With the right foundation and a passion for travel, you can turn your love of travel into a rewarding career as a travel agent in Chile. The key is finding a supportive host agency, like Vincent Vacations, that provides the training, tools, and resources you need to build a successful leisure travel business.
In most cases, an independent travel agent in Chile will work with a host agency. A host agency provides resources to Chile travel agents, including access to booking systems & partner programs, marketing support and training. A host agency also provides agents with an IATA number, allowing them to earn commission on the travel they book. Some host agencies like Vincent Vacations, offer comprehensive training programs and ongoing support.
Join our award winning travel agency in Chile, where we provide the tools, training, and support you need to succeed. Our team of expert travel agents is dedicated to creating unforgettable travel experiences for our clients, and we are looking for motivated individuals to join us. Whether you are an experienced travel professional or new to the industry, we welcome you to explore the exciting opportunities we offer.
At our Chile based travel agency, we believe in empowering our travel agents with the knowledge and skills needed to excel. We provide comprehensive training programs that cover everything from industry basics to advanced booking systems and marketing strategies. Our ongoing support ensures you are never alone in your journey to success.
As part of our team, you'll have access to exclusive deals, industry resources, and cutting-edge technology. Our strong relationships with top travel suppliers mean you can offer your clients the best rates and packages available. Plus, our robust booking platform simplifies the process, allowing you to focus on what you do best – creating memorable travel experiences.
We understand the importance of work-life balance, which is why we offer flexible working arrangements. Whether you prefer to work from our Chile office or remotely, we provide the tools and support to help you succeed. Our collaborative and inclusive work culture ensures you feel valued and motivated every day.
Being based in Chile, gives us a unique advantage in understanding the local market. We pride ourselves on our deep connections within the community and our ability to provide personalized service to our clients. As a local travel agent, you’ll have the opportunity to leverage your knowledge of the Chile area to build a loyal client base and make a meaningful impact.
Reach out to us via our website here: become a travel agent. Our friendly team is here to answer any questions you may have and guide you through the application process.
Submit your application through our online portal. We are looking for individuals who are passionate, driven, and excited about the travel industry. Be sure to highlight your relevant experience and any unique skills that set you apart.
Once your application is reviewed, we will invite you for an interview. Successful candidates will join our dynamic team of travel professionals and embark on a rewarding career path with endless possibilities.
Don’t miss the chance to join a leading travel agency in Chile, where your passion for travel can transform into a successful career. Our supportive environment, extensive resources, and local expertise make us the perfect choice for aspiring travel agents. Apply today and start your journey with us!
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Categories: Achao Quinchao Island
Aguila Glacier can be found when cruising though the majestic Agostini Sound. When arriving at the glacier you are taken back by the blue ice and surrounded by picturesque views all around.
Categories: Aguila Glacier
Ainsworth Bay is a one of the most scenic and picturesque bays in South America. Here you will discover a beaver dam in the midst of glaciers and a Magellanic forest. Meanwhile, nature enthusiasts will enjoy viewing colonies of penguins, and sea...
Categories: Ainsworth Bay
Categories: Alberto de Agostini National Park
Alexander Selkirk Island is located off the coast of Valparaiso; the islands actually pertain to the Valparaiso Region. The island was founded by Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish pirate known for his refutation of authority. With an average temperature ...
Categories: Alexander Selkirk Island
Categories: Almirantazgo Fjord
Located in the commune of Buin, Alto Juhuel is a metropolitan region near Santiago. Alto Jahuel is part of the Wine Route Maipo Alto, for this reason many visitors arrive in this town seeking wineries, vineyards, and the finest grapes.
Categories: Alto Jahuel
Introducing visitors to the charm of the Chiloe archipelago, Ancud takes travelers back in time. Located on the northern point of the main island, Isla Grande, village fisherman spend their day casting their nets and dropping their lines from small, ...
Categories: Ancud
Categories: Angostura Gabriel
Being the major attraction of the second region Antafogasta is a city with much tradition.
This area/region is also blessed with the clearest skies in the world, with no more then 20 cloudy days in a year, and therefore home to many observatories ...
Categories: Antofagasta
Categories: Apalta Valley
This seaside oasis among golden sand dunes is Chile's northernmost gateway; it is also a rapidly developing resort. Located just 30 miles from the border of Peru and linked to Bolivia by land and air, Arica enjoys an interesting cultural exchange. Th...
