NEI (UK) - holidays to Chile - a hot destination for 2008 Wine vineyard tours and holidays

Apart from this being a brilliantly different holiday, packed with astonishing sights and experiences, it is also a photographer's delight. The high altitude makes every photo amazingly sharp, with glowing, vibrant colours.
This journey takes you across the Atacama desert, though it is far from being a barren wasteland.
Oases appear, as if by magic and are clothed with flowers and cacti of bright colours. Animals such as the huanaco - the Chilean version of the Llama - suddenly pop up their heads, or, canter across your field of view. The people who live here are also delightful and very welcoming as they greet you on arrival in their remote villages. Salt lakes glimmer in the bright sunlight.

Chile is a country of extreme contrasts with an amazing variety of geographical features, from the desert in the North to the ancient glaciers in Patagonia. The East is framed by the majestic Andes mountain range; the Pacific Ocean coast, with its beaches and islands mark the west; while lakes, volcanoes, wine valleys and native forests are scattered the length of the country.
Chile, as well as enjoying a stable economy, has been nominated the second most serious and transparent country in the world with regards to business practices. In security Chile is the leader in Latin America.

Due to its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at 2350 miles from the continent, the island has earned itself the name of “Navel of the World” given to it by the locals

The idyllic white sand beaches on Easter Island are washed by ocean waters that are among the most crystal clear in the world.
The Moai, colossal sculptures made of stone measuring more than 6m tall are extremely attractive and enticing for locals and visitors alike, largely due to the unknown secret of their origin.
An exotic race known for their beauty and sensuality seem to be evidence enough of the Polynesian roots of its people, however this too remains something of a mystery.
More than 600 of these giant idols sculpted into volcanic rock standing on platforms known as Ahus, are worshipped as representatives of the island’s ancestors.

The landscapes of southern Chile are dominated by a nature that
greatly favours them. The rivers and volcanoes in the south form a
scenario of wide valleys, with a steep drop toward the Pacific
Ocean, an environment surrounded by large lakes. The region is
also characterized by cities that show signs of large European
immigration, especially German. National Parks and reserves are
one of the biggest attractions in the area and protect native forests that include millenarian tree species, such as the larch. This dramatic environment and geography have made this Lake Region the capital of adventure and nature tourism in Chile.
Puerto Montt is the capital of the region and the city spreads along a narrow seaboard, climbing the slopes enclosing it to the north. Since 1985 the city has experienced considerable growth and development fueled by more than 50 salmon farms. Nowadays Chile is among the top ten world salmon producers.
Puerto Montt is the gateway to the Lakes District and the charming little towns of Puerto Varas and Frutillar that face the big Llanquihue Lake and impressive Osorno Volcano. Also the famous Vicente Perez Rosales National Park and its beautiful Petrohue river cascades with its emerald colour waters.

In this region, the mountains sink into the Pacific Ocean breaking into thousands of islands and archipelagos.
Patagonia is the home of the most beautiful natural landscapes ever to be seen: centuries old virgin forests; snow-capped mountains; Andean volcanoes and the interior valleys, wild rivers that die out majestically in the expansive pampa flat lands. Patagonia is one of the last undiscovered treasures on the planet with its landscapes of extreme contrast, unique geological characteristics and where one can feel the ever present peace and silence of nature.
In the very South the land is full of beauty and places historically world famous: the Straits of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and the mythical Cape Horn. Torres del Paine National Park, which was declared a Biosphere Reserve, is a tourist area privileged by nature where colossal rock towers and horn-shaped peaks of granite and rock reaching 3,000 meters above the sea level can be found.

You can chose any of the above areas of Chile for your holiday, in any combination -
or you can visit them all if you have about three weeks to spare.

Please contact us for more information and itineraries

or, visit our dedicated Chile holidays web site.