Off the Beaten Track

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

Near Chile's fragmented southern tip, this park is Chile's showpiece: a world biosphere reserve with all the diverse scenery of Alaska in only 180,000ha (444,600ac). The Torres del Paine are spectacular granite pillars which soar almost vertically for more than 2000m (6560ft) above the Patagonian steppe. Cascading waterfalls, sprawling glaciers, dense forests, and the chance to see Patagonian guanaco make it a truly awesome experience.

Parque Nacional Lauca

This world biosphere reserve, 160km (99mi) northeast of Arica, near the Bolivian border, encompasses Lake Chungará, one of the highest lakes in the world, spectacularly situated at the foot of the dormant twin Pallachata volcanoes. It supports vicuña, condor and vizcacha, and Aymara alpaca and llama herders. There is extensive bird life along the shores of Lake Cotacotani, and panoramic views from the 5300m (17,384ft) summit of Cerro Guane Guane.

Volcán Osorno

This flawless cone sits in the Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales, the first national park in Chile, and is surrounded by wonderful natural attractions. Beautiful Lago Todos Los Santos is the centerpiece of the park, looking over the thickly wooded vista to the volcano, and offering ferry trips to nearby lakeside villages. Osorno can be climbed and is a popular skiing spot.

Chiloé

Only about 180km (112mi) long and 50km (31mi) wide, the Isla Grande de Chiloé is a well-watered, densely forested island of undulating hills, with a temperate maritime climate. It is linked to the Chilean mainland by ferries departing from the island's northern tip. Its towns feature distinctive shingled houses and stilt homes, and its weather is known for precipitation and fog. When visible, however, a majestic panorama across the gulf to the snow-capped volcanoes of the mainland are revealed. Ancud and Castro are the only two sizeable towns, but there are over 150 picturesque wooden churches servicing the island's small villages. Parque Nacional Chiloé protects extensive stands of native coniferous and evergreen forest and a long and almost pristine coastline. The rare pudú also lives here.

Parque Nacional Laguna San Rafael

Despite the difficulty and expense of getting here, this glacier-filled, 1.7-million hectare (4.2 million acre) park in southern Patagonia is the most popular attraction in the Aisén region. It encompasses some of the most spectacular fjord and mountain scenery in the world and is dense with floating icebergs. The terrain is unforgiving for hikers, but the rewards are many: in the water there are ducks, albatross, Magellanic penguins, otters, sea lions and elephant seals; in the surrounding forests and uplands there are pudús, pumas and foxes. Charter flights from Colhaique land in the park, and there are a number of (costly) ferry services from Colhaique and Puerto Chacabuco.

Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Lying 3700km (2294mi) west of the Chilean mainland, enigmatic Easter Island is the world's most remote inhabited island. It is actually more Polynesian than Chilean, though the presence of Pacific Islanders in this isolated part of the world is as much a mystery as how their descendants managed to design and sculpt the hundreds of colossal statues (moai) from hard volcanic basalt - let alone transport them from the inland quarries to the coast. This really is off the beaten track: you can sail more than 1900km (1178mi) in any direction without sighting inhabited land. Chile officially annexed the island in 1888 during the period of expansion which followed the War of the Pacific. Only about 2000 people live on the island, and nearly all of them live in the town of Hanga Roa. The population is 70% Polynesian, with most of the remainder coming from the Chilean mainland. The island is virtually an open-air national park, and boasts 300 moais and related stonework.

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