Categories: Arica
The Atacama desert is nestled along the coast of Chile, South America - right next to the Pacific Ocean - the biggest body of water in the world. Much of the desert extends up into the Andes mountains and is very high in elevation. Unlike more famili...
Categories: Atacama Desert
Categories: Avenue of the Glaciers
Categories: Bahia Ainsworth
Categories: Baker Canal
A trip to Monte Balmaceda National Park allows visitors to see the Serrano Glacier and the Balmaceda Glacier. Weather permitting, visitors should also see cormorants, sealions and condors as well as beautiful scenery.
Categories: Balmaceda
Categories: Bernardo O'Higgins National Park
Categories: Boca del Guafo
Categories: Brecknock Channel
Brookes Bay is an excellent place to watch Magellan penguins, and view magestic glaciers.
Categories: Brookes Bay
This driving excursion takes you southeast out of Santiago along a narrow mountain road that winds up the north edge of the Maipo River Canyon into the high Andes. As you climb toward the mountains and the border with Argentina, the landscapes become...
Categories: Cajon del Maipo
The largest of northern Chile's oasis towns, Calama is the clean, orderly service city for the immense copper mine at Chuquicamata. Many trips to the Atacama Desert, the Rio Loa, and the Altiplano begin or pass through Calama.
Categories: Calama
Caldera is a picturesque port city in the Copiapo Province of northern Chile's Atacama Region. Visit the first railway station in Chile, dating back to 1850, or one of many local museums, historic churches, or even a copper mine.
Categories: Caldera
Categories: Calen Fjord
Categories: Calvo Fjord
Categories: Camp Seron
Cruise this canal in Tierra del Fuego, a passageway named in honor of the great evolutionist who crossed these waters in the H.M.S. Beagle. The narrow canal twists among fjords punctuated by low-lying mountains, icy glaciers, and green forests. Turn ...
Categories: Canal Darwin
Categories: Canal Magdalena
Cruising
Categories: Canal Moraleda
Categories: Canal Pitt
Rounding the extreme southern tip of South America, you'll be awestruck by the rugged beauty and imposing vision of Cape Horn, a craggy, massive rocky point that was the bane of early explorers.
Categories: Cape Horn
Categories: Cape Horn and Drake Passage
South of Puerto Montt, hugging the Argentine border, Carretera Austral is a narrow penetration road that meanders through the thinly populated land of volcanoes, steppes, fjords and forests of the Aisen region, all the way to Villa O'Higgins. In this...
Categories: Carretera Austral (The Southern Highway)
Casablanca which translates to “white house” is a Chilean City on the coastal plain between Santiago and Valparaiso. It is also Chile’s fastest growing wine region boasting of its cool climates, beautiful tranquil valley, and modern...
Categories: Casablanca Valley
Chaiten is a Chilean town, best know for it's active volcano. Visitors will enjoy an trip to Corcovado National Park with high peaks, and alpine lakes, and rivers. Also, immense colonies of shorebirds coat the beaches. Penguins scamper...
Categories: Chaiten
Categories: Chile Chico
The Chilean Fjords offer some of the most awe-inspiring sights of your journey. Simply look to the sky to see graceful Andean condors floating on the wind. Bring a camera to capture sights of incredible jagged walls of glacier ice rising up from the...
Categories: Chilean Fjords
Birthplace of independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins and 250 mi/400 km south of Santiago, Chillan is a pleasant place to overnight if you're driving through central Chile. Little remains of the original town, called Chillan Viejo, founded in 1579 (and ...
Categories: Chillan
Chiloe is one of the largest islands off the coast of Chile. Wildlife enthusiasts will certainly feel at home here. The north west of Chiloé Island has a great diversity of marine fauna, including blue whales, sei whales, Chilean dolphins and ...
Categories: Chiloe Island
Categories: Coast of Chile
Categories: Cochrane
Also spelled Coyhaique and is the Capital city of the Aysén Region and the Coyhaique Province.
Categories: Coihaique
Chile's best known wine region sits on the Colchagua Valley prized for their red wines and home to over 30 wineries. Inhabited for over 10,000 years, this valley's airidity has preserved hundreds of sites making this area an archaeological go...
Categories: Colchagua
Concepción is a modern port city in Chile's Lake Region. It is the second largest city in Chile and is known for its universities and rock music scene.
