Play hard in the scorching sun or Andean snow in this land of extremes. From salty desert top to
glacier-crowded bottom, Chile is a gob-smacking reminder of nature’s beauty and power.
This narrow trickle of a country is jammed with enough geysers, mountains,
beaches, forests and volcanoes to keep adventure nuts slavering for a lifetime

Pre 20th Century History
Pre-Columbian Chile was peopled by a variety of ancient cultures, many of them politically subject to the Incas who they predated by many centuries. Native groupings included Aymara farmers in the desert north, Diaguita Indians in the mountainous interior; Araucarian Indians in the centre and south, whose fishing and agricultural settlements were barely touched by Incas incursions; and numerous groups of archipelagic hunters and fishers in the remote south. All territory west of Brazil was granted to Spain by the 1494 Spanish- Portuguese treaty. The Spanish assigned the task of conquering Chile to Pedro de Valdivia, whose expedition reached Chile's fertile Mapocho Valley in 1541. Santiago was founded in the same year. The native population was devastated by the unwitting introduction of infectious diseases, and the mestizo population, the offspring of Spanish and Indian unions, were used as tenant labourers on these huge estates, many of which were still intact in the 1960s. By the 1820s, the cumbersome methods by which taxation was extracted by a stagnant and complacent Spain allowed a flowering pan-American identity to blossom into a push for full independence. Simon Bolivar and Jose San Martin led armies of freedom fighters from Venezuela to Peru, and from Argentina into Chile. Bernardo O'Higgins, son of an Irish immigrant became supreme director of the new Chilean republic. The newly independent Chile was a fraction of its eventual size, consisting of Santiago and Concepcion and had fuzzy borders with Bolivia and Argentina. The coming of the railways and military triumphs over Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) incorporated the mineral-rich Atacama Desert to the north and the southern temperate territories. Chile quickly achieved political stability and relative democracy, enabling rapid agricultural development and the advancement of mining, industry and commerce.

Modern History
The first half of the 20th century saw the political climate swing between right and left. By the 1960s social reforms were instituted by the Christian Democrats, who targeted housing, education, health and social services. Salvador Allende's leftist coalition comes to victory in 1970. Allende introduced sweeping economic reforms, including nationalisation of many private enterprises and the wholesale redistribution of income.

General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup on September 11, 1973. Allende died and thousands of his supporters were murdered. Dark days followed, with assassinations, purges and enforced exiles; up to 80,000 people were tortured or murdered. Pinochet dissolved Congress, banned leftist parties and suspended all opposition. In a 1988 referendum to approve his presidency, voters rejected him. In the 1989 multiparty elections, Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin beat Pinochet's candidate, Hernan Buchi, and power was peacefully transferred. Democracy returned to Chile, although many of the previous regime's power brokers wielded a lingering influence for many years.

Elected president in 1994, Eduardo Frei undertook the challenge of reconciling Chileans with their difficult past by accelerating human rights tribunals and inquiries into the fate of Chile's 3000 disappeared. Unfortunately, resistance from the political arm of the military machine severely hampered his efforts. Frei's economic reforms, however, did help alleviate crushing poverty to some degree. In 2006 Chile elected its first female president, Michelle Bachelet, marking the fourth consecutive term for the ruling Concertacion coalition.

When to Go
Chile always has a region or two ripe for exploration whatever the season. But if your heart is set on one part of the country, pick your trip dates carefully. Santiago and Middle Chile are best in September through November or late February into April, while Chile's southern charms, Parque Nacional del Paine in Magallanes and the lakes region are best in summer (December through March). The parched Atacama Desert can be explored year-round, although summer days sizzle and nights are bitterly cold at higher altitudes throughout the year. In the northern altiplano, Summer is the rainy season, though this usually means only a brief afternoon downpour. Chile in the winter can be a wonderland for skiers; the country's resorts attract hordes from July through September. Many of the country's best festivals, including Semana Musical, Fiesta de Candelario and Carnaval, are held in February, so consider this a good time to come if you want to hang out with the locals.

Weather
Chile's mountainous geography makes for some strange climatic variation. Summer and Winter in Chile's north are quite restrained with temperatures in the 15-25'C range throughout the year with only slight seasonal change. Rain is of no concern as this coast-to-desert landscape is one of the driest in the world. Central Chile has far more pronounced seasonal change with average daily highs of 29'C from December to February and dropping to around 14'C in June. Down south rainfall increases dramatically, peaking in June with most days succumbing to the wet. Temperatures in this region are slightly cooler with low 20'C summer highs and plunging into the single digits in the middle of the year.

