Experience Chile’s natural playground with NatGeo eyes!

From the deserts of the far north all the way down its mountainous landscape to the tip of South America and beyond, Chile is a natural playground for all to explore.

Chile’s Atacama Desert is a mecca for stargazers. The lack of light pollution and arid environment, one of the driest on the planet, make for unbelievably clear skies. Serious astronomy fans can visit one of the region’s world-class observatories, like ALMA, the largest radio telescope in the world.

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, lies over 2,300 miles from mainland Chile in the Pacific Ocean. Rapa Nui National Park protects nearly half of the island, which is famous for its moai, monumental stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people.

Chile’s Patagonia region is home to over a dozen of the country’s more than 40 national parks, including Torres de Paine, with its jaw-dropping iconic granite massif surrounded by glistening glacier-fed lakes.

Though Antarctica is not owned by any single country, Chile governs a territory that covers the arm of the continent stretching toward the Drake Passage and South America. Multiple species of penguins, including gentoos, make their breeding grounds on the White Continent. Navigating through the iceberg-strewn waters is like sailing through nature’s constantly changing art gallery.

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