Can any other country match the geographical diversity offered by South America's most intriguing segment? Some 2,800 miles long from top to tail, Chile is a little of everything: sparse and striking where the northerly Atacama Desert keeps its cool under skies ideal for star-gazing; cosmopolitan in capital Santiago; alive with fine wine in the vineyards which frame said city; wild and raw in the grasslands and glaciers of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego; a lonely full-stop in wave-lashed Cape Horn. A continent in a single package.
Must see: 80 miles north-west of Santiago, Valparaiso is a lost soul – a port that was deprived of (much of) its livelihood by the Panama Canal in 1914. But stand, as I did, at the window of La Sebastiana – the former home of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda – you appreciate why this city of brightly painted homes and steep slopes has inspired so many.
3 holidays match your criteria.
Hike the complete Torres del Paine Circuit in jaw-dropping Patagonia on this superb trekking holiday in Chile and Argentina.
The best day walks in the Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks.
One of the greatest treks in the world, around the spectacular peaks and spires of the Paine massif.