Authentic Chile – April 2024

August 15, 2024

Emma Smith

In April I was invited to participate in a Authentic Chile educational with Adventure World visiting Santiago, Atacama Desert and Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia. I have only been to South America once before to Northern Peru so I was most excited to discover more!

We flew Latam from Sydney via Auckland into Santiago and were seated in their comfort+ seats which are the first 8 rows of economy class. It offers slightly more legroom and a footrest which made the long flight more comfortable. Upon arriving in Santiago, we were treated to a private dinner at Chef Tatan’s house where he showed us how to make the famous Chilean Ceviche along with other delicious courses.

The following day we had a full day out to the colorful coastal city of Valparaiso, visiting the hilly neighborhoods, meandering staircases and kaleidoscopic street art. From there we enjoyed lunch at a beautiful winery in the Casablanca valley where most of the group enjoyed a tasting of the fine Chilean wines. Unfortunately I don’t enjoy wine so it was wasted on me!

Next stop was the Atacama Desert!!

The moment we disembarked the plane in Calama you could feel the tightness in the air at a altitude of 2,400m above sea level. The drive to our hotel was like we had landed on the moon, it was simply amazing!! We spent three nights at the Nayara Alto Atacama hotel which was all inclusive and wow, it really was special. The location is 5 minutes drive from San Pedro town but the resort is set right amongst the salt mountains with 5 salt water pools and it’s own resident llama’s. We spent three days exploring the many sights of the Atacama including the Valley of the Moons with sundowners, High Plateau Lagoons with a picnic lunch, Tatio Geysers for sunrise with a picnic breakfast and the salt flats to see the pink flamingoes. My advice would be to spend at least 4 nights to make the most of out the activities on offer.

Back up to Santiago for the night before our flight down to Punta Arenas and transfer up to Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia. We stayed at Estancia Cerro Guido which is located about 30 minutes drive to the entry of the National Park and is a working Estancia that dates back to 1905 and runs an active Puma conservation project. The Estancia operate the excursions and have an extensive list of the activities you can choose from. We spent a full day in the National Park and went on an amazing walk to view the towers and the lakes and visited the glacier. We were also lucky enough to be able to be involved in a full day Puma tracking with the trackers, checking the infrared cameras and looking for paw prints. It did take all day but we finally saw a beautiful female just before sunset! It was majestic! The Estancia itself has a fascinating history and offers tours of the grounds and education on their conversation programs and culture of the gauchos and indigenous people of the region.

Back up to Santiago and our final night was spent at a former Summerhouse, Casa Real located within the Santa Rita Winery about 40 minutes from Santiago airport. With only 16 rooms located on 40-hectares of landscaped park and Santa Rita winery onsite we were treated to dinner in a private dining with chandeliers and candelabras, private premium wine tasting, tours of the multiple wine cellars and a 5 course lunch at the restaurant onsite. The perfect end to a perfect holiday in Chile! If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Chile – add it to your bucket list! It is a MUST!