Driving in Chile

Chile stretches over 4,300 kilometers along South America's Pacific coast, creating extraordinary diversity from the world's driest desert to glacial Patagonia. This slender nation offers some of Earth's most dramatic road trip landscapes.

The Atacama Desert, the world's driest, presents otherworldly scenery with salt flats, geysers at El Tatio, and the Valle de la Luna's lunar landscapes. The skies here provide the world's best stargazing, home to major astronomical observatories.

The Carretera Austral, Chile's famous 1,240-kilometer scenic highway through Patagonia, ranks among the world's great road trips. The route passes through temperate rainforests, past turquoise lakes, beside hanging glaciers, and through isolated frontier towns.

Torres del Paine National Park showcases Patagonian grandeur with the iconic granite towers, Grey Glacier, and exceptional trekking. The Lake District around Puerto Varas offers Germanic-influenced towns and volcanic scenery.

Central Chile's wine regions around Santiago produce world-class wines. Valparaíso's colorful hillside neighborhoods and funicular railways create a UNESCO-listed urban landscape. Easter Island, though remote, belongs to Chile with its mysterious Moai statues.

Chilean cuisine features empanadas, pastel de choclo (corn pie), curanto (seafood bake from Chiloé), and excellent Carménère wines. Fresh seafood dominates coastal menus.

Driving in Chile is on the right with good main highways. The Carretera Austral requires careful planning—sections are unpaved, ferries are necessary, and services are limited. An International Driving Permit is required for foreign drivers.