PRESS KIT Chile Is a Land of Diversity and Contrasts
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PRESS KIT Chile is a land of diversity and contrasts. Its geography distinguishes it from other destina- tions. It’s a tri-continental country, possessing territories in America, Antarctica and Oceania. Its territory runs 4,300 kilometers along a nar- row strip between the Andes Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean. It also offers a wonderfully varied mix of land- scapes and climates that range from natural wonders like the most arid desert in the world, to glaciers and straits in the Pacific Ocean. There A WORLD CLASS are few experiences as rewarding as admiring TOURIST DESTINATION gigantic masses of ice, or contemplating one of the clearest skies on the planet. The country is divided into five geographic and climatic zones. The north, marked by the presence of the Atacama Desert; Santiago and the Central Valley, characterized by its Mediterranean climate; the southern zone of lakes, rivers and volcanoes; the extreme south, which includes the Chilean Patagonia and the Antarctic territory; and, finally, the islands, with highlights including Easter Island, Robinson Crusoe, and Chiloé. PRESSKIT ENGLISH INDEX A. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHILE C. TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES 5. HEALTH & WELLBEING Ventisquero Puyuhuapi 1. INTRODUCTION 1. SPORTS AND ADVENTURE Hot springs at Puritama 2. LOCATION Exploring “Torres del Paine” National Park 3. WHY CHILE? Volcanoes and salt flats at “San Pedro de Atacama” 4. WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CHILE Fly fishing in rivers and fjords 6. URBAN LIFE Getting lost in the hills of Valparaiso 2. NATURAL INSPIRATION Puerto Natales and its culinary renaissance The colors of the flowering desert B. A DESCRIPTION OF THE “MACROZONES” OF CHILE Roaming the neighborhoods of the Chilean capital Trips to the White Continent Complete R & R next to Llanquihue Lake 1. THE NORTH AND THE ATACAMA DESERT 2. EASTER ISLAND, ROBINSON CRUSOE AND CHILOÉ D. WHAT IS “TURISMO CHILE” 3. WINES & FLAVORS 3. SANTIAGO AND CENTRAL CHILE The pisco trail in the Valle del Elqui 4. LAKES, RIVERS, AND VOLCANOES The vineyards of Maipo by bicycle 5. THE PATAGONIA Flavors of the Sea E. CONTACT US 4. CULTURE AND HERITAGE The amazing culture of Easter Island The colors of the “Tirana” Festival Chile as a world astronomical power PRESSKIT ENGLISH 2. LOCATION GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHILE Chile is located in the extreme southwest of The Chilean Antarctic territory is clearly polar, Latin America, parallel to the long mountai- while the island territories generally have a ERT S nous spine of the Andes. It extends from top subtropical climate. The main airport in Chile to bottom between 17º29’57’ and 56º32’ south is Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport latitude, and shares borders with Peru to the in Santiago, which has direct connections to all due to European immigration from Germany, north, Bolivia to the northeast, the Pacific the capitals of South America, along with ma- England, Ireland, Italy, and Croatia, amongst GENERAL Ocean to the west, Argentina to the east, and jor cities in North America, Europe, Australia, others. Despite the fact that Chile was the last fades into Cape Horn on the way to Antarctica and Asia, with the national airline called LAN THE NORTH & THE ATACAMA DE ATACAMA THE & NORTH THE country to be conquered by Europeans, indige- Official Name in the south. being the most active company offering flights 1. INTRODUCTION nous peoples today only represent 4.6% of the República de Chile to international destinations. Sky Airlines is a THE ONE Chilean population. The primary group resides Capital Chile also has island territories in the Pacific company which offers domestic routes within & Z O The government of Chile is a multiparty de- in the region of the Araucanía: the Mapuche Santiago de Chile Ocean, such as the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile and some routes in South America. G Population mocracy whose president is elected directly (“people of the earth”), with a little more than the Islands of Sala y Gómez and the “Desventu- ANTIA 17.248.450 inhabitants (june 2011) S central by a majority of the voters in a first or second 600,000 members, make up 87% of the total radas” (meaning unfortunate in Spanish as they All flights originating from outside the country Total Surface S S voting round. Presidential terms last for 4 years, native population. Other smaller native groups are uninhabited), as well as the better known arrive first at the Arturo Merino Benítez Inter- S 756.096 Square km ER V and presidents cannot be reelected to a second exist, such as the Aymara in the north, the Density Easter Island (geographically and culturally national Airport of Santiago, and from there RI S, S, olcanoe 22,62 hab/km2 E consecutive term. Chonos and Huilliches, known worldwide for considered Polynesian), bringing the country’s flights can be taken to various points across