Chile is good for you - Unravel Travel TV
Chile is a long, narrow country that extends from the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Ocean on the southwest side of South America, from latitude 17° 30' S in the Altiplano to 56° 30' S at the far end of continental Chile and 90° S in its Antarctic territory.
Chile has a unique geography: its territory includes Easter Island, in Polynesia, 3,700 km from the mainland, as well as territory in Antarctica (Chile Antártico, 1,250,000 km2). Continental and insular Chile, which includes the mainland and offshore islands and archipelagos, covers 756,096 km2.
Chile's main territory is roughly twice the size of Germany and consists of a strip of land 4,200 km long and 90 to 440 km wide. In the far south, the land is transected by hundreds of islands and fiords.
Santiago is the country's capital and largest city in terms of population and employment, with 6,061,185 inhabitants as of the 2002 census. Located on parallel 33° S, at roughly the same latitude as Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Santiago is the country's main political, economic, cultural and industrial center. It is the gateway to Chile and one of the most modern capital cities on the continent.
Getting Around in Chile
Chile has an extensive network of well-maintained highways. Major roadways include the Panamericana, which is called Route 5 north between Arica and Santiago and Route 5 south between Santiago and Puerto Montt. This highway runs through most of mainland Chile.
Three main highways run through central Chile to the coast, including the Autopista Del Sol, which connects Santiago with the port city of San Antonio and beach towns such as Cartagena, Algarrobo and Isla Negra; Route 68, the road from Santiago to Valparaíso, which will take you to coastal cities and beach resorts such as Viña del Mar, Reñaca, and Concón; and the Carretera del Vino (Route I-50), which runs from Rancagua through the Colchagua winegrowing valley.
In the south, excellent highways connect Route 5 with coastal cities such as Valdivia and Concepción. South of Puerto Montt and into the broken landscape of Northern Patagonia, you must take a combination of ferries to reach the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway), the main roadway through this region, which offers some of the most stunning natural scenery in all of South America.
To reach the islands of Chiloé, take a ferry from Pargua (65 km west of Puerto Montt), crossing the Chacao Channel (35 minutes) to Isla Grande de Chiloé. The other islands in this area can be reached via water taxis or ferries, or even by kayak.
If you want to visit Easter Island, you will have to fly from Santiago. The same is true for Juan Fernández Island (also known as Robinson Crusoe island).
If you want to get to Southern Patagonia, there are daily flights from Santiago and Puerto Montt to the gateway city of Punta Arenas. You can also get there by road from Argentina.
Most major highways in Chile have emergency services, service stations, restaurants and, of course, toll booths.
Dozens of bus lines offer passenger service to the country's main cities. Buses usually travel at around 80 km/h, which means that the trip from Santiago to Puerto Montt (1,024 km) would take approximately 13 hours.
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Chile hace bien - Chile is good for you