Getting There
Chile is linked by air to North America, Europe and Australasia with most international flights arriving in Santiago.
The crossing between Arica in Chile and Tacna in Peru provides the only land access to Peru; road and rail connections link Chile with Bolivia. Except in Patagonia, every crossing into Argentina involves crossing the Andes. More interesting are the many Lakes District and southern Patagonian routes, with buses and ferries servicing the crossing points between Chile and Argentina.

Getting Around
Travel within Chile is easy. Fast, punctual and comfortable buses travel the main highways, and flights are frequent; the long- neglected railways have improved in recent years. Competition has lowered expensive domestic airfares somewhat, and regional airlines and air taxis traverse the country's long extent.
With that entire coastline you'd think there'd be boats galore, but sea travel opportunities for travellers exist mainly in the south. Travelling by boat around the many islands, coves and bays is almost a necessity for making the most of a visit to Chile.

Iquique
Barefoot surfers, paragliding pros, casino snobs and manic merchants all cross paths in the rather disarming city of Iquique. The halcyon days of the 19th-century nitrate-mining boom have given the town a wealth of Georgian-style architecture, and it's now becoming Chile's premier beach resort.
Although Iquique has the usual array of annual Chilean festivals, the place to be in mid-July is La Tirana for Chile's most spectacular religious fiesta, the 10-day Virgin of Carmen festival. The village is 72km east of Iquique and easily reached by bus or car.

La Serena
Chile's second-oldest city, La Serena is blessed with beautiful architecture and a long golden shoreline, making it a sort of thinking-man's beach resort. With its stone churches, shady avenues and pretty plazas, La Serena now threatens Viña del Mar's supremacy as Chile's premier beach resort.
Most of the best-known local festivals are in February, including the Artisan's Fair, Feria Internacional del Libro de La Serena (Writer's Fair) and the Festival de La Serena, a music and comedy event.

Pucon
Pucon's famous for three things: a divine blue lake, a perfectly conical volcano - which billows smoke and gives off an eerie red glow on clear nights, and access to every kind of adventure sport imaginable. Tourism might be rife, but this small town boasts great restaurants and a casino.
Pucon celebrates most of Chile's annual festivals, but it's worth being here in mid-January for the Jornadas Musicales de Pucon a popular musical festival.

Valparaiso
Undoubtedly the most unique city in Chile, and one of the most unusual in all Latin America, Valparaiso has long been one of the continent's best-kept secrets. Since becoming a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003.
From the flat city centre, ascensores (funicular elevators) creak at an improbable angle up to a very different city. These tumbling chaotic cerros (hills), with their steep labyrinthine roads, crumbling mansions and kaleidoscopic rooftops will have photographers snapping on every street corner.

Puerto Montt
Settled by German colonists in the mid-19th century, Puerto Montt is one of southern Chile's most important cities: an administrative capital booming on the back of a billion dollar salmon industry. For travellers, it's the place to catch a ferry, or catch up on a couple of night's sleep in transit.
Travellers to this region should consider the weather when planning their trip. Puerto Montt gets plenty of rain, so it's handy to carry an umbrella at all times.

Santiago
Santiago de Chile is a modern metropolis with a shiny face and has one of South America's most dynamic economies. At the same time, struggling street vendors board city buses to hawk everything from pins to ice cream, and housemaids ride for hours to scrub floors and change nappies in exclusive suburbs.
First and foremost, Santiago is a city of commerce, but less than an hour away are world-class ski resorts, famous beaches and the colourful port city of Valparaiso

Valdivia
Perfectly placed for exploring the Lakes District and snuggled at the convergence of the Rios Calle Calle, Cau Cau and Cruces, Valdivia has a unique past. Once a Spanish colonial outpost, it was later settled by German immigrants who left a legacy of wooden architecture and a fine Kunstmann brewery.
University students vacate in the summer, which means cheap lodgings are often available. The major event in town is Noche de Valdivia, on the third Saturday in February, which features decorated riverboats and fireworks.

Puerto Natales & Torres del Paine
Towering above the Patagonian steppe, the spectacular granite pillars of Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) dominate the landscape. Flanked by the summit of Paine Grande and the black sedimentary peaks of Los Cuernos, these are the famous Patagonian mountains that you see on posters everywhere. Unpredictable at best, weather systems can sheath those fabulous peaks in veils of clouds that hold for hours, if not days.

Photos courtesy of: Angelica Perez / Aurora Lopez / Patrick Salinas / Patrick Mora / Angelica Perez / Gerardo Covarrubias