sleeping and restaurant cars, and some air conditioned accommodation. Principal trains also carry vehicles. Children under 1.20m in height travel free. Train fares are from £10-53. For details, contact SERNATUR.