Submitted by Cascada Expediciones on
In a country as long as Chile there’s a thousand places to visit, but how do you really get the local life experience while travelling? We interviewed members of the Cascada team about their top picks for exploring Chile like a local! Here’s what they came up with.
Top picks for Santiago
“I’d recommend the cafes and restaurants in the Lastarria neighbourhood for lunch and dinner. Vegetarians should definitely go to either El Huerto or Cafe del Patio in the Providencia neighbourhood, both easy to get to from your hotel on a Santiago City Stopover. Thursday and Friday nights Etniko restaurant/bar in Bellavista has a great atmosphere and a good DJ. Those wanting to get into nature should head out into the Andes Mountains and go for a trekking route in the Nature Sanctuary in El Arrayán where they can swim on a hot day and have a picnic. For horse riding head further into the mountains to El Colorado.”
Max Pulido, Business Development Manager
Ellen Juraschka, Product Manager
“La Vega market! Local food and local life. Combine it with Santiago’s central fish market on a culinary day trip!”
Top picks for Punta Arenas
Isabel Menendez, North America Market Manager
“The cemetery (weird as it may sound!) is a great place to visit with its interesting mix of heritage at the world’s end. To ensure you’ll come back to Patagonia one day you need to kiss the statue’s foot in the town square and/or eat Calafate berries from the plant!”
Top picks for Arica
Patricia Rosas, North America Market Assistant
“Visit Colon market and check out its traditional seafood and fruit juices made from guava, passion fruit and mango etc.! Also, should you be in need of a quick hangover remedy hit up restaurant Caballito de Mar which is famous for its ‘Martinez glass’ of ceviche, pepper, lemon and raw egg juice!! Gustave Eiffel constructed two of Arica’s well-known buildings when Arica was still part of Peru - the old customs house (now a cultural museum) and the San Marcos cathedral. Both buildings are national monuments and are located in the main square - well worth a visit!”
Top picks for Andes Mountains
Stefan Urlaub, Communications Manager
“Valle Nevado for sure! I snowboarded a lot in Germany and am happy to live so close to the mountains here in Santiago. My favourite time of year to snowboard is September, when spring’s already here and the days are long and sunny!”
Top Picks for Wine Valleys
Gemma Dunn, Copywriter
“I love visiting all of Chile’s vineyards, their proximity to Santiago means a fun day trip or weekend. I love boutique wineries like La Montaña where you mix it up with activities like trekking and zip lining. Santa Cruz, a little bit further from the capital, is great for a romantic weekend or a wine harvest fiesta!”
Top picks for Valparaiso
Cecilia Mesa, Market Manager FITs
“I studied in 'Valpo' and have a lot of fond memories! I loved going to restaurant bar Cinzano - good Chilean food, drinks and traditional Cueca dancing! J Cruz (similar to the classic La Piojera in Santiago) is a little bit more downscale but has the best chorrillanas (chips, chorizo, onion and fried egg) in Chile!”
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