chile, land of contrasts

Some 4.300km(2,700miles), a distance equivalent to Madrid/Moscow or San Francisco / New York , separates the northern and southernmost tips of this country. Such vast length offers an amazing variety of landscapes, from the desert to the challenging icefields of Patagonia, with only two constant landmarks: the impressive Andes massif and the Pacific Ocean . Desert dominates the north, tundra the south. The center has many fertile valleys and lovely scenery..

• Atacama and Altiplano
  Chile’s north is an open desert landscape, characterized by its extreme dryness. Towards the west, a 1,240 miles coastline faces the Pacific Ocean and to the east, the Altiplano, a very high plateau in the Andes, connecting Chile with the mysteries f the Andean cultures.
• Santiago, Andes and Central Valleys
  Santiago, Chile’s capital is located in the country’s central valley region. It is also the center of the country’s political, economic and cultural life. From a geography and climate point of view, it is a parenthesis in the long and narrow strip of land that is Chile. One of its distinctive characteristics is its beautiful valleys where the well-known Chilean wines originate and its agreeable Mediterranean climate, in between the high peaks with their winter sports centers and a privileged coastline.
• Araucania, Lakes and Volcanoes
  Southern Chile is one of the most attractive points for tourists, because of its numerous lakes and lagoons, whitewater rivers, fertile valleys, millenarian forests, and a chain of national parks crowned by the peaks of numerous active volcanoes.
• Patagonia
  Patagonia, land of legends, is particularly attractive to those who want unforgettable experiences in an untouched and uninhabited environment. Here you will find huge lakes, glaciers, icebergs, evergreen forests and hundred of miles of vast, treeless plains under the clear sky of the southern most tip of the world.
• Islands
  Three islands in the Pacific Ocean are world renowned for their special attractions: Easter Island, with its gigantic moai sculptures, Robinson Crusoe Island, named after the protagonist of the famous novel about the man who was shipwrecked there, and the Chiloe Island, a charming enclave in the South Pacific, famous for its fantastic myths and wild nature.