Chile holidays

What can you find in Chile that you won’t find elsewhere?

Like a spine along the western seaboard of South America, Chile is over 2,500 miles long but never more than 150 miles at its widest point. And over this vast stretch are an extraordinary array of geographical contrasts, and correspondingly rich experiences. You’ll find the most arid region on the planet in the wonderful other-worldly Atacama desert, where flamingos breed in their thousands on shimmering salt flats. The Atacama Desert is also home to the extraordinary Valley of the Moon, a truly lunar landscape of wind-sculpted dunes which glow vermillion at sunset. The silence here is so profound that you can hear the salt crack in the rocks and the flamingos sipping in vivid blue lagoons. Then in the middle of all this emptiness, discover leaping llamas etched onto rocks thousands of years ago, and spouting geysers bubbling up from volcanic depths. There’s an ancient feel to this whole place, and the night skies are clearer than anywhere on the planet. Those clear skies also mean minimal rainfall, a concept close to inconceivable to the average Briton. Elsewhere, appropriately, there's one of the planet’s wettest regions, in the island of Chiloe, whose beautiful wooden churches are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In the north of the country, the snow-capped Andes Mountains are reflected in the still, silent lakes of the altiplano, but in the south, there are gushing waterfalls, deep fjords and the glaciers of Tierra del Fuego, half of which belongs to Chile. And in the middle? Forests and vineyards, and lush green countryside. It is these contrasts which make every stage of your trip to Chile totally different. And we haven’t even mentioned Easter Island yet!

Who is Chile best for?

Chile holidays are ideal for those who love adventure, in enormous, wild and mythical places. It’s for anyone curious enough to want to solve the mystery of the Moai sculptures on Easter Island. And for those who yearn for big experiences, you’ll find plenty of them in the Andes. In Patagonia, you’ll even find Mapuche people, whose indigenous traditions remain very much alive.

What are the best ways to discover Chile?

Chile is so extensive that it would take more than a lifetime to discover all its many secrets and marvels. Ideally, then, focus on one region. If that’s Santiago, you can experience this fashion and design capital from a stylish city slicker hotel. If you head to Atacama, you’ll discover the high altitude salt flats sitting at the feet of volcanoes from the privacy of a desert lodge: an adobe hideaway that blends seamlessly into the mountains. In Chilean Patagonia you’ll gaze out over the singular beauty of Ultima Esperanza Sound and the sharp peaks of Torres del Paine National Park, a world biosphere reserve. Amid the wine-growing slopes of Colchagua Valley you’ll stay in a hotel whose innovative architecture combines stone and wood to perfection. On Easter Island, 2,300 miles from the Chilean coast, you’ll discover the giant Moai statues, whose enigmatic gaze no one has so far been able to fathom. You might match your Chile experience with one of Argentina, for a more complete picture of Tierra del Fuego, or even to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic. And for lovers of the Andes, how about the heady mix of Peru and Bolivia with Chile?

Special things to do in Chile:

Some of the finest skiing in the Southern Hemisphere - there is quality skiing in the Andes, and we recommend resorts like Portillo and Valle Nevado which are knee-deep in powder from June to August.