Chile 1994 - practical hints

• Flight from Europe to Chile: It's worth to compare the flight prices of different airlines and travel agencies. Our flight was 1500 DM, but one can easily spend twice that amount. Possibly in high season (Dec-Feb) such cheap flights are not available.
• Airport: Every 30 minutes, buses to the city center depart (fare about 1.25 US$). For the opposite direction, they depart from the Metro station Los Heroes (at Av. O'Higgins).
• Informations, maps: A good information source are the three volumes of "Turistel" (edited by the telephone company CTC), available at the kiosks in the center of Santiago (note: ONLY there). Besides more or less exact road maps one can find there city plans, hints about things worth seeing, and many addresses, in particular accomodations. Topographic maps are available only in Santiago (at Instituto Geográfico Militar, Calle Dieciocho, that is south of Av. O'Higgins), and also image postcards are hardly found outside Santiago. Shopping possibilities are similar to Germany, there are supermarkets also in small villages.
• Travel: Infrastructure in Chile is very well developped and comparable to central to southern Italy, the long distance bus connections considerably better than in Germany. Since there is almost no railroad network, the bus lines have to replace this. Long bus trips are begun preferably in the evening (18.00 to 22.00). One mostly arrives in the following morning and has saved an overnight stay, too. Whereever possible, one should choose "semi-cama". Unlike real sleeper-buses, this is only a little more expensive than the normal bus fare, but a lot more comfortable. Trips from Santiago should be booked a day in advance. Bus stations: Northbound - now at Terminal de Buses Borja, just beside the train station Estación central (metro station with the same name). Southbound: the two bus terminals at Metro station Universidad de Santiago (in the west).
• Mountains: Accessibility of the high mountains: Licancábur near San Pedro is quite nice and recommendable as acclimatization tour. The whole region offers many hiking possibilities at high altitude. To rent a car is expensive but probably the best for a really individual planning. Also at Ojos del Salado one should consider to rent a car. Being well acclimatized, one can drive at least to the first camp. That requires a good 4WD car (e.g. Toyota Landcruiser) and good driving skills, otherwise one gets stuck in the sand. If there's really no snow, maybe one could even drive the road to the upper camp at 5900 m. For sudden altitude problems, please don't blame me!
  In the south, the volcanoes are interesting places; the steep summit slopes require crampons and sometimes an ice axe.
  Renting a car costs like in Germany; a credit card is strongly advised for insurance reasons.
• Season: October is in between the high seasons, where many facilities are not opened, but on the other hand it is more quiet than in the vacation time January/February. Climbing the high 6000m peaks is not advised in October because of the strong wind. In central Chile there's still a lot of snow in that time. Ski-touring is unknown in Chile. Alpine equipment is hardly found in any sports shop. The volcanoes in the south can well be done in October.
• Camping: The north is governed by a dry desert landscape with lots of uninhabited terrain. Good (unofficial) campsites are not too frequent due to the almost permanent wind. Central Chile is quite densely inhabited. In the valleys towards the mountains in the lower regions hardly a place can be found for unofficial camping. In the mountains directly that is no problem. The south of Chile down to Puerto Montt is almost completely fenced in along the roads - it's hard to find a suitable campsite together with a place for a car. In particular, since the campsites mentioned in the "Turistel" often don't exist or are closed.
  
  
• Useful addresses
  • Sernatur (national tourism board), Providencia 1550, Santiago.
    You also get a reasonable city map there, so don't buy one at the kiosk (expensive).
    Sernatur has offices in each region. For climbing Ojos del Salado you need a permit. Sernatur in Copiapó is situated directly at the plaza and is very helpful.
  • Federación de Andinismo, Simpson 77, Santiago (that's at the northern end of Mackenna): Here some very kind elder gentlemen give you mountaineering information about the closer region, e.g. Cajón de Maipo; an equipment store, too. Evening after 7 p.m.
  • Instituto Geográfico Militar, Calle Dieciocho, Santiago.: Here you get practically all topographic maps of Chile. The 250 000 scale series offers a good overview at a reasonable price (about US$ 12 per sheet). You don't gain information with smaller scale maps. Maps are available only here.

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Last updated January 28, 1998 by Hartmut Bielefeldt