Chile with Luxury & Style (13 Days): A Sample Itinerary

ID #: DT-C-13-11-23-07-BESI

• An introductory city tour includes the 18th-century Cathedral and a visit to the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, led by one of its curators. Stop in the Barrio Brasil, today an enclave of Santiago's artistic community
• Fly to Puerto Montt in the Chilean Lake District. Visit the town and gaze across the waters of the Llanquihue to the mighty Osorno Volcano.
• Raft through Class III rapids, ride horseback through the native forest, trek in Chile's oldest National Park or go on a photo safari to the Osorno Volcano.
• Once a booming port city and haven for big clipper ships, Punta Arenas lost prominence with the opening of the Panama Canal. After a brief city tour, continue to Puerto Natales, stopping en route at a typical farm for a sheep-shearing demonstration and a barbecue lunch.
• Travel through the windswept plains of Patagonia en route to Torres del Paine National Park. Spend three full days choosing from a variety of activities and exploring the area's magnificent beauty.

Overview:

Chile will keep any traveler happy - from the vast salt-flats in the north, to European-feeling cities and coastal resorts in the centre, to the spectacular mountains of the south.

Chile is situated in South America, bounded by Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, the Antarctic and the Pacific Ocean. Home of the Andes mountain range, it is a thin ribbon of land, 2,610 miles long and nowhere more than 115 miles wide.

Because of its unusual geography, Chile has a hugely varied climate ranging from the world's driest desert in the world - the Atacama, stretching for 621 miles, with areas where rainfall has never been recorded, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-prone Alpine climate in the south. Travelers can enjoy the country's abundant fauna and flora and spectacular scenery consisting of huge glaciers, fjords, waterfalls, blue lakes and numerous national parks where trekking is a very popular activity amongst tourists.