Chile is a very narrow country with no more than 450 km at its widest point. It runs along the coastline covering many thousands a kilometer. The northern part of the country which is covered by arid deserts is totally different from the southern side which is covered by glacial landscape. It seems as if they are two different countries. Chile covers a total distance of nearly 756,950 km2 and shares a border with Peru in north, Bolivia to the northeast, and Argentina in the south.
Chile was inhabited by a variety of peoples including the Aymara Indians in the north, Diaguita Indians in the mountains and the Auracarian Indians in the centre and south of the country.
The coup of 1973 resulted in the death of the constitutional President Salvador Allende and his replacement by military dictator Augusto Pinochet. Fifteen years later, Pinochet was rejected by voters in a referendum and the country returned to a democratic government in 1989.
Chile today is a peaceful and hospitable country with good roads and railways and, in spite of the distances involved, easy to get around. First-rate hotels, seafood cuisine and low-priced, delicious wines are the ingredients for a wonderful holiday.
Chile Fiestas & Holidays
The most significant are the religious holidays of Easter and Christmas and several Fiestas Patrias celebrating the military coup of 1973, the Independence Day and Armed Forces Day, all of which take place in mid-September.
near Iquique, on 15-16 July. Nearly 80,000 people come together and celebrate in a feast of colour, costumes and dances. The Carnival is celebrated in the Altiplano and Atacama the week before lent
Chile Holidays List 1 January: New Year. March/April (variable): Good Friday, Easter 1 May: Labour Day. 21 May: Glory of the Navy. June (variable): Corpus Christi. 29 June: Saint Peter and Saint Paul. 15 August: Ascension of the Virgin Mary. 1st Monday in September: Day of the National Reconciliation. 18 September: Independence Day. 19 September: Glories of the Army. 12 October: Discovery of America. 1 November: All Hallows. 8 December: Immaculate Conception. 25 December: Christmas Day.
Things to Do
White Water Rafting
Chile is rarely wider then 100 miles, but it stretches from the tropics nearly to Antarctica. It contains one of the driest places on earth, some of the wettest places...
Hiking in Chile
The northern end of Chile offers hiking through unique desert terrain, popping with geysers, volcanoes, hidden springs and mountains. The region receives less than...
La Tirana Religious Festivity
This is the most popular religious festival of the north of the country, which in 2008 brought together over 220,000 people. Although it currently takes place every 16th July...
Skiing
The Portillo Ski Area in Chile is the most famous and oldest center in South America, renown for its extraordinary beauty and its world-class skiing and snowboarding...
Easter Island
Located 3,700 km (2,300 miles) off the west coast of Chile, Easter Island is the world's most isolated inhabited island. It is also one of the most mystifying places on Earth...
Laja Falls
The Laja falls, is one of the most beautiful tourist attractions of the zone. It is a spectacular fall of the torrential river Laja into a deep rocky cannon that has undergone...
Torres del Paine National Park
Torres del Paine National Park has 598.593,02 acres surface, was created in 1959 and declared World-wide Reserve of the Biosphere by UNESCO in 1978...
