Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Chile is from January to early March as this is their summer season and temperatures are high (around 25 degrees).

Cuisine

A lot of the Chilean cuisine consists of cooked meat with lots of seasoning to add bursting flavor to dishes. Popular dishes include Arrollado de Chancho (chunks of pork smothered in red ají -chili), Cazuela de Ave (chicken soup with pieces of meat, potatoes, green beans, rice or noodles). There is also Empanada de Pino which is a turnover (pastry) filled with diced meat, onions, olive, raisins and hard-boiled egg. Pastel de Choclo is a typical Chilean summer dish, with ground corn and meat, chopped onions small pieces of chicken, hardboiled egg, olives and raisins. As they are big on their seafood, Mariscal Crudo is a popular seafood dish that is soup with raw seafood.

History and Culture

It was originally aboriginals that founded Chile and they avoided contact with other Europeans, until the Spanish colonized South America. In the early 20^th century, Chile saw an economic struggle due to the low production of work in the mines. Now they have recovered from this and are now one of the world’s most developed countries. The Chilean people are very religious and this plays a part in their daily lives; they are very close in family and greet people with a warm welcome.

Things to Do

• Take a ride over Santiago
• Visit the carved stone head figures at Easter Island
• Day tour to Cajon del Maipo
• Hike up the mountains in Patagonia