Two Backpackers

Photo of the Day: Church at Parinacota Chile

| by Jason | 3 Comments » | Photo of the Day

The Church at Parinacota in Northern Chile, Tarapacá Region

This photo was taken during our 3-day 4×4 road trip through Northern Chile’s Altiplano.

“The church was built in the 17th century in the form of a central nave with two side chapels. The walls are made of stone and clay and are supported by exterior arches of stones without mortar. The floor is made of bricks with a central band of stones. Originally there was no choir. A choir without railing was built later on whereas one of the most interesting frescoes of the area, the “Last Judgment” was destroyed. The atrium is surrounded by a clay wall on which are situated several figures made of red stone: A bishop, lilies, phalli and others. The square tower was rebuilt in 1789 and painted with white lime.

Noteworthy are the frescoes in the interior which were painted in water colors by Indians in the Andean baroque of the 17th century. The “Last Judgment” suggests that only women were condemned. The archangel St. Michael weighs a nude woman on a scale and there are trails to get to the purgatory, over clouds to heaven as well as stairs to the mouth of a dragon which leads to hell, where there are several torture instruments. The condemned women walk or are dragged by the hair or are ridden by demons. One of them leads the helpers of evil with a broad smile, not knowing what is expecting her.” – Wikipedia

Puerto Natales, Patagonia Chile

| by Jason | 14 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…)

Photo of the Day: Salar de Surire Chile

| by Aracely | 3 Comments » | Photo of the Day

Salar de Surire Natural Monument is a Chilean Natural Monument located in the Andes, in the Arica and Parinacota Region.  It consists mainly of a salt flat and a number of small salt lakes, sheltering several Andean species of wildlife and plants. Arintica volcano towers over the salt flat.

The protected area, along with Lauca National Park and Las Vicu̱as National Reserve, were designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1981, which is called Lauca. РWikipedia

Read about our 3-day adventure road trip.

Flamingos flying Over the Salar de Surire (Salt Flat) Natural Monument in Chile

Photo of the Day: Reserva National Las Vicuñas Chile

| by Aracely | 5 Comments » | Photo of the Day

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 4×4 road trip.

Read about our 3-day adventure road trip.

Reserva National Las Vicuñas, is south of Parque Nacional Lauca in the southeastern most point of the Arica and Parinacota Region.  Here you will find Monumento Natural Salar de Surire, a salt flat which lies furthest from Arica.

Reserva National Las Vicuñas in Northern Chile

Road Trip: Northern Chile Altiplano

| by Jason | 35 Comments » | Adventures, Chile, South America

Monumento Natural Salar de Surire

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! (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…)

Photo of the Day: Lake Chungara in Northern Chile’s Altiplano

| by Jason | No Comments » | Photo of the Day

Lake Chungará is situated in northern Chile, in Tarapacá Region

Lake Chungará is situated in northern Chile, in Tarapacá Region. It is the 29th highest lake in the world (and the 10th highest in South America). It is near the volcanos Parinacota (20,827 feet or 6,348 meters) and Pomerape (20,413 feet or 6,222 meters). It was formed 8000 years ago, when a major collapse of the edifice of Parinacota produced an avalanche of 6km³ of debris which blocked drainage pattern, thus creating the lake.

The situation of this lake is not very stable due to environmental issues nowadays, especially concerning potable water supply to dense population. See the state on August 9, 2024. – Wikipedia