Upon your arrival at Santiago's
modern airport, you will notice that Chile
is out to surprise you. The snow covered Andes
mountains rise up high right behind the enormous city
giving you a notion of the natural wonders this land has
to offer. Chile is situated at the very end of the world,
but this end sure has breathtaking sights! A legend says
that after the creation of the world God scraped the leftovers
behind the last mountain range - and here they are: Magnificent
volcanoes, misty rainforests, sun-baked deserts and windswept
natural grasslands; ice blue glaciers and wild rivers,
hot springs and beautiful endless beaches. No other country
combines so many contrasts in landscapes and climate zones
as Chile. The shape of this country is unique: On average
only 180 km wide, but 4300 km long, Chile seems to be
cramped between the 7000 m high Cordillera in the East
and the Pacific Coast in the West. Compared to North America,
Chile would stretch from South California to South Alaska!
Chile is about 750.000 sq.km large, and as such more
than twice the size of Montana or twice as big as Germany,
but it has only 16 million inhabitants and most of them
reside in the fertile Central Zone. Wide parts of the
country, the deserts in the North as well as the Andes
highlands and the fjord district of Patagonia are only
scarcely populated. It is the perfect
destination for travelers who want to enjoy natural
beauty in peace and tranquility. Because of its location
or rather thanks to its far-end position Chile still has
not experienced mass tourism.
Area
756,626 sq.km
Population
16
million
Population density
21 residents/sq.km
Gross domestic product (GDP)
approx. 122 billion USD
Gross national income (GNI)
approx.
7,400 USD/year
Unemployment rate
about
8 %
Inflation
7.8 % (2007)
Our compact Chile guide
wants to intrigue you to learn more about this country
and we provide all those who plan to stay longer than
for vacation with background information including tips
and tricks. It is easy to find plentiful information about
tourist attractions elsewhere on the internet (please
also see our list
of links). Instead, we focus on Santiago and its surroundings
and offer useful tips for a long-term stay.
