The variety of habitat supports distinctive flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive system of national parks - one of the country's major drawcards for visitors. In the parks, animals such as the endangered vicuña (a wild relative of the alpaca), the Patagonian guanaco (a wild relative of the Andean llama), flamingos, pelicans, penguins, otters and sea lions do the food chain thing. Chilean plant life includes stands of araucaria (the monkey-puzzle tree), cypress and rare alerce trees (similar to the giant redwoods of California). Outside protected areas, extensive logging denudes the landscape at an alarming, and increasing, rate.
Chile's climate is as varied as its terrain, with arid but surprisingly temperate areas in the north, a heartland which enjoys a Mediterranean climate, and the wind, rain and snow-battered lands of Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego in the south. The rainy season in the heartland is from May to August when temperatures are cooler, getting down to an average maximum temperature of 10°C (50°F) in July. January's neat gin average is 28°C (82°F). Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego have summer averages of just 11°C (52°F) but if you think that's manageable, muff up and get ready for the wind chill, baby.
Pre-Columbian Chile was peopled by a variety of ancient cultures, many of them politically subject to the Incas who they predated by many centuries. The country's varied topography governed the character of its population groups and the extent to which they were subject to Inca aggression. Native groupings included Aymara farmers in the desert north, who cultivated maize and tended flocks of llamas and alpacas; fisherfolk in the coastal areas; Diaguita Indians in the mountainous interior; Araucanian Indians in the center and south, whose fishing and agricultural settlements were barely touched by Incan incursions; and numerous groups of archipelagic hunters and fishers in the remote south.
All territory west of Brazil was granted to Spain by the 1494 Spanish-Portuguese treaty. The Spanish assigned the task of conquering Chile to Pedro de Valdivia, whose expedition reached Chile's fertile Mapocho Valley in 1541. Santiago was founded in the same year, with the cities of La Serena, Valparaíso, Concepción, Valdivia and Villarrica following soon after. The Río Biobío marked the southern extent of Spanish incursions, where they were barred by the resistance of the fierce Mapuche tribes. Valdivia rewarded his followers with enormous land grants, which resembled the great feudal estates of his Spanish homeland. Although mining and business outstripped agriculture as Chile's merchant megaliths, it was the social structure of the estates which shaped colonial Chile. The native population was devastated by the unwitting introduction of infectious diseases, and the mestizo population, the offspring of Spanish and Indian unions, were used as tenant laborers on these huge estates, many of which were still intact in the 1960s.
By the 1820s, the cumbersome methods by which taxation was extracted by a stagnant and complacent Spain allowed a flowering pan-American identity to blossom into a push for full independence. Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín led armies of freedom fighters from Venezuela to Peru, and from Argentina into Chile. Bernardo O'Higgins, son of an Irish immigrant and erstwhile viceroy of Peru, became supreme director of the new Chilean republic. The newly independent Chile was a fraction of its eventual size, consisting of Santiago and Concepción, and with fuzzy borders with Bolivia and Argentina. The coming of the railways and military triumphs over Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) incorporated the mineral-rich Atacama desert to the north and the southern temperate territories. Chile quickly achieved a degree of political stability and relative democracy, enabling rapid agricultural development and the advancement of mining, industry and commerce. The now empowered working class and the nouveau riche both challenged the political power of the landowning oligarchy in a brief but bloody civil war in the 1890s.
The first half of the 20th century saw the political climate swing between right and left with no government having sufficient support to cement large scale reform. Infrastructure development was generally sluggish, leading to rural poverty and urbanization through desperation. It was not until the 1960s that social reforms were successfully instituted by the Christian Democrats, who targeted housing, education, health and social services. These policies threatened the conservative elite's privileges and also offended the radical left. Chile's politics were becoming increasingly militant, polarized and ideology-based when the Marxist Allende's leftist coalition of Socialists, Communists and extremists snuck to victory in 1970. Allende introduced sweeping economic reforms, including the state takeover of many private enterprises and the wholesale redistribution of income. The country was plunged into economic chaos and America was miffed by the expropriation of US-controlled copper mines, and also by Chile's conspicuously friendly relations with Castro's Cuba.
General Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup on 11 September 1973 using air force jets to bomb the presidential palace. Allende died, apparently by his own hand, and thousands of his supporters were murdered. Dark days followed, with assassinations, purges and enforced exiles commonplace. It is estimated that as many as 80,000 people were tortured or murdered. Rumors of CIA involvement in the coup were given credence by the US-instigated suspension of credit from international finance organizations, and the contemporaneous financial and moral support given to Allende's opponents.