Categories: Concepcion
Categories: Condor Glacier
Coquimbo is near the northern port city of La Serena and one of Chile’s regional capitals. It lies between the Atacama Desert and the central valley, rich in agriculture and is an important distribution center for fruit from the Elqui Valley. Some of...
Categories: Coquimbo
Categories: Cordon Cochrane
Categories: Coyhaique
Scenic Cruising
Categories: Darwin Channel & Fjords
Categories: Diego Ramirez Islands
Categories: Dientes de Navarino
Easter Island is over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, (Tahiti and Chile), making it one of the most isolated places on Earth. A triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific - it is best known for the giant stone monoliths, known as ...
Categories: Easter Island
El Brujo Glacier is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in Chile's protected Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. Cruise in Asia Fjord to view El Brujo Galcier, one of the most stunning glaciers in the region.
Categories: El Brujo Glacier
The main attraction in the coastal community of El Quisco is to visit the Museo Casa Isla Negra, the beach house of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (not to be confused with his main house in Santiago or his other summer house in Valparaiso proper). Located...
Categories: El Quisco
Categories: English Passage
Categories: Estero las Montanas
Categories: Fiordo de las Montanas
The Francia and Italia Glacier are two of four great glaciers nestled in the mountain ranges of Chile. These large glaciers provide a stunning scene to viewers, and the Italia is known for the ice's crystal blue hue.
Categories: Francia & Italia Glacier
Categories: Francisco Coloane Marine Park
Categories: Fray Jorge National Park
Categories: Frutillar
Categories: Garibaldi Bay
The Glacier lies in the Garibaldi Fjord, a narrow passage strewn with floating ice in shades of blue and green, and waterfalls that come down the steep mountainsides. At the head of this picturesque fjord, take in the quiet splendor of the retre...
Categories: Garibaldi Glacier
Covering hillsides throughout the Atacama Desert, geoglyphs, giant geometrical and figurative designs, derive from dark surfaces scraped clear to reveal lighter material beneath them. Some are identifiable as fish, birds and llamas, and others are mo...
Categories: Geoglyphs
Categories: Golfo de Corcovado
Categories: Grey Glacier Camp
Categories: Gulf of Corcovado
Categories: Gunther Pluschow Glacier
Categories: Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve
Categories: Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works
Categories: Humboldt Penguin National Reserve
Iquique is dominated mainly by the Atacama Desert and the Pacific Ocean. Its beautiful beaches, warm weather, varied landscape and exciting social activities make Iquique a desired destination. Probably the most visited attraction in Iquique are the...
Categories: Iquique
Located off the southern tip of South America, Isla Carlos III rests on the Strait of Magellan. Visitors might catch a glimpse of humpback whales during the summer months, as this location serves as a feeding ground for these majestic mammals through...
Categories: Isla Carlos III
Categories: Isla Chanaral
Categories: Isla Choros
Magdalena Island is a small island in the Patagonia region of Chile. The island is part National Park dedicated to preserving the indigenous wildlife on the island. You will see burrows built by penguins and other birds all around the island. Visitor...
Categories: Isla Magdalena
Isla Mocha is a treasure to hikers and nature lovers. Mocha is the Chilean counterpart to the Canadian west coast trail. The landscape is a blend of rocky beaches, mountain ranges, and rainforests. There is only one major road on the island...
Categories: Isla Mocha
The island can be reached by boat from Caleta on the mainland. However, passengers are not allowed to exit the boat and go ashore. The island is home to a colony of Humboldt Penguins, which use the is and as a breeding ground. Other mammals include ...
Categories: Isla Pan De Azucar
Categories: Isla Rupert
Categories: Isla Salas y Gómez
Categories: Islote Albatros
Categories: Islotes Pajaros
Categories: Jackson Bay
The islands are principally known for having been the home to the the sailor Alexander Selkirk, which may have inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe. The island has instructional services and all equipment needed for diving, so that visitors may ex...
Categories: Juan Fernandez Islands
Categories: Kirke Narrows
Along the Pan American Highway, 295 mi/475 km north of Santiago, La Serena, Chile, has become a beach resort popular with Chileans from Santiago and Argentines from the central Andean provinces. It is one of Chile's oldest cities, but its Spanish col...
