Things to do in Chile before you die

by ChileExpat on August 21, 2009

Mountain FlagThings to do in Chile before you die… or leave, never to return again.  But how could you ever say you’re never coming back to Chile?

This is an open article, meaning everybody writes it. The idea is to make the big list of the best of the best, unconstrained by the requirements of travel guide writing or the criteria of a small group of people.

So head down to the comment form below and add your top suggestion(s) for something do/see/hear/taste/etc in Chile, something you wouldn’t let a good friend leave without trying.  It can be something you really love, or just something that’s really Chilean.  And tell us a little about it.

It doesn’t even have to be a specific place or event; feel free to challenge us.  My brother, for example, might say “Eat as much palta as you possibly can.”*  And don’t leave something great out just because it’s touristy.

So share your top pick with us now.  Then, next week or next month, when you think of something else, come back and add that too.

* The word palta translates very straightforwardly to and from avocado in English, but it’s a term that gringos seem to prefer the local version of while in Chile.

  • ChileExpat

    Hike the circuito at Torres del Paine. This is a totally unoriginal suggestion, I know. But it’s sort of out of the way, so a lot of people don’t end up getting to it. I’ve done a fair amount of hiking, and I’ve visited a LOT of national parks, mostly in the western U.S., and none holds a candle to Torres del Paine. It’s not just that it’s spectacularly, breathtakingly beautiful; it’s the details. Like tiptoeing through the edge of a vast neighboring ranch as you get started. Like the single day that includs a sort of coniferous swamp, a barren, windswept rock face, a panoramic view of a gigantic glacier, and a steep descent while hanging on to trees growing at a 45-degree angle from the earth. Like all of the rickety footbridges that feel like a series of mild near-death experiences.

    Seriously, you won’t regret it. Get there before all the glaciers are gone.

  • Melinda

    Soak up the atmosphere at Pablo Neruda’s house in Isla Negra. It’s quirky and fanciful, full of creative surprises. You’ll get a real feel for the great poet’s lifestyle in an unforgetable setting smack on the ocean. He is buried there with his third wife, Matilde Urrutia.

  • Axel

    skinny dip in Ovahe beach, on Easter Island.

    Everyone goes to Anakena, with the beautiful palm trees, the best set of Moai on earth (they were buried in sand where nothing got at them, until Thor Heyerdahl uncovered them), but Ovahe, a 25 minute walk away, is usually the unsung neighbor. Pink sand, the perfect water, and cliffs protecting you from probing views.

    2) Getting to the top of Tres Puntas at Valle Nevado (elevation 3670 meters), and looking at the El Plomo mountain and the surrounding snow covered mountains. The feeling is of being smack in the middle of the Andes, even though you’re a little more than into the base of it.

    3) Experiencing the fjords of Patagonia.

  • Helen

    San Pedro de Atacama

    Leave San Pedro a couple hours before dawn to be first up the mountain to El Tatio geysers. Explore until your nose and hands feel frozen before you break out the thermos. Leave first, before other vehicles scare off the wildlife: vicuñas, vizcachas, foxes and llamas. Stop at Puritama for a soak on the way down and make it back to San Pedro for lunch. Then take off for the Laguna de Cejas. Float in its waters until all your cares dissolve. (Ojo! Take river sandals or sneakers plus a towel to get in and out, those crusty salts deposited along the edge are sharp!)

    Now you are ready for a spectacular sunset in the Valle de la Luna, Tulor, the Pucara de Quitor, or anywhere you can find a cozy perch with a view of the Licancabur. Don’t miss the myriad of stars that follow! You can leave Tocornoa, the green Quebrada (de Jerez?) east of Tocornoa and the Laguna de Chaxa for the next day, to listen to the silence in the middle of the Salar.

  • Alex

    Walk alone in el Salar de Atacama, and hear the blood pumping in your ears, among all the silence. Pick a small village to bunk in, rather than San Pedro, and welcome the midnight when the electricity is cut off, so you can enjoy every single star in the sky, and almost make out individual stars in the milky way. Then drive north toward Salar de Jama, and enjoy the solitude. It was a dream come true.

  • http://www.chileinvestments.com Matt

    -Wander the hills of Valpo.
    -Drive around the Region de los Lagos (in November or March before the tourist hoards arrive!) and make sure you venture further south than Pucon.
    -Visit Santa Cruz and tour the vineyards and then head to Bucalemu or Pichilemu for a walk on the beach.
    -Torres del Paine. Obvio.
    -Lunch at el Chiringuito in Zapallar. A more perfect spot for fantastic seafood would be hard to find.
    -Avoid Santiago like the plague..!
    -Drive or take the bus over the Andes to Mendoza. It’s a beautiful trip.

  • http://www.cachandochile.com Margaret

    See the Tatio Geysers in the north and Lago Todos los Santos in the South. And la Laguna de San Rafael!
    In Santiago- give yourself time to discover all those hidden corners that make this a great place to live (regardless of what Matt says ;-)

  • Sean Black

    Go to the metalhead Mecca ‘Bar de René’ and drink litres of Escudo from the bottle – while intoxicating yourself play air guitar to Thin Lizzy songs. Get into a bar fight. Remain in bar until 4:30am. Go home with Chilean Metal Girl named Michela. Wake up the next day and do it again. Repeat for several years.

    Aprox total cost per night: Gringo Sabio – $5.000 CLP
    Gringo Estupido – $80.000 CLP

  • ChileExpat

    Love it, especially the metal chick’s name.

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