Two Backpackers

Puerto Natales, Patagonia Chile

| by Jason | 13 Comments » | Chile, South America

Puerto natales 1 371 by Adriuu, on Flickr

If you are planning on visiting Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, you will inevitably arrive to Puerto Natales.  Lying next to the cloudy turquoise glacier shores of Seno Ultima Esperanza, extreme wind conditions are common.  It’s a small town with most buildings only a single story with the main street clearly more developed and groomed than the less traveled side streets.  Like many of the towns visited in Patagonia, they have become entirely dependent on tourism, from the backpacker to tour groups of retirees.  Towns centered on tourism mean you will typically find a modern super market, plenty of adventure rental equipment, touristy restaurants and unlimited lodging. (more…)

Road Trip: Northern Chile Altiplano

| by Jason | 24 Comments » | Adventures, Chile, South America

Entering Northern Chile from Peru will most likely lead you to the coastal town of Arica.  Check out our article on discovering Arica to find out what adventure lies there, but for this article we are jumping right into Northern Chile’s great Altiplano!

Monumento Natural Salar de Surire

Road Trip

Northern Chile’s Altiplano is filled with varying landscapes including snow capped volcanoes, desert mountains, small adobe villages, salt flats, flamingos, vicuñas and pre-Inca ruins.  Arica will serve as your base camp for settling into the new country and planning your exploratory road trip.  Several vehicle rental companies exist in town with 4×4 vehicles.  Between the cost of your rental truck and all the gas you have to purchase, this adventure will definitely cost you additional money. (more…)

Stargazing in Chile

| by Linda | 8 Comments » | Chile, Guest Post, South America

Courtesy of www.spaceobs.com

Travel in Chile doesn’t always go as planned, as our guest writer Linda Martin discovers…

We’d hoped to visit San Pedro de Atacama on our first trip to Chile, detouring off the main road from Santiago to the border to see what this desert town has to offer.  But while we were in the south of the country, Chile was rocked by the 8.8-grade earthquake that killed more than 500 people and left thousands more homeless; it was a sad time for the country.  The quake caused major damage to roads and highways, and airports and bus stations in several cities were closed for several days.  Even in the south where we were, far from the epicenter, transport came to a complete halt for a couple of days - you couldn’t travel in any direction. (more…)

Discover Adventure in San Pedro de Atacama Chile

| by Jason | 3 Comments » | Chile, South America

San Pedro de Atacama is an adventure town located in Chile’s Northern Salt Mountains and is an extreme desert environment.  The landscape is very picturesque with snow capped mountains in the distance and desert valleys that glow orange when the sun sets. (more…)

Discover Arica, Chile

| by Jason | 4 Comments » | Chile, South America

Arica was the first town we arrived to in Chile entering from Peru in the north.  After researching our Lonely Planet Guide, it was a last minute decision that had us headed to Arica.  The description of what we could find in Chile’s Altiplano was enticing: town of Putre, Lauca National Park, Salar de Surire or Surire Saltbeds, pink flamingos, wild vicuñas and snow capped volcanoes.  Arica is a desert coastal town with beaches, cliffs and sand dune mountains.  It’s also a busy beach town with a small seaport, many tourism offices, shopping and surfing. (more…)

Torres del Paine Sunrise - Short Clip 3

| by Jason | 3 Comments » | Chile, South America, Travel Videos

Enjoy a stunning sunrise from Patagonia through a Travel Video from Jason and Aracely of TwoBackpackers.com. In Short Clip 3, we share the colorful skies surrounding the Torres del Paine towers changing as the sun rises. Enjoy the show! (more…)