Categories: La Serena
Categories: Laguna Amarga Refuge
Categories: Laguna Chaxa
Some 150 nautical miles south of Puerto Chacabuco lies Laguna San Rafael. Getting there is in itself a wonderful experience. Cruise through waterways, fjords and estuaries that offer the most stunning scenery.
Categories: Laguna San Rafael
Categories: Lake Colico
Categories: Lake District Chile
In the high Andes east of Arica, 1,365 mi/2,200 km north of Santiago, the lakes and steppes of Lauca National Park abound with flamingos, rheas (an ostrichlike bird), vicunas (wild relatives of the domestic llama) and some of Chile's most spectacular...
Categories: Lauca National Park
Categories: Mapocho River
Matanzas is a coastal village in Chile, famous for its beach with fine grey sand. Windsurfing and kite-surfing are popular activities, with year-round windy weather. The islets provide protected nesting grounds for many species and Matanzas is known ...
Categories: Matanzas Chile
Categories: Messier Channel
Located in the Colchagua Valley, enjoy the panoramic views of acres of vineyards. Outdoor adventure opportunities abound in the surrounding countryside, with nature hikes, mountain biking and horseback riding trips to neighboring vineyards popular ac...
Categories: Millahue
Categories: Milodon Cave
Categories: Montana Fjord
Categories: Moraleda Channel
Categories: Murray Channel
Categories: Nassau Bay
Categories: Navarino Island
Niebla is a coastal town located at the mouth of the Valdivia River in Chile. In the summer months, visitors will enjoy visiting Niebla's beautiful beach and folk market. History lovers may also be interested in viewing the ruins of a Spanish c...
Categories: Niebla
Categories: Ocasion Channel
Categories: Osorno
Categories: Parque Futangue
Categories: Parry Bay
Parry Fjord is located on the Chilean cost where most come to admire the variety of glaciers and wildlife. Hidden bays and beaches are home to seals, dolphins and whales. The snowy peaks also make for excellent hiking.
Categories: Parry Fjord
The Chilean Patagonia is a barren wonderland where the glaciers float across the emerald lakes, wild fjords winds through forests and the Andes’ peaks disappear into cotton candy clouds. It’s a traveler’s paradise for their greatest...
Categories: Patagonia Chile
Categories: Peel Fjord
A designated UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999, Peninsula Valdes is renown for its rich marine biodiversity. Sea lions and elephant seals may be found along the long beaches every year, and from the dramatic cliffs that line the shores you may ca...
Categories: Peninsula Valdes
Travel through pristine wilderness adorned with lush forest and towering snow-capped peaks and visit the beautiful lakeside village of Peulla.
Categories: Peulla
Categories: Pia Fjord
Within the Beagle Channgel and chiseled among the Darwin mountains in Patagonia, the Pia Glacier is a highlight among the "Avenue of Glaciers", viewable by hiking up to a vista point where you can watch and listen to the loud shifts of ice ...
Categories: Pia Glacier
The biggest glacier in South America can be found in the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, the biggest national park in Chile.
Categories: Pio XI Glacier
Some 40 mi/65 km southwest of Santiago, in the rolling hills of the coastal range, is the one-horse town of Pomaire. Now covered by a four-lane freeway, the short drive is a good way to get a glimpse of the Chilean countryside. But the real reason to...
Categories: Pomaire
The question is not how low can you go, but how far south can you go before falling off the planet. Lying across the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia at "the end of the world," this town is a rag-tag collection of colorful tin-roof houses, ice-capped p...
Categories: Port Williams
Categories: Porter Glacier
The world-famous winter resort of Portillo, Chile, offers excellent skiing (both downhill and cross-country), skating on Laguna del Inca and splendid mountain views. Many European, Canadian and U.S. ski teams train on Portillo's slopes during the Nor...
Categories: Portillo
At the foot of Chile's most active volcano, 490 mi/789 km southeast of Santiago, Pucon is the lakes district's main adventure travel destination. You can go hiking at Huerquehue National Park, raft and kayak on the Trancura River, and climb the snowy...
Categories: Pucon
With sculptured icebergs, soaring fjords and Andean peaks, Chilean Patagonia is spectacular. The bird species include black-necked swans and the nearly extinct giant condor. From the fishing village of Puerto Chacabuco, you can visit the area capital...