At the head of a four-man junta, Pinochet dissolved Congress, banned leftist parties and suspended all opposition. Pinochet's monetarist economic policies brought stability and relative prosperity, but in a 1988 referendum to approve his presidency, voters rejected him by a majority of 7%. In the 1989 multiparty elections, Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin beat Pinochet's candidate, Hernan Buchi, and power was peacefully transferred. Democracy returned to Chile although many of the previous regime's power brokers wield a lingering influence.
Current President Eduardo Frei has undertaken the challenge of reconciling Chileans with their difficult past by accelerating human rights tribunals and inquiries into the fate of Chile's 2000 'disappeared'. Unfortunately, resistance from the political arm of the military machine has hampered his efforts. President Frei has also struggled in matters of constitutional reform, failing to eliminate eight 'institutional senators' appointed by Pinochet who are not subject to a popular vote. Frei's economic reforms have, however, alleviated crushing poverty to some degree. The next presidential elections are due in 1999.
Chile's European heritage is pervasive, meaning that Western travelers here are less conspicuous than in neighboring Peru and Bolivia. For centuries, the Paris education of many Chilean intellectuals influenced the country's art, music and architecture. Important art galleries, museums and a thriving theater scene are the result. The country's art, literature and music have been influential internationally. Chile has spawned the Nobel Prize-winning poets Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda and, until the military coup of 1973, its cinema was among the most experimental in Latin America. Folk music has been an especially important outlet for the country's oppressed, and was frequently performed overseas by exiles during Pinochet's reign.
Over 90% of the population is Roman Catholic, though evangelical Protestantism is becoming increasingly popular. The country's Catholic architecture is impressive and ubiquitous, from grandiose colonial churches to roadside shrines, some of which are extraordinary manifestations of folk art. Spanish is Chile's official language, though a handful of native languages are still spoken. In the north, there are more than 20,000 speakers of Aymara, and in the south there are perhaps half a million speakers of Mapuche. The most intriguing linguistic minority is the 2000-plus speakers of Rapa Nui, the Polynesian language of most of Easter Island's population.
Currency: peso (Ch$)
Relative costs:
- Budget room: US$10-20
- Moderate hotel: US$20-40
- Top-end hotel: US$40 and upwards
- Budget meal: US$5-10
- Moderate restaurant meal: US$10-15
- Top-end restaurant meal: US$15 and upwards
Revaluation of the Chilean peso and tourist sector inflation have increased travel costs substantially in the past few years, so that Chile is no longer inexpensive. It is still possible to travel on a budget, since modest lodging, food and transport are still more economical than in Europe, North America or even Argentina. Allow a minimum of US$25 per day for food and lodging, but if you purchase your food at markets or eat at modest restaurants you may be able to get by more cheaply.
Travelers' checks are unquestionably safer than cash, but in smaller towns and out-of-the-way locations, it can be difficult to find a bank that will change them, so carrying some cash is a good idea. Only ATMs in larger cities will be compatible with international debit systems like Plus or Cirrus. Credit cards are fairly widely accepted.
In restaurants, it is customary to tip about 10% of the bill. In general, waiters and waitresses are poorly paid, so if you can afford to eat out, you can afford to tip. Taxi drivers do not require tips, although you may round off the fare for convenience. Long-distance bus or shared taxi fares are negotiable. Purchases from handicrafts markets will be subject to bargaining and haggling on hotel prices is possible in the off-season or for long stays.
Santiago's main budget hotel area is the seedy section of town near the Terminal de Buses Norte. Moderate and top-end hotels can be found in the central area bounded by Avenida Balmaceda and Avenida General O'Higgins (popularly known as the Alameda). Restaurants, from fast to flash, are in abundance, especially around the bus terminals, pedestrian malls, Alameda and Plaza de Armas. Bellavista, known as the 'Paris quarter', is one of the city's liveliest areas, with countless ethnic eateries and an active crafts fair on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Chile is linked by air to North America, Europe and Australasia, and most international flights arrive in Santiago. The national carrier is LAN-Chile. There is an international departure tax of US$12.50.
Chile's border-crossing points with Peru and Bolivia are few and far between. The crossing between Arica in Chile and Tacna in Peru provides the only land access to Peru; road and rail connections link Chile with Bolivia, passing through Arica, Visviri, Tambo Quemado or Calama. Except in Patagonia, every crossing into Argentina involves crossing the Andes. Routes include Calama-Salta, Copiapó-Tucumán via Catamarca; La Serena-San Juan; and Santiago-Mendoza. More interesting are the many Lake District and southern Patagonian routes, with buses and ferries servicing the crossing points between Chile and Argentina.
Facts at a Glance
Environment
History
Economic Profile
Culture
Events
Facts for the Traveler
Money & Costs
When to Go
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Activities
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
Lonely Planet Guides
Travelers' Reports
On-line Info
