Things to do in Carretera Austral

Patagonia · Magallanes Region

Three granite towers, the Cuernos, Grey Glacier and turquoise lakes make this national park the most famous picture of Patagonia. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it is home to the legendary W and O treks, among the most spectacular hikes on the planet, and to wild pumas, guanacos and condors.

Atacama Desert · Antofagasta Region

An adobe oasis at 2,400 metres in the driest desert on Earth. From here you explore the Moon Valley, the El Tatio geysers, high-altitude lagoons with flamingos and the Atacama salt flat, under one of the clearest skies on the planet for stargazing.

Chilean Polynesia · Valparaíso Region

One of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth keeps nearly a thousand moai carved by the Rapa Nui people. Its National Park is a World Heritage Site: Ahu Tongariki at sunrise, the Rano Raraku quarry, the ceremonial village of Orongo and Anakena beach make this a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Lake Llanquihue · Los Lagos Region

The city of roses faces Lake Llanquihue and the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes, with German heritage in its houses and pastries. It is the gateway to Vicente Pérez Rosales, Chile’s first national park, the Petrohué waterfalls and the Cochamó valley, Chile’s “Yosemite”.

Maipo, Casablanca and Colchagua valleys

Chile is one of the world’s great wine producers and its wineries open their doors: tours, tastings and lunches among the vines in Maipo, minutes from Santiago, the crisp whites of Casablanca and the reds of Colchagua, home of the Carménère rediscovered in Chile.

Central coast · Valparaíso Region

Hills of colourful houses, century-old funiculars, murals on every stairway and a port facing the Pacific. Its historic quarter is a World Heritage Site, and the city is best explored on foot, between Neruda’s La Sebastiana, lookouts, bohemian bars and fresh seafood.

Capital of Chile · Metropolitan Region

The capital has the Andes as its backdrop. Neighbourhoods like Lastarria and Bellavista, San Cristóbal Hill, museums, markets and a thriving food scene sit alongside concerts and theatre, with vineyards and ski resorts less than two hours away.

Lake District · Araucanía Region

With neighbouring Villarrica, it is Chile’s adventure capital, on the shores of Lake Villarrica at the foot of one of South America’s most active volcanoes. Climbing to the crater, rafting, hot springs in the forest, Huerquehue National Park and lake beaches fill every season.

O’Higgins coast

Chile’s surf capital. Punta de Lobos gets some of the world’s most famous big waves and international championships, while the town adds long beaches, surf schools, the Cáhuil salt flats and sunsets over the Pacific.

Archipelago · Los Lagos Region

An archipelago of myths, World Heritage wooden churches and colourful stilt houses over the sea. Chiloé is about eating curanto, wandering markets and coves, hiking Chiloé National Park at Cucao and watching Humboldt and Magellanic penguins at Puñihuil.

Andes near Santiago · Metropolitan Region

An hour from Santiago, the Maipo river carves a mountain canyon leading to the turquoise El Yeso reservoir, the glacier of El Morado Natural Monument and high-mountain hot springs. Rafting, hiking, horse rides and country food make it the capital’s great escape.

Norte Chico · Coquimbo Region

A green valley between arid hills, land of pisco, of poet Gabriela Mistral and of some of the darkest skies in the world. Tourist observatories, distilleries, villages like Vicuña and Pisco Elqui and the world’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary make it unmissable.

Cochamó · Los Lagos Region

The Puelo river valley is Patagonia in its purest form: turquoise water, Lake Tagua Tagua, alerce forests and settlers who still travel on horseback. Fly fishing, horse treks, kayaking and trails to Llanada Grande and Segundo Corral, far from the crowds.

End of the world · Magallanes Region

South of the Beagle Channel lies Puerto Williams, the southernmost city in the world. The island offers the Dientes de Navarino circuit, the southernmost trek on the planet, the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and the living culture of the Yagán people, in an end-of-the-world landscape.

Robinson Crusoe Island · Valparaíso Region

670 km off the coast lies the island where the castaway who inspired Robinson Crusoe lived. A National Park and Biosphere Reserve, it shelters species found nowhere else, such as the Juan Fernández firecrown, diving among fur seals and Chile’s finest lobster.

Caldera · Atacama Region

White sand and turquoise water in the middle of the Atacama Desert: one of the most beautiful and mildest beaches in Chile. Scallops farmed in the bay, kayaking, diving, marine fossils nearby and unspoilt beaches like La Virgen round off a perfect summer.