Chile

Patagonia is the end of the world — and it's breathtaking. Torres del Paine's granite spires, Perito Moreno's thundering glacier, and vast windswept steppes define one of the planet's last truly wild frontiers. Shared between Chile and Argentina, the region rewards serious hikers and nature lovers willing to brave the elements.

Chile's capital sits in a valley framed by the snow-capped Andes. A modern, walkable city with excellent wine bars, the bohemian Barrio Bellavista, world-class seafood, and ski resorts just an hour away. The gateway to Patagonia and the Atacama.

Chile's bohemian port city — UNESCO-listed hillside neighborhoods blanketed in street art, connected by century-old funiculars, and buzzing with poets, galleries, and seafood.

The driest non-polar desert on Earth — a high-altitude moonscape of volcanoes, geysers, salt flats, and altiplano lagoons centered on the adobe village of San Pedro de Atacama (2,400m). El Tatio's dawn geysers, Valle de la Luna's sunset, the Salar de Atacama's flamingos, and the Miscanti & Miñiques lakes round out the standard week. ALMA observatory tours and the world's clearest night skies make it a stargazer's pilgrimage. Connects overland to Uyuni.

Rapa Nui — one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth, 3,500 km from continental Chile. Home to nearly 1,000 moai stone statues including the 15-moai row at Ahu Tongariki, the quarry at Rano Raraku, the sea-facing Ahu Akivi, and the Birdman cult ceremonial village at Orongo. UNESCO Rapa Nui National Park covers 40% of the island. Sole air link is LATAM from Santiago (5.5 hr); the island's only town is Hanga Roa (~8,000 people). National park pass ~$80 USD.

1,810 km² of Chilean Patagonia named for its three granite spires (Torres) rising 2,500m straight from the steppe. The W Trek (4-5 days, 80km) is the iconic route; the O Circuit (8-10 days, 130km) loops the entire massif. Grey Glacier (30km arm of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field) is accessible by catamaran or kayak. Wildlife includes guanaco herds and rare pumas with specialised tracker tours. Famously violent winds (100+ km/h common in summer) and rapidly shifting weather demand serious gear. Park entry $32-45 USD; refugios on the W Trek require booking 6-12 months in advance via Vertice or Las Torres Patagonia.

A lakeside resort town in Chile's northern Patagonia — sat at the foot of Volcán Villarrica, one of the world's most active volcanoes (you can climb it in summer and look into a glowing lava lake at the summit). Lago Villarrica's beaches are black volcanic sand, the Termas Geométricas hot springs are a 75-minute drive into Andean rainforest, and Mapuche communities still hold the surrounding land. Adventure capital of Chile: rafting the Trancura, climbing Villarrica, and white-water everything.

The Chilean Patagonia gateway to Torres del Paine, set on the milky-blue Última Esperanza Sound, three hours south of the park entrance by paved road. Once a wool-export port, Puerto Natales now turns over almost entirely on the W trek, the O circuit, and the Navimag four-day fjord ferry that arrives from Puerto Montt twice a week. Eberhard Avenue and Calle Bories make up the compact restaurant and brewpub strip, with Baguales microbrewery, Kau Lodge fireplaces, and outfitters renting tents and stoves on every block. Mylodon Cave 24 kilometres north preserves the giant ground sloth fossil that gave Bruce Chatwin his trip-opening pretext for In Patagonia.