Chile, one of the South America's most stable and prosperous nations, becomes an ideal tourist attraction thanks to some major factors like modern infrastructure, hospitable hosts and spectacular sights. Visitors have opportunities to travel across the country and discover a series of picturesque landscapes as well as unique architectures.
The adobe colonial-era Church of San Pedro dating to the early days of Catholicism is located in San Pedro de Atacama. It was an oasis town in northern Chile’s dry highlands thousands of years ago and home to the Atacama culture. This village now hosts archaeologists and tourist attractions like salt flats, geysers, rock formations and dark skies for stargazing.
Adobe Church, San Pedro de Atacama is photographed by Richard T. Nowitz
Torres del Paine, a Chilean national park, features unique and picturesque landscapes including not just glaciers and granite peaks but also lakes, forests and open steppes. Many outdoor enthusiasts all over the world expect to make a Patagonian pilgrimage and tackle the weeklong Paine Circuit.
Torres del Paine is photographed by Jerry Alexander
Easter Island is some 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from the mainland and among the Earth’s most remote inhabited places. Countless tourists are attracted by its mystery and beauty. The destination hosts nearly 900 stone faces, which are believed to be created by Polynesian settlers arriving on the island around A.D. 1200.
Easter Island is photographed by Michael Dunning
Small boats and even much larger ships lie at an anchor in San Antonio, which sees a traditional fishing community. This city has become Chile’s primary big-ship cargo port, moving an average of some 12 million tons of goods each year.
San Antonio is photographed by Rodrigo Anguita
Viña del Mar’s seaside resort, also called Ciudad Jardín (literally means “garden city”), is famous for its colorful flowers, lush palm trees and lovely parks. This place attracts beach lovers from Santiago and elsewhere around Chile though water here is cold, even during the summer season.
Viña del Mar is photographed by Laban West
The Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, which was built during World War I and modeled on the Marienkirche of Germany’s Black Forest and reveals Chile’s strong European roots, overlooks the city of Puerto Varas, pristine Lake Llanquihue, and one of the Lake District’s stunning snowcapped volcanoes.
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, Puerto Varas is photographed by Richard T. Nowitz
The Atacama Desert, one of the world’s most arid ecosystems, is sandwiched between the Andes and the ocean. It hosts many specially adapted animals found nowhere else and some parts of this region may not get rain drops for years at a time.
Atacama Desert is photographed by Joel Sartore
Related links:
Spectacular mountainous landscapes in China
Traveling Around Five Spectacular Natural Destinations Worldwide