Categories: Puerto Chacabuco
Categories: Puerto Corral
Approaching Puerto Eden, the soaring peaks of the Torres del Paine National Park serve as backdrop to this otherwise humble, simple port with a scenic jetty and pedestrian walkways in place of streets. Puerto Eden is home to a small population the in...
Categories: Puerto Eden
Categories: Puerto Guadal
Evocative of Switzerland, Chile's lake district is noted for its pristine, almost Alpine scenery and bracing climate. Visit Lake Llanquihue (pronounced "Yankee-way"), and explore the rugged coastline leading to Ensenada. Marvel at a Fuji-like volcano...
Categories: Puerto Montt
Puerto Natales is located on the coast of southern Chile. Here you'll have one spectacular experience after another -- seeing fjords, glaciers and perhaps encountering whales. And just a short distance inland you are reminded that this is Patagonia,...
Categories: Puerto Natales
Categories: Puerto Tranquilo
Puerto Varas, Chile is a charming city on the shores of Lake Llanquihue and is one of most popular tourist destinations in the country. Spectacular views across the lake at majestic snow-capped volcanoes surrounded in native forest abound as well as ...
Categories: Puerto Varas
Categories: Pukara de Lasana
Categories: Pulluche Channel
Categories: Pumalín Park
Punta Arenas is the southernmost city on Earth, overlooking the Straits of Magellan. Situated astride one of the world's historic trade routes, its prosperity has risen and fallen with that trade. Punta Arenas enjoyed its first great boom during the ...
Categories: Punta Arenas
Puyehue is a commune located in Chile near the mighty Andes mountains. Enjoy spectacular views of the evergreen pine forests, snow capped volcanoes, lakes and rivers. And enjoy the hot springs near Puyehue Lake produced from geothermal activity.
Categories: Puyehue
Puyuhuapi Hot Springs area is one of the most lovely, important thermal areas in Chile.
It is surrounded by a spectacular landscape of native forests and enormous ferns. The name Puyuhuapi means "place of puyes"; the puye is a species of fish grea...
Categories: Puyuhuapi
Categories: Quintupeu Fjord
Site of a famous revolutionary battle, the central valley town of Rancagua, Chile, 55 mi/90 km south of Santiago, is the heart of Chilean rodeo and the gateway to the El Teniente copper mine (the world's largest underground mine) and its ghost town o...
Categories: Rancagua
Categories: Reloncavi Sound
Robinson Crusoe Island is one of three islands in the Juan Fernandez archipelago located off the coast of Chile. In 1705, the sailor Alexander Selkirk – more famously known by the island that bears his name, was marooned and spent five years in solit...
Categories: Robinson Crusoe Island
Categories: Rosario Valley
The charming village of San Pedro de Atacama, located at 2,450 meters above sea level, is one of the places in Chile which offers the widest number of attractions. The village is located in one of the many oases originated by the ‘Bolivian winter’, ...
Categories: San Pedro de Atacama
Categories: Santa Cruz
Categories: Santa Rita
Santiago is a huge city of nearly five million inhabitants surrounded by immense Andean peaks creating a spectacular backdrop. The city centre is quite manageable with a collection of wide avenues, squares and parks all laid out in a grid pattern.
C...
Categories: Santiago
Santiago, like Chile in general, has enjoyed a renaissance of cultural, intellectual and especially commercial activity for more than two consecutive decades. The Andes Mountains overlook Santiago's eastern edge, and their snowy peaks provide good hi...
Categories: Santiago (San Antonio)
Santiago, with over four million people, is the fifth-largest city in South America. Standing in a wide plain 1,800 feet above sea level, Santiago boasts a beautiful setting. Snow-capped peaks of the Andes chain provide a dramatic backdrop. Tasteful...
Categories: Santiago (Valparaiso)
Categories: Seno Agostini
Seno Eyre Fjord is a submerged valley located in the Magallanes Y De La Antarctica Chilean Region of Chile. One of the most amazing sites of Seno Eyre Fjord is the Pio XI Glacier (AKA Brüggen Glacier), which is the largest western outflow from t...
Categories: Seno Eyre Fjord
Categories: Smyth Channel
Categories: Southern Aiken Park
The Strait of Magellan is the passage immediately south of mainland South America. Located between the continent and Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn to the south, the strait is the biggest and most important natural passage between the Pacific and t...
