Chile holidays

Chile is one of the world's narrowest and longest countries — a 4,300km Pacific coast from the Atacama Desert in the north (the driest non-polar desert on earth, with extraordinary stargazing in the Elqui Valley) to Patagonia's Torres del Paine in the south (the W trek's granite-tower views are some of the most-photographed mountain scenes on earth). In between sit the Lake District (the volcanic Pucón and Puerto Varas region with German-colonial heritage), the Wine Country of Casablanca, Maipo and Colchagua valleys (high-altitude Carmenère and Pinot Noir), Easter Island's moai (a 5-hour flight from Santiago, the world's most isolated inhabited island), and the rainy archipelagos of Chiloé.

A 14-21 day Chile trip: Santiago (2-3 nights — the historic centre, the bohemian Lastarria, Cerro San Cristóbal) → Atacama Desert at San Pedro (3 nights — the Tatio geysers at sunrise, the Moon Valley at sunset, salt-flat lakes with flamingos, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array observatory by night) → Wine Country of Colchagua (1-2 nights at Lapostolle or Vik) → Lake District at Pucón (3 nights — Villarrica volcano hike, hot springs, Mapuche cultural visits) → fly to Punta Arenas for Patagonia and the W trek in Torres del Paine NP (4-5 nights). Optional add: Easter Island for the moai (3-4 nights), or the Carretera Austral road trip through Aysén.