Santiago

Chile is the country of contrasts. Dusty and dry in the North, with an agreeable and friendly climate and culture in the middle, and of course ice in the far south. Let’s start with the pleasant capital of Santiago, population 5.2 million, backed by the snow-capped Andes at the rear,

and fronted by the Pacific itself. The city is a wonderful combination of old colonial style architecture and glistening modern glass constructions. The peak of the Santa Lucia hill is a good place from which to observe the surrounding city on a clear day, and the tree-lined steps up its slopes make a pleasant summer walk.

Don’t forget that Chile is not just the very drawn out mainland, the country also comprises of several islands and archipelagos. The infamous Easter Island is also part of Chile and contains the awe-inspiringly mysterious statues.

Back on the mainland, should you turn north from Santiago towards the Peruvian border, eventually you will come to the stark and dangerous moonscape-like beauty of the Atacama Desert, a place so dry that that it is 50 times more arid than Death Valley and some areas have not received rainfall since records began in the Sixteenth Century. All of this may sound foreboding, yet the beauty of this area is indescribable in the same way as a Cobra is just as impressive as it is deadly.

At the opposite end of the country and no less infamous is Patagonia. Mountains, glaciers, ice, unbelievable scenery, this is the southern-most tip of the known world, as the Americas taper less than gently into the ruinous Cape Horn. For those wishing to see something different to the high streets and green and pleasant lands of the UK, this is the place to go. You could not wish to find anywhere more different or more impressive. Take your car hire from sparkling azure waters of the Pacific, or even in the very south Atlantic, towards the rugged beauty of the Andes. Discover how laid-back life can be this far from the capital, this far from the UK.

Chile’s wildlife and scenery is sometimes intimidating, sometimes breathtaking, yet never less than amazing, its people friendly and warm-hearted in that South American style, its atmosphere all the more chilled the further south you go.

Why would you go anywhere else?