Categories: Strait of Magellan
One of the best harbors in Chili, Talcahuano and its surrounding areas have some of the best seafood around!
Sites to see include the Peruvian warship Huascar, whose capture decisively established Chilean naval supremacy during the War of the...
Categories: Talcahuano
Categories: Temuco
Torres del Paine is internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful, uncontaminated places on earth with natural lakes, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, forests and diverse wildlife. This biosphere reserve dominates most of South America's n...
Categories: Torres del Paine
Categories: Tortel
Valdivia Chile is ideally located on the Valdivia river and in close proximity to the ocean.
There are several islands in the area which can be explored by taking a riverboat cruise. There are also a number of nice small beaches to stroll on and e...
Categories: Valdivia
Categories: Valle Hermoso
Categories: Valle Nevado
Categories: Valley of the Moon
Categories: Vicente Perez Rosales National Park
Viña del Mar is one of Chile's most fashionable beach resorts and a great place to take a vacation if you want go to the beach and relax. The town was founded in 1874 as a weekend retreat and garden residence for the wealthy elite from Valparaíso and...
Categories: Vina del Mar
Categories: Whiteside Channel
Categories: Wide Channel
Approximately 2 hours south of Santiago, explore Chile's popular wine country. Arrange winery visits for wine tastings, where many wineries require reservations.
Categories: Wine Country Chile
Categories: Wulaia Bay
Categories: Yendegaia Natural Park
Between the Pacific Ocean and the base of the Andes, one of world's great mountain ranges, Chile boasts some of the world's most varied and dramatic landscapes. To comprehend its diverse geography, imagine a single country stretching from Baja California through California, the Pacific northwest coast and up to the Alaska Panhandle. Chile's length—including the entire length of its jagged coast and islands—is an amazing 7,633 mi/12,606 km in all, making it the 19th-longest country in the world when measured by coastline, and the second-longest in South America.
Once considered remote, Chile is now one of South America's most modern and convenient travel destinations, with contemporary infrastructure and comforts, and an outstanding reputation for safety. Combined with its booming economy and strong peso, that also means prices are high in comparison with the rest of the continent. Among Chilean specialty tours are those focusing on wine production, desert flora and fauna, fly-fishing, skiing, river rafting and kayaking, and hiking through stunning Patagonian landscapes.
Modern Chile reflects Spanish, Basque, British, German and Croatian ancestry, but the bulk of the population is mestizo. Even so, there are still a million indigenous Mapuche in the south, a nation that remained autonomous until the late 19th century.
Geography
Exclusive of its thousands of coastal islands, Chile is roughly 2,700 mi/4,300 km long, but averages only 100 mi/160 km in width. Desert conditions dominate the subtropical north, and glaciers and tundra the far south. In the center, where the majority of Chileans live, the Mediterranean-like conditions have enabled many fertile valleys and vineyards, and the temperate south features remnants of glacial lakes and soaring volcanoes.
The nation's coastline is indented by many bays and fjords, and the eastern frontier is marked by the colossal Andes mountain range. Some people associate all of South America with the steaming Amazonian rain forest, but all of Chile's temperate rain forest lies in the middle latitudes.
Politically, Chile is divided into 15 regions, each denoted by a Roman numeral (for example, Region IV) except for Greater Santiago, which is known as the Metropolitan Region. Except in the southern Patagonian regions of Aisen (Region XI) and Magallanes (Region XII), regional identity has limited significance.
History
In pre-Columbian times, northernmost Chile formed part of the Inca empire, and the semisedentary Araucanians (ancestors of the Mapuche) occupied most of the heartland and southern temperate zones. In the far south, there were small populations of hunter-gatherers.
Spanish explorers, conquerors and settlers arrived in the mid-1530s and began a struggle with the native residents that lasted more than 300 years. Even after Chilean independence in 1810, it was another 70 years before the Mapuche finally were defeated.
By the early 19th century, criollos (American-born Spaniards) had already made substantial moves toward independence. Led by Bernardo O'Higgins, the illegitimate son of the Irish Viceroy of Peru, and others, an independent junta was created on 18 September 1810. With the assistance of Argentina's Jose de San Martin, O'Higgins fought to expel the Spaniards from the continent. Chileans consider O'Higgins the country's greatest national hero.
