About Chile
Chile is located in South America, between Argentina to the east, with Peru and Bolivia to the north.
Chile is a long narrow country whose continental length is 4,200km, and 8,000km counting the Chilean Antarctic, while its máximum width is 470km, with a mínimum of 90km at its narrowest point. This longitud allows for the existence of diverse climates and scenery; we have the Atacama desert in the north, the most arid in the world, and to the south are glaciers and ice sheets which adorn the scenery.
Chile is one of the most beautiful and safest countries in the world. There are no poisonous animals and in the cities one can walk in the streets without fears of delinquency, all the while taking minimum precautions.
In gastronomy we have an ample variety of foods such as fish and seafood, typical foods such as empanadas, chicken cazuela(soup) or country-bred turkey, humitas (sweet corn paste), corn pastel, meats, bread varieties which is one of the principal foods eaten by Chileans, and local récipe sweets as well as those brought to our country by the German, English, Italian, French, and Spanish colonists, to name a few.
For aficionados of a good wine, world-renown brands noted for their quality will be found. One of our star products is pisco (similar to a grape brandy) which is prepared with lemon juice, egg and sugar, turning it into a delicious Pisco Sour. In our country you will also find jewelry and objects with Lapiz Lazuli, which is only found in Chilean and Afghanistan mines.
In the 15 regions of Chile one can find diverse and beautiful scenery with lakes, volcanoes, uncontaminated rivers, large meadows, forests with native trees like the Araucaria Aracuna, on whose fruit lived for hundreds of years the Mapuche people, using it for food and for bartering. There exist various communities of our main ethnic group who have conserved to the present day their style of life including their food, legends, and rituals. Visitors will be able to share enriching moments with them.
We have innumerable beaches with an excellent quality in hotels and restaurants which make it a delight to vacation in these places. The island in the Pacific Ocean show us a variety of scenery, flora and fauna and also a lifestyle different from the continent including a distinct language, as is the case with Easter Island.
Chile is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most important subduction zone in the world, to which belong countries such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) Mexico, the United States, Canada, then rising to the Aleutian Islands and dropping to the coasts and islands of Russia, China, Japan, Taiwan, the Phillipines, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand.Constant volcanic activity is concentrated in this zone. In our country there are more than 2,900 volcanoes, and according to records, 58 of them are active.
Chile is recognized on a world level as being cultured, with prestigious universities and colleges. We have the pride of having two winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Gabriela Mistral in 1945, and Pablo Neruda in 1971.
We invite you to visit Chile, we promise your trip will be a unique experience, and you will return home with the satisfaction of having been in a privileged country and having shared with our friendly and loving people.