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CHILE- Central Cities and Lake District tour

VALPARAISO

HOW TO GET THERE

We flew into Santiago via Miami on an overnight flight. We managed to get a good deal on our flights with Latam, the Chilean carrier, for all the domestic stops and the international journey by  selecting the multi-city option when booking on their internet site. Much of this trip is by plane, with bus/taxi transfers on the short journey legs. You'll need about 3 weeks to do this trip at the leisurely pace we chose, although you could do it in 2 weeks if you cut down the number of nights in some of the locations.

ROUTE:

SANTIAGO

We opted to stay in the Providencia area, with metro links into the centre, good accommodation and dining facilities nearby. This is a short walk from the Sculpture Park which is set on the banks of the Mapocho river. On the way back you’ll pass by or pop in to the Costanera Center - the largest shopping mall in South America with large food halls.
SANTIAGO - Providencia Sculpture Park

Early on in our stay we took a walking tour that covered the main sights in the centre. This helped us to familiarise ourselves with the physical layout of the city, some of its history and cultural reference points, as well as an opportunity to meet up with other tourists and swap tips and information.

We went on to visit the impressive Museum of Pre-Columbian Art which includes pottery, sculpture and textile objects from the Mayan, Andean and the local indigenous people, the Mapuche. We also toured the Museum of Memory and Human Rights which documents the abuses of the Chilean people by the Pinochet dictatorship  between 1973 and 1990. Recent political upheaval in Chile was directed at clearing away some of the remaining obstacles to democratic politics from this era. When we visited there was still evidence of the protests in the graffiti and fly-posting in the city centre.

SANTIAGO - Street Protest Art

We had a trip out to the Cerro San Cristobal(2,850 ft), which involves a funicular to get you 1000 feet above the city for the views.

SANTIAGO - View from San Cristobal

At the foot of the mountain is the former home of Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. The house has some interesting aspects, including lovely grounds, nautical themed rooms reflecting Neruda’s love of the sea, photographs and other memorabilia documenting his life and works. Sadly much was lost when his home was ransacked at the outset of Pinochet’s rule because of his support for President Allende. 

We were fortunate to be around for the visit by the Chinese festival of light in one of the parks down by the river. The local people relished the spectacle this provided.

SANTIAGO - Family Park decorated for Chinese Festival of Light

 TEMUCO

For the next part of our trip we were headed to the Lake District, with a flight of  1.5 hrs to Temuco. The town does not have a lot of intrinsic value as a tourist destination but you will be well catered for in accommodation and other facilities for an overnight stop before your onward journey to the lakes and volcanoes of the region.

 VILLARICA

You’ll need to get a bus ( Executive/Pullman which is the deluxe type seen in other parts of South & Central America with reclining seats and massive legroom) on the journey to Villarica, which will take about 1.5 hrs.

Villarica is a resort, very attractively situated on the large lake bearing the same name as the town. There is a boardwalk fronting the lake’s shore and we were in accommodation directly leading onto this. Boat trips out on the lake give you great views of the surrounding countryside and the volcanoes.

VILLARICA

In the town there are good facilities for travellers, including a craft market run by the indigenous Mapuche people.There is a small museum with Mapuche artefacts behind the tourist office.

PANGUIPULLI

Travelling on to Panguipulli, taking about 2 hours, you will probably have to use one of the local bus companies as the flasher ones only cover major routes. The buses are OK, with the driver using the front seats of the bus for cases and other bulky items the locals have with them.

Panguipulli is again on a lake that bears the town’s name. There are very few visitors in this small town but it has everything you need for a couple of nights stay. The setting is very picturesque with the volcanoes and pretty Alpine-like scenery. The views are again best enjoyed from a boat trip on the lake. Trips are not as organised as at Villarica, and we negotiated our own boat trip with a local boatman down on the lakefront. We had a very friendly and informative pilot who taught us a lot about the area and its customs.

PANGAPUILLI - Capuchin Church

The distinctive twin-towered wooden church was built by Capuchin monks, and its surrounding buildings provide community facilities and arts/crafts workshops.

VALDIVIA

Moving away from the Lake District you’ll take a local bus again to get to Valdivia, a journey of about 2.5 hours, passing some lovely alpine meadows and forest on the way. This is a major regional port town, with a university and a fair amount of industry. There is a central market and a large fish market at the riverside, which is much appreciated by the sea lions that catch the scraps that the fishmongers throw in the river.

VALDIVIA - Sea Lions

A boat trip gives further opportunity to watch the antics and slumbers of the sea lions on the pontoons anchored in the river. There are some lovely stretches of the three rivers that converge at the town, with wildlife, well-kept gardens and nice houses along the river banks. On the way back into dock you’ll catch sight of an old submarine moored up- the Museo Submarino O’Brien - which you can visit. This is a small part of Chile’s naval history that you will catch much more of in Valparaiso, which is the final destination on this trip.

