Chile
A ribbon of a country pinned between the Andes and the Pacific, ending in Patagonian wind.
Chile stretches over 4,000 kilometres north to south and barely 200 wide, so "when to go" depends entirely on which end of the country is meant — the desert north and the glacial south are effectively different climates. For Patagonia specifically, the window is the Southern Hemisphere summer, November through March.
Places in Chile
Chonchi
A steep street of wooden houses running down to the water on Chiloé island, its 18th-century church one of sixteen UNESCO-listed Jesuit churches on the archipelago.
Hanga Roa
The only town on Rapa Nui, a low scatter of buildings between the airstrip and the ocean with moai sites a short drive in every direction.
Puerto Natales
A working port on the Señoret Channel that exists mostly as the last stop before Torres del Paine, two hours north.
Puerto Varas
A lake town on Llanquihue's shore, its German-settler roofline framing the still-active Osorno volcano across the water.
San Pedro de Atacama
A low adobe town ringed by salt flats, geysers and volcanoes in the driest non-polar desert on earth.
Santiago
The capital's grid between the Andes and the coastal range, where century-old bars in Barrio Yungay sit a world from Providencia's towers.
Torres del Paine
Granite towers and guanaco-grazed steppe at the bottom of Chilean Patagonia.
Valparaíso
A port city stacked up impossibly steep hills, its century-old funiculars and layered murals doing double duty as transit and public art.
Viña del Mar
Valparaíso's flatter, calmer neighbor — a beach promenade and residential grid instead of hillside funiculars and murals.
Logged in Chile
Afrigonia
Puerto Natales, ChileA one-of-a-kind African-Chilean fusion kitchen in Puerto Natales, run by a couple pairing Zambian technique with Patagonian ingredients.
Corazón Contento Brunch
Viña del Mar, ChileA corner café a few doors from Don Emelio, turning out weekend brunch, fresh pastries and strong coffee away from Viña's tourist strip.
Don Emelio Restaurante
Viña del Mar, ChileA family-run neighborhood restaurant in Viña del Mar serving generous plates of Chilean home cooking to a mostly local crowd.
EcoCamp Patagonia
Torres del Paine, ChileGeodesic domes inside Torres del Paine itself, with the granite towers visible from camp.
Hotel Kimal
San Pedro de Atacama, ChileA quiet adobe hotel a few blocks from San Pedro's plaza, its garden courtyards and rustic-wood rooms built for the desert's cold, star-bright nights.
La Colombina
Valparaíso, ChileA small art-filled bistro on Valparaíso's Paseo Yugoslavo, serving daily lunch plates and coffee among a clutter of vintage curios.
La Piojera
Santiago, ChileA hundred-year cantina in Barrio Yungay where the terremoto cocktail was born and locals still queue for it late into the night.
Restaurante Pan con Chancho
Puerto Varas, ChileA slow-roasted pork sandwich institution set inside a small craft-beer hotel in Puerto Varas.
Peumayén Ancestral Food
Santiago, ChileA Providencia house restaurant replaying Mapuche and Andean recipes with native Chilean ingredients most kitchens dropped generations ago.
Restaurant Mañío
Chonchi, ChileA family kitchen near the stilt-town of Chonchi serving curanto and fresh seafood from Chiloé's own waters, largely for a local crowd.
Te Moana
Hanga Roa, ChileA Rapa Nui restaurant on Hanga Roa's main street where islanders gather for fresh tuna and ceviche as the Pacific breeze rolls in at dusk.
Mentioned in
La Bodeguita del Medio
Havana, CubaAn Old Havana bodega turned bar, its walls covered in signatures — where Neruda and Nicolás Guillén drank, and Hemingway's famous mojito line may not be his.
Puerto Varas
A lake town on Llanquihue's shore, its German-settler roofline framing the still-active Osorno volcano across the water.