Why Travel to Chile

Author : Unwild Planet

When you think of South America, what destinations come to your mind? Brazil, Argentina, Peru maybe. While these are fabulous places to visit, there are a whole lot of untouched paradises in South America. One of which we want to introduce to you today. A long stretch of land, with 6000 km of Pacific coastline called Chile.

Why Chile?

Simply because Chile will blow your mind. It is quite rare to find wilderness so intact and so diverse anywhere else. Take our word for it, the country guards some of the most pristine parts of our planet.

With spectacular fjords, great lakes, impressive mountains, and glorious glaciers, Chile is nature’s favorite playground, and Torres del Paine national park and Rapa Nui National Park (Easter Island) are leading examples of it
Chile is also home to the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert. Probably one of the oldest deserts in the world, some regions here have never received a drop of rain
The country boasts of some of the clearest night skies in the Southern Hemisphere. Northern Chile is the place to be for gazing upward due to low light pollution and more than 300 annual days of clear weather.
Chile is a hiker's paradise, in addition to its many national parks, you can also walk on glaciers here at Patagonia’s Exploradores glacier or trek the ice-filled volcano of Sollipulli in southern Chile.
But Chile is not just all nature, the country also boasts of a rich heritage and culture and has over 5 UNESCO heritage sites that narrate the story of our civilization that is carefully threaded into the majestic landscape of the country.

Need more reasons? The Chilean government is committed to sustainable tourism, in line with our vision of rethinking travel and leaving a positive impact on the place and the community. So much so that they have formed a body that certifies and awards sustainable tourism ventures and sanctions companies who cross the line.

And also, visiting a lesser-known place like Chile comes with a lot of benefits, imagine lesser crowds and easy access to the unbridled and untouched wilderness!

How will I leave a positive impact?

Here’s how you can leave a positive impact on chile, its places, communities, and people.

The destruction of native forests due to industrialization has a deep ecological impact on Chile. By creating a revenue stream for national parks and forests through entrance fees and tours, we can make the unregulated sale of land appear less appealing to the government.
Visiting local communities, staying with the locals, and empowering them by creating livelihoods via travel will give the locals a bigger voice against the billionaire entrepreneurs and multinationals
Visiting a lesser-known destination, and listening to people’s stories will turn tourists into advocates for the destination, indirectly contributing to the conversation efforts by raising awareness and starting conversations.

How do we play a part?

While the government and travelers have a part to play, tour operators hold the key to making things happen. At Unwild Planet we do our bit by

Carefully choose local providers and guides for the quality and authenticity of their services. We pay them fairly and equitably.
Working with the locals and identifying problems like water shortages, plastic pollution, and waste disposal and ensuring we choose local operators and accommodations that take care of all three.
Encouraging visitors to favor alternatives to major tourist sites, allows us to work with local, sometimes isolated communities.
Supporting all national park systems and paying the full fee.
Choose operators who only allow for non-invasive wildlife watching and keep a respectable distance from the wildlife

Like many travel enthusiasts, we are concerned about the impact we leave behind. That’s why at Unwild Planet, we rethink travel, and we encourage our visitors to rethink travel. We plan our trips in a way and to places where our footprints are negated through positive actions towards the community, its people, and the destination. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.