All Chile

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Chile

87 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Chile

Updated June 26, 2024

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Top Cities
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  1. Antofagasta
  2. Arica
  3. Concepción
  4. Copiapó
  5. Panguipulli
  6. Punta Arenas
  7. Rapa Nui
  8. San Pedro De Atacama
  9. Santiago
  10. Valdivia
  11. Valparaiso
  12. Viña Del Mar

Unusual Attractions in Chile

See All 87 Things To Do in Chile

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Chile

See all 5 Places to Eat in Chile
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Explore Chile

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Museums 11
Geology 8
Architecture 8
Nature 8
History 8
Natural Wonders 6
Art 6
Ecosystems 6

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Stories About Chile

Podcast: A Rogue Trip with Amir Siraj

Travel with us to the Atacama Desert in search of a unique observatory.
by The Podcast Team
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Beyond the Moai

by AO Puzzles
A bathymetric map shows the Solito Seamount off the coast of Chile. Scientists on a recent expedition found isolated seamounts like these to hold distinct ecosystems, including thriving deep-sea coral reefs and sponge gardens.

Every Time They're Found, Underwater Volcanoes Just Burst With Life

New discoveries off the Chilean coast include dozens of species new to science.
by Robin George Andrews
Leopardus guigna, or kodkod, is the smallest wild cat in the Americas, and is often smaller than an average house cat.

The Smallest Wild Cat in the Americas Is Also the Cutest Bad Omen

In rural Chile, the kodkod, or güiña, has a bad rep for stealing chickens—and as a portent of death and disaster.
by Roxanne Hoorn
NASA satellites captured this ephemeral moment as open- and closed-cell marine stratocumulus clouds formed and dispersed over the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 miles west of Chile, in August 2022.

Marine Stratocumulus Clouds May Be the Most Important Clouds on Earth

These common formations create abstract designs and reveal important patterns of environmental change, big and small.
by Gemma Tarlach
Navarino Island, in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the southern tip of South America, where people have thrived since the end of the last ice age. Archaeologists scouring the landscape are bringing the past to life—and it’s richer and more complex than has been imagined.

The Rise of the Yaghan, Indigenous People of Tierra del Fuego Once Declared 'Extinct'

Long relegated to historical oblivion, this reinvigorated community is now pursuing deeper stories about their ancestors.
by Jude Isabella
In Chile, the Alerce Milenario may be more than 5,000 years old, making it the oldest known tree in the world.

Is the World's Oldest Tree This Stately Cypress in Chile?

The towering Alerce Milenario may be more than 5,000 years old, but it's just one of several contenders for the title.
by Eden Arielle Gordon
A white Chilean strawberry.

The Fight to Save Chile's Glorious White Strawberry

The ancestor of the big red strawberry is in peril.
by Mark Johanson

Lists Featuring Chile

ALMA.
The observatory.
Ulugh Beg Observatory.

20 Out-of-This-World Stargazing Spots

These observatories boast truly stellar views.

20

Including Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), National Observatory of Colombia, and Pic du Midi Observatory

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