A crazy Geography

The Chilean territory has a privileged location in South America, with a length of some 4.300 km, close to the distance between Sweden and Africa. On the other hand, our country is very narrow, with an average width of only 100 km, and its natural boundaries are: to the north, the driest desert in the world; to the west, the Pacific Ocean; to the east, the Andes Mountains with peaks reaching over 6.000m. To the extreme south, the territory falls apart and forms countless small islands in the Southern Ocean. Only Antarctica, the enormous white Continent, lies further south. Chile also has two very attractive ocean territories, world famous Easter Island, and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago.

From a bio-geographical point of view, and owing to its extension over several climatic and vegetational zones, the Chilean territory is extremely varied: from the tropics in the north to the Antarctic in the south, from absolute arid desert to temperate rain forest, with an extensive zone with mild Mediterranean climate in between.

Although it is possible to read a lot about our country, it is better to visit it and feel its fascination and the cordiality and hospitality of its inhabitants. An old Chilean song, taught to children in their first years at school, says: “….and you will see how we treat a foreigner as a friend in Chile”. We invite you to come and visit our country, to know our people, our nature, our wildlife, and especially our birds. An invitation to feel the cold wind of Patagonia on your body or the stifling heat of the Atacama, to experience the effect of altitude in the Andes, and to imagine the fine sprinkle of rain on your face in the morning as  we set sail for the Pacific Ocean.