VALDIVIA

A nice walk crosses the river from the town to visit Teja Island. This is the location for the Museum of Contemporary Art which is on the site of an old brewery. The next door Maurice van de Maele Museum houses archaeological finds and provides details of the area's colonial past. The University has facilities on the island, close to the Botanical Gardens which have some nice trails, skirting the river banks.

LA SERENA

Headed back up north, you’ll have to fly via Santiago to reach La Serena. With the time taken for your connection you can expect this to stretch over 5 hours.

La Serena is a resort town, with a nice beach that can be reached on foot from the centre in about 20 minutes. The town was definitely more geared to local tourists but we were made to feel very welcome everywhere we went.
LA SERENA - Beach

We stayed in a small hotel with lovely courtyard gardens, near to the centre. There were good restaurants nearby, and the local shops, market and laundrette were all very handy in meeting our needs.

LA SERENA - Japanese Gardens

Amongst the other interesting parts of the town, we visited a 16th century church and the beautiful Japanese gardens.

VICUÑA

The local bus service to Vicuña takes just 50 minutes, with lovely views of the Elqui valley on the way. This is a really pretty town with a central park, nestled into the foothills of the Andes mountain range. Apart from the charms inside the town, the main attraction here is your access to the star gazing at the observatories in the surrounding hills.
VICUÑA - Central Park

We visited the Del Pangue observatory, which is a smaller operation than some others, giving you great access to the telescopes and the expertise of the the astronomers. Make sure you visit as near to the new moon as possible and the views of the stars and galaxies will be spectacular. We were able to see close up views of Orion’s Belt, Southern Cross, Milky Way, Seven Sisters, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Uranus, Sirius, and various nebulae formations.

Just a short walk to the edge of town will take you to the Pisco factory where you can sample this grape distillate drink and learn about its history and manufacture. This is very well organised and informative.

VICUÑA - Pisco Factory

VALPARAISO

You will probably need to take a taxi to catch your flight back from La Serena to Santiago, as the bus isn’t scheduled to make a stop at the airport. The flight is just less than an hour. At Santiago airport you’ll need to catch the executive express bus to Valparaiso which will take 1.5 hours.

Valparaiso is a major port city with UNESCO World Heritage status. It has much to offer within its boundaries and close nearby on the coast and inland. The port area and the surrounding hills with their ancient funiculars, distinctive architecture and street art make this city a great location for the visitor.

VALPARAISO

We stayed in the Cerro Concepcion area with easy access to the port area and city centre via the funicular. There were good accommodation and dining options on hand. 

VALPARAISO - Concepcion area, looking down to the bay

We took a walking tour to get familiar with the layout of the port area and to get some insights into the culture and history of the port. This included gaining access to some commercial and community hubs that were off the beaten track and that were only available with local knowledge and connections.

Following on we used different funiculars to access the various parts of the city. The Ascensor El Peral funicular takes you up to the beautiful art nouveau palace that houses the Museo de Bellas Artes with its nice collection of art works. 

VALPARAISO -El Peral funicular with the palace housing Museo des Belles Artes at the top

The large rattly but perfectly serviceable Artilleria funicular takes you up to Chile's National Maritime Museum, set in a magnificent old building and with views to match. The exhibits tell the history of Chile's pride with its maritime prowess, supported by their purchase of boats from the British, with a Scotsman leading them in their naval battles for independence.

VALPARAISO - Street Art

You are best to take a taxi way up onto Cerro Bellavista, to La Sebastiana, the main home of the Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, whose other house we had visited in Santiago. From here you get great views over the harbour. The interior is full of the poet's interesting memorabilia.  The street art is a major attraction for the walk down past the Museo a Cielo Abierto (its all on the street not in a gallery), before catching the funicular for the ride to the bottom of the hill.

We took a day trip by the metro line along the coast to the swanky resort of Viña del Mar. The streets are wide and tree lined with some impressive architecture. The Museo de Arqueologia e Historia Francisco Fonck has an interesting Easter Island collection, including one of the iconic statues that was donated by the islanders.

VINA DEL MAR - Easter Island statue outside the Museum Francisco Fonck

We visited the large urban park that has a summer craft fair. We walked down the river estuary to the sea front to view the castle, spotting pelicans on the way.

VINA DEL MAR - Pelicans on the Estero Marga Marga

Our final day trip was to an organic vineyard, Emiliana in the Casablanca valley. We saved ourselves a lot of money, compared to the cost of the organised tours, by taking the bus out to Casablanca then a taxi to the vineyard. Alpacas and chickens are part of the production process, grazing the land and providing manure. Allotments are run on the vineyard’s land by the workers as part of their ethos about treating workers as people.

Headed back to Santiago airport you can take the express bus from Valparaiso bus station and save yourself $100+ on the cost of a taxi.

Have a safe trip home!

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