Where to Go

Hike among the spectacular mountains, forests, glaciers, lakes and rolling Pampas in magical Patagonia

Explore the mountains, valleys, salt flats and geysers of northern Chile’s dramatic Atacama Desert

Soak up culture, history, architecture and entertainment in Chile’s capital and oldest city, Santiago

Experience the colourful Chilean culture first hand by taking part in one of the country’s many festivals

Try your hand at watersports or just relax on one of Chile’s stunning beaches

Get your heart racing in Pucón, Chile’s year-round adventure sports mecca

Shop for traditional handicrafts at Chile’s most colourful market, La Feria de Chillán

Visit the mysterious Easter Island, the most isolated inhabited place on Earth, and home to the intriguing monumental sculptures of the early Rapa Nui people

Weather

With the exception of tropical humidity, Chile’s extreme latitudinal span means that the country encompasses nearly all climates. The Andes Mountains, the Pacific and South Pacific Oceans, and the cold Humboldt Current from Peru are all major influences on Chile’s climatic patterns.

Most of northern Chile is desert; the central parts of the country, where the bulk of the country’s population and larger cities are found (including the capital of Santiago), are temperate, humid and suitable for cultivation, similar to the Mediterranean; and southern Chile is a beautiful but largely inhospitable region subject to cold, wet and windy conditions. Temperatures drop and precipitation rises fairly consistently as you move from the dry extreme north towards the humid extreme south.

Moderate daytime temperatures, cold nighttime temperatures and a lack of rain or permanent vegetation typify the arid northern desert. Even along the coast, humidity generally develops only to coastal fogs (garúa) rather than rain.

Central Chile is blessed with temperate Mediterranean conditions, making it a very productive agricultural region for growing grapes, fruits, grains and vegetables. Winters are cool and humid, bringing rains from May to August (especially the wettest months of June and July); spring months see southwesterly winds and clear skies; and summer and autumn months are warm and dry.

Southern Chile is subject to the influence of cyclonic depressions, permanent westerlies and the polar front, causing lower temperatures and abnormally high rainfall. Intense storms and squalls are frequent around Cape Horn.

Average monthly temperatures in the Santiago area range from around 19.5°C (67°F) in the summer (Jan-Feb) to around 7.5°C (45.5°F) in the winter (Jun-Jul).