Throughout most of its history, and unlike its neighbors, Chile has enjoyed constitutional rule, an undefeated army and a republican form of government. It achieved its present boundaries after gaining the nitrate-rich Atacama Desert in the late-19th-century War of the Pacific, against Peru and Bolivia. The most notorious period of Chile's recent history began in 1970, when economic difficulties and political unrest followed the election of South America's first Marxist president, Salvador Allende. The tensions culminated in 1973 when a military junta headed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet took over the country.
Pinochet ruled the country with the proverbial iron fist until 1988. Critics of his regime were executed or imprisoned (many were mysteriously "disappeared" by the armed forces), and others went into exile as the general isolated Chile from most of the world. But Chile's democratic tradition reasserted itself when Pinochet decisively lost a 1988 plebiscite (held because he wanted to legitimate his presidential powers for another decade). A presidential election brought Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin to power, initiating an unbroken series of victories by the center-left coalition known as the Concertacion until 2010, when center-right president Sebastian Pinera took office.
After Pinochet's surprise arrest in London in 1998, a bid to try him in Spain for alleged human-rights abuses against Spanish citizens failed in 2000. His return to Chile, however, did not mean the end of his troubles. The Chilean courts showed themselves willing to enter legal action against the former dictator and his collaborators. He lost even many of his diehard supporters with revelations of secret overseas bank accounts and false documents, including passports, for himself and family members. However, his lawyers stalled by arguing that he was too ill to stand trial, and he died 10 December 2006 after a heart attack.
A year earlier, following a highly successful presidency by Pinochet opponent Ricardo Lagos, Chileans made history by electing the continent's first female president, Socialist Michelle Bachelet. Bachelet, Chile's defense minister under Lagos, was herself a torture victim. Her father, an air force general, was killed by the Pinochet regime. President Pinera, who had openly criticized the dictatorship during the plebiscite, is the first successful president candidate of the Alianza por Chile, a right-of-center coalition that includes many former Pinochet supporters.
In recent years, Chile's economy has proved the continent's strongest and most stable, thanks largely to strong prices for copper, the country's main export, which helped the country to recover quickly from the massive February 2010 earthquake.
Snapshot
Chile's chief attractions are historical places such as the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Valparaiso and Chiloe, the vineyards of the central valley, geoglyphs and ghost towns in the Atacama Desert, Easter Island, and the national parks of the lakes district and Patagonia. Activities include skiing, hiking, river rafting and kayaking, surfing and fly-fishing.
Nearly everyone will find something of interest in Chile. The quality of accommodations everywhere is among the best in the continent; only in a few areas is it still marginal.
Potpourri
In 1945, Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral became the first South American writer to win the Nobel Prize. Fellow Chilean poet Pablo Neruda became the third, in 1971. Mistral's poetry has an otherworldly, spiritual quality, and Neruda's work seems more grounded in this world—full of the combative political spirit that made him a controversial figure (though Chileans of all political persuasions take pride in his work).
Though less well-known than her House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune paints a vivid picture of life in Valparaiso and San Francisco during the California gold rush.
The Atacama Desert may be the world's driest, but its southernmost parts erupt with colorful wildflowers in rare wet years.
For much of the 19th century, Chile's principal export was guano, fertilizer made from sea gull droppings. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was mineral nitrates, also turned into fertilizer.
Dating from about 13,000 years ago, archaeological finds at Monte Verde, near the southern city of Puerto Montt, appear to predate by at least a millennium previous evidence of the earliest human habitation in South America.
The northern city of Arica is the main port for Chile's landlocked neighbor, Bolivia. Bolivia lost its maritime access to Chile in the War of the Pacific more than a century ago, and many Bolivians still resent Chile for this loss, but Arica belonged to Bolivia's ally Peru.
Its clear desert air has made Chile the center of astronomical research in the Southern Hemisphere. Three of the world's largest observatories are near La Serena, with another near Antofagasta. At the same time, Santiago has some of the worst air pollution of any city in South America.
Chile's population is overwhelmingly urban (87%). About one-third of all Chileans live in and around Santiago.
In area, Chile is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Texas, though it's never wider than 180 mi/290 km.
Although Chile trounced its neighbors Bolivia and Peru a number of times in the 19th-century War of the Pacific, it took Spain and Chile some 350 years to defeat the semisedentary Mapuche people in the far south.
The term "Chilean sea bass" is actually a trade name for a species whose common English name is the "Patagonian toothfish."