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Chile, Atacama Desert, Patagonia and Easter Island

  • Santiago
  • San Pedro de Atacama
  • Torres del Paine
  • Easter Island
  • 13 nights from
  • £6,725 per person

    • Trip Code: MC-1532

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Holiday Overview

Chile, Atacama Desert, Patagonia and Easter Island

 

Chile reveals itself here as three distinct countries within one. In the north, the Atacama Desert stretches in salt flats, volcanic lagoons and lunar valleys beneath some of the clearest skies on Earth, while glacier ice, granite towers and turquoise lakes define the wild scale of Patagonia further south. Between the two, the remote Pacific outpost of Easter Island holds its own world entirely, its coastline and volcanic craters watched over by centuries of moai carved from stone. Fourteen days move between desert, wilderness and ocean, tracing landscapes and cultures that rarely appear together on a single journey.

Chile, Atacama Desert, Patagonia and Easter Island includes:

  • Flights
  • Santiago Accommodation
  • Atacama Accommodation
  • Patagonia Accommodation
  • Easter Island Accommodation
  • Transfers and Sightseeing as Listed
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Day 1 - Santiago

Landing in Santiago places you in a city where colonial history and contemporary energy sit side by side beneath the Andes. The afternoon unfolds through Plaza de Armas, where the Metropolitan Cathedral, Central Post Office and City Hall trace the city's founding, before La Moneda Palace, seat of Chilean government and one of the country's most recognisable buildings. Wandering neighbourhoods reveal Santiago's cultural layers: the Lastarria district with its cafes and galleries, the green expanse of Forestal Park, and Bellavista, the bohemian quarter known for its street art and lively character. 

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Day 2 - Santiago, Viña del Mar and Valparaíso

Breakfast in Santiago is followed by a drive to the Pacific coast through the Casablanca Valley, whose cool climate vineyards produce some of Chile's finest wines and offer the chance for an optional tasting along the way. Viña del Mar, the Garden City, greets you with elegant avenues, golden beaches and the much photographed Flower Clock, while nearby Valparaíso climbs the hills above the bay in a jumble of colourful houses, funiculars and street art that earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. A visit to La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's former homes, brings sweeping views over the port together with a glimpse into the poet's world. Return to Santiago in the afternoon.

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Day 3 - Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama

A flight north to Calama opens the door to the driest desert on Earth. The road to San Pedro de Atacama crosses the Domeyko mountain range and the Cordillera de la Sal, arriving in time to explore Moon Valley and Death Valley as the light turns gold. Moon Valley's dunes and salt sculpted ridges look otherworldly even by desert standards, while Death Valley's rust red rock, shaped by centuries of wind, offers one of northern Chile's most memorable sunsets as the Andes shift through changing colour.

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Day 4 - San Pedro de Atacama

The Altiplano reveals itself gradually, rising past four thousand metres to Miscanti and Miñiques, twin lagoons ringed by volcanoes where flamingos wade in water the colour of lapis. Socaire, a village of pre Hispanic origin, keeps its ancestral terraces and stone architecture much as they have always been. The Atacama Salt Flat spreads out in a crust of white, home to more flamingos and hardy desert wildlife, before the day ends in Toconao, a village built almost entirely from volcanic liparite stone and centred on the historic San Lucas Church. Lunch is taken at a local restaurant along the way. 

5

Day 5 - San Pedro de Atacama to Santiago

Before dawn, the road climbs to over four thousand metres to reach El Tatio, one of the highest geothermal fields in the world. Arriving as the sun rises, steam columns billow from boiling pools in a landscape where freezing air meets underground heat, one of the Atacama's most striking natural spectacles. Breakfast is served outdoors against the Andean backdrop, with vicuñas and native desert plants nearby, before a stop at Machuca Wetland, where flamingos, llamas and vicuñas gather in the wild. Flights from Calama return you to Santiago by evening. 

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Day 6 - Santiago to Puerto Natales

A flight south carries you into Chilean Patagonia, landing in Puerto Natales on the edge of the Última Esperanza Sound. Overnight in Puerto Natales. 

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Day 7 - Puerto Natales

An early start leads out onto the Última Esperanza Fjord, sailing the Señoret Channel beneath Mount Balmaceda towards its namesake glacier, past waterfalls, estancias and Patagonian birdlife. A walk through forests of coihue and ñirre brings you close to the ice at Balmaceda Glacier, before the boat continues to Serrano Glacier and an aperitif of whisky served over glacier ice thousands of years old. Lunch follows at Estancia Perales before the return to Puerto Natales. Overnight in Puerto Natales. 

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Day 8 - Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine, recently named the Eighth Wonder of the World, unfolds across a full day exploring one of Patagonia's most celebrated landscapes. Milodón Cave, a limestone cavern once home to prehistoric ground sloths, opens the day, followed by Cerro Castillo, a historic estancia that recalls the early days of Patagonian settlement. Inside the park, turquoise lakes including Sarmiento, Nordenskjöld, Pehoé and Grey reflect the granite towers that give the park its name, and a gentle walk through lenga forest leads to views of Grey Glacier and the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Lunch is included during the day. Overnight in Puerto Natales.

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Day 9 - Puerto Natales to Santiago

A flight returns you north to Santiago. Overnight in Santiago. 

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Day 10 - Santiago to Easter Island

A flight of some five hours crosses the Pacific to Easter Island, one of the most remote inhabited places on the planet, arriving in Hanga Roa by afternoon. Overnight on Easter Island. 

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Day 11 - Easter Island, moai and coastline

The island's archaeological heart opens at Akahanga, a ceremonial site where fallen moai still lie along their original transport routes. Rano Raraku, the volcanic quarry where nearly every moai on the island was carved, offers a rare view into the craftsmanship of the Rapa Nui people, while Ahu Tongariki, the island's largest ceremonial platform, stands fifteen moai strong facing inland across the grass. The day closes at Anakena, a beach of white coral sand and turquoise water traditionally regarded as the landing place of the first Polynesian settlers. Lunch is included. Overnight on Easter Island. 

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Day 12 - Easter Island, ceremony and volcano

Vinapu opens the morning with some of the island's most sophisticated stonework, its precision often compared to Inca masonry. Rano Kau, one of the three volcanoes that shaped Easter Island, holds a vast crater lagoon and views across the Pacific from its rim, where Orongo, the island's most important ceremonial village, once staged the rituals of the Birdman Cult. Petroglyphs carved into the rock still trace the beliefs and traditions of Rapa Nui culture. Overnight on Easter Island. 

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Day 13 - Easter Island to Santiago

A flight from Mataveri Airport returns you to Santiago. Overnight in Santiago. 

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Day 14 - Homeward bound

Breakfast at the hotel precedes the transfer to the onward international flight home.

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