Chile’s second-largest city is a rough-and-ready jumble of one-way streets, modern mall culture and work-wearied urbanites. As such, this sprawling port-city tends not to tickle the fancy of passing travelers, who often choose to leapfrog over Antofagasta en route north to San Pedro de Atacama or south to Copiapó.
At the northwest end of Lago Panguipul- li, the town of Panguipulli is a quiet spot with awkward beach access and a surprising number of restaurants. Most travelers come here just to make transportation connections. The tourist office (311-311, ext 731; 8:30am-9pm Dec-mid-Mar, until 8pm rest of year), across from Plaza Arturo Prat, has lots of listings for the area and helpful staff. The regular assortment of traveler services can be found up and down the main road, Martínez de Rozsa, leading toward the lake.
San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist) is Isla Robinson Crusoe’s only town and a strikingly tranquil one at that. This fishing community, which now makes a bit of extra income from tourism, on Bahía Cumberland is a tangle of mud-puddled streets climbing up and down hills strewn with small houses and lush gardens. The town ends rather abruptly, and becomes horse pastures and hiking trails that lead into the woods and mountains beyond.
Things move at a slow pace in Chile’s northernmost city, just 20km from the Peruvian border. Best described as a city-cum-beach-resort, Arica enjoys summery weather year-round. It is also blessed with warm sea currents and exhilarating surfing breaks. However, there’s plenty here for landlubbers too: an iron church, a dramatically situated battleground and some of the world’s oldest known mummies, just to name a few. Arica is also a common jumping-off point for trips up to the heady heights of Parque Nacional Lauca.
Many visitors tend to skip Chile’s heartland on their way to more famous attractions further south. This is a shame as it has much to offer, including some fantastic wine country, genuine huaso (cowboys) culture with its skilful horsemen and traditional ways, excellent skiing and one of the world’s most unique coastal cities, Valparaíso. And, although few come to Chile just for the beaches, there is some lovely coastline. Pablo Neruda was inspired by the crashing waves of the Chilean Pacific; now a growing number of adrenaline-junkies are coming to ride that same surf.
Tiny San Pedro de Atacama (elevation 2440m) is a precordillera oasis village turned into a tourist boomtown, and is also the gringo gathering point of northern Chile. Its popularity stems from its position in the heart of some of northern Chile’s most spectacular scenery. A short drive away lies the country’s largest salt flat, spotted pink with flamingos and its edges crinkled by volcanoes (symmetrical Licancábur, at 5916m, looms closest to the village). Here too are fields of steaming geysers, a host of otherworldly rock formations and weird layer-cake landscapes.
Copper is the pride, the obsession and the raison d’être of self-important Calama and, with the metal’s recent skyrocketing price, the upstart mining city is now puffing out its metaphorical chest even further. Everywhere are reminders of the precious metal: copper statues; copper wall-etchings and reliefs; and even a copper-plated spire on the cathedral (talk about a lightning rod!). In 2004 the city also inherited a wave of copper refugees when the entire population of polluted mining town Chuquicamata relocated here.
Traveling inland, the balmy coast of sunbathers and surfers shifts to cactus scrub plains and dry mountains streaked in reddish tones. Mines scar these ore-rich mammoths whose primary reserve, copper, is high-octane fuel to Chile’s economic engine. But there’s life here as well, in the fertile valleys producing pisco grapes, papayas and avocados. Clear skies mean exceptional celestial observation. Many international telescopic, optical and radio projects are based here. The driest desert in the world, the Atacama is a refuge of flamingos on salt lagoons, sculpted moonscapes and geysers ringed by snow-tipped volcanoes. In short, these places are an orgy for the senses and ripe for exploration.
Picturesque Santa Cruz has targeted the tourist dollar with uncanny accuracy and skill, quite unlike the underdeveloped tourism infrastructure in much of Chile. Fine museums, a beautiful hotel and the country’s original wine tour amply justify its popularity. The town has gained its place on the traveler’s map largely through the huge investments of Carlos Cardoen, a former arms dealer. Cardoen owns the main hotel and supplied many of the museum’s exhibits.
If there is one town that sums up all the idiosyncrasies and attractions of Chiloé, it is beautiful Castro. This bustling town somehow retains its local Chilote character side by side with a dash of modern development and comfortable tourism infrastructure. Just 90km south of Ancud, it is the capital of the province, a transportation hub and deservedly the most popular destination in Chiloé.