Chile is a champion state. Due to the nature of the landscape, nature here often goes to extremes. This is the longest country (stretching 4600 kilometers from north to south),
with the driest desert in the world (there has been no precipitation in the Atacama Desert for centuries),
the highest mountain lake in the world (the reservoir in Ojos del Salado is located 6,390 meters above sea level). There are a lot of “best-of-the-best” places and attractions here; a regular vacation won’t be enough to see them all. We have chosen the most interesting:
1. Hand of the Desert
In the Chilean Atacama Desert, 75 km south of the city of Antofagasta, there is a monument that a lone wanderer would least expect to encounter there. A monument to the despair and loneliness of man in the sand – the Hand of the Desert – was erected here in 1992 by sculptor Mario Irarrazabal. If a concrete giant is buried in the sand, it is with this gesture that he will say goodbye to the world. Going to see the sculpture (tour groups are taken here from Antofagasta),
don’t forget that in the desert for several tens of kilometers around there are no McDonald’s or toilets. The hand of the desert is the only thing that reminds us of human presence here.
2. Torres del Paine National Park
If the Jewish god had to plant Eden a second time, he would choose Torres del Paine. In 1978, the UNESCO commission recognized the Chilean national park as a biosphere reserve. It seems that the most beautiful pieces of nature from all over the Earth are collected here: mountains and forests, glaciers and fjords, springs and lakes. The park offers several multi-day hiking trails—Torres del Paine is Chile’s most visited tourist destination.
Photo: premierpoolsandspas.com
3. The largest swimming pool in the world
Imagine a football field filled with water. Multiply by ten. You will get the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool.
San Alfonso del Mar is located 100 kilometers west of the Chilean capital Santiago. One kilometer long, 77 thousand square meters of area – in a pool of this size you can not only swim, but also sail. That’s what the Chileans do: in San Alfonso del Mar, anyone can rent a catamaran or yacht and sail on water that is as smooth as a mirror. Despite the fact that the water for the pool is taken from the Pacific Ocean, it is not salty and is so transparent that the bottom is visible at any point.
4. Marble Caves
Not far from the village of Chile Chico, 1,500 kilometers from the Chilean capital, is the best place for kayaking in Chile (and maybe in the world) – Marble Caves or Marble Cathedral on Lake Carrera. In fact, the walls of the caves, which form a winding labyrinth in the rocks of the peninsula, are not marble, but consist almost entirely of limestone. However, the reflections of water on the blue arches create the complete impression that you are floating inside a fabulous marble palace. The caves can be reached by boat, but the depths of the labyrinth can only be reached by small boat or kayak.
5. Easter Island
Welcome to the middle of nowhere: Easter Island is the most remote inhabited island from civilization. From the coast of Chile to the island is more than three and a half thousand kilometers. Nature has endowed the island with a variety of plants and animals. There are a couple dozen species of seabirds here, and little grows except weeds and mulberry trees. However, travelers come here not for beauty, but for mystery.
Easter Island is famous primarily for its stone statues – Moai. Ten- and fifteen-meter statues in the form of human heads are turned with the backs of their heads towards the sea, and their noses into the depths of the island. Judging by the ruins of ancient quarries, the statues were made from compressed volcanic ash in the center of the island. How they were able to be delivered to the coast (the weight of some statues exceeds 200 tons) is still unknown to scientists.
6. Ghost Town of Humberstone
In the north of Chile, in the middle of the desert, fifty kilometers from the nearest settlement (the city of Iquique), there is the abandoned city of Humberstone. The city was founded at the end of the 19th century, when a deposit of saltpeter was found here. First a mining village, then a town with a theatre, church and railway station, Humberstone quickly grew. And just as quickly it became empty when the saltpeter vein dried up. Having lost their income, people gradually left the city, leaving behind their houses with acquired property. Here today you can go into any abandoned house and rummage through old chests, hoping to find some valuable souvenir.
Photo: saddahaq.com
7. Andean Christ
One of the rare examples when religion unites. The Andean Christ is a monument that was erected 100 years ago in the Bermejo Pass in the Andes, ending the war between Chile and Argentina.
At the beginning of the 20th century, two neighboring countries argued about the status of border territories. The dispute could have ended in war, but church ministers intervened. The local bishop proposed erecting a monument on the border that would be a symbol of friendship and reconciliation. Several thousand residents of Chile and Argentina gathered for the opening ceremony of the monument. The military of the two countries also arrived to fire a ceremonial salvo. So Chile and Argentina entered into a settlement agreement.
8. Penguin colony on Magdalena Island
Perhaps this is the only accessible place on Earth where anyone can see so many penguins in one place at the same time. Magdalena Island is located in the Strait of Magellan, in the vicinity of Punta Arenas. Every year at the end of October, almost 50,000 pairs of penguins travel here to breed. By February, the island is covered with a continuous layer of penguins, like black snow. Penguins go about their business and are not at all afraid of tourists who come here to look at them. You can get to the island as part of a tourist group by ferry (2 hours one way).
9. Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna)
If you drive 30 kilometers from the city of San Pedro towards the center of Atacama – the driest desert in the world, you can walk on the moon.
Moon Valley is the name given to the bizarre landscapes of this part of the desert for their resemblance to the lunar surface. Over the course of many millennia, water and winds have polished stones and sand; the white color of the salt lakes gives the valley an even greater resemblance to a cosmic landscape.
If you are looking for a place to stay in a new city, we recommend paying attention to the OneTwoTrip hotel vertical – set the minimum distance to the center in the filters and you will quickly find the nearest hotels near the most interesting locations.