the K & V & la The main export industries in Chile are mining their hospitality on the island of Chiloé, and Official Language total land mass to 756,096 square kilometers. country. Domestic flights include the following S Spanish LAND (especially copper), forestry and wood products, the Yamanes and Alacalufes in the Patagonia Besides the extensive desert territory and the destinations: Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Cala- S Religion I wine, fishing, fruits, and fresh flowers. Chile and “Tierra del Fuego.” As for Easter Island, its 86% christian / catholic majestic Patagonia, the country also claims a ma, Copiapó, La Serena, Concepción, Temuco, has signed 56 different types of treaties (19 free indigenous population numbers approxima- Coin strip of the Antarctic continent, comprising Valdivia, Osorno, Puerto Montt, Balmaceda y Chilean Peso trade agreements, 28 economic association tely 3,800, and they are considered ethnically 1,250,257.6 square kilometers, known as the Punta Arenas. TH Literacy Rate U O agreements, 7 economic complementation Polynesian. Its members speak Rapa Nui, their 96% Chilean Antarctic Territory, bounded by 53rd S agreements, and 2 partial agreements) with native tongue, as well as Spanish. Politic Regime to the 90th west meridian, and stretching Entertainment and cultural options have pro- TREME Democratic, presidential. Elections every 4 years X nations such as the United States, Japan, Chi- In terms of national religious beliefs, 70% of the down to the South Pole itself. Due to terri- gressively diversified what Chile has to offer to E Territorial Division THE na, or economic blocs like Mercosur and the country considers itself Catholic, 15% Protestant torial possessions being spread across these tourists, such as a number of festivals throug- 15 regions, subdivided into 52 provinces. AND European Union. or Evangelical, 1% Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the three continental areas, Chile defines itself as hout the year, which blend old traditions with rest are statistically insignificant. Literacy rates a “tricontinental” country. avant garde arts and masterpieces. A cuisine ONIA G The true origin of the word “Chile” is unknown, in Chile are high, at 96%. The economic growth that starts with fresh seafood as its base is a ata P however, it is believed the term is derived from and prosperity of the 1990s helped produce a The country’s capital is Santiago, situated unique feature that is present in hundreds of the quechua o aymara “chili,” which means flourishing middle class, and the poverty index at 2,062 kilometers from the northernmost restaurants from north to south. “confine” or “end of the world”…or possibly an stands at about 17%. regional capital (Arica) and 3,090 kilometers imitation of a bird call, “chilay, chilay.” Another from the southernmost regional capital (Punta This culinary affair is amplified by a wide variety 90° 53° version of the word’s origin comes from the Arenas). The city was founded in 1541 by the of wines originating in the country’s northern Incas, since it is said that when the Spanish Spanish explorer Pedro de Valdivia and today valleys, central area, and increasingly (within explorer Diego de Almagro started his overland contains the densest urban conglomerate of the the last 5 years or so) from small vineyards in THE CHILEAN ANTARCTIC expedition south (from Peru), the Incas told country, with a little over 7 million inhabitants. the south. Varietals range from the whites PENINSUla him he was going to “Tchili,” meaning “cold” or These defining extremes in longitude explain Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the valleys “snow.” The last 2 versions date to the 18th cen- the incredible variety of climates found within of Limarí, Casablanca, Leyda, and Bio Bio along tury: one is from Abate Molina, author of a book Chile. While in the north an arid climate pre- with the red grapes Carmenère, Cabernet Sau- called “A Listing of the Geographic, Natural, and vails, with annual averages of 20 degrees Celsius vignon and Syrah from the valleys of Maipo, Civil History of Chile,” which claims that the (sometimes with huge differences between Colchagua, Maule, and Curicó. word comes from term “Trih” or “Chih,” which daily highs that can reach 30 degrees Celsius was what the indigenous used as a name for and nightly lows bordering the freezing point) a bird with yellow specks; the second version and little to no rain, the central portion of the coming from the writer Diego de Rosales, who country clearly has a Mediterranean climate, affirmed that “Chile” was the name of an Indian with four identifiably separate seasons, except chief from the Aconcagua Valley. The majority in the highest of altitudes in the Andes. Towards of the population of Chile is “mestizo,” or mi- the south the climate becomes very wet, and xed blood, thanks to the union of indigenous in the southernmost extremes some areas can peoples with Spanish colonists, and, later on, be classified as having a cold steppe climate, allowing significant snowfall during the winter.