Chile is country of striking contrasts and extreme beauty, ranging from volcanic tops of Andes to ancient woods in Lake District. There are so many facilities for nice and adventurous travelling.

Chile is justly famous as the location of Torres del Paine, considered by many to be the finest nature travel destinations in South America.

A short history of Chile

Chile is originally populated by Arauca Indians. From 1536 to 1540 on major parts of the area were garrisoned by Spanish and incorporated in the Vice-Royality of Peru.

Like the name Captaincy-General of Chile the area became in 1778 a separate dependency. In 1810 Chile declared itself independent, but Spain recaptured Chile in 1814. In 1818 finally Chile gained independence in 1818 as the State of Chile and it renamed Republic of Chile in 1826. Since 1871 Chile got an alternation in power and president of the Partido Liberal was elected. The liberals were in power until 1891. That year the military grabbed power. Liberal rule was restored in 1896 and Chile became more or less a democratic republic.After some interim presidencies Arturo Alessandri Palma became president in 1932.

A strong party, the Partido Radical, emerged. It became the key force in alliance governments for the next 20 years. In the first two years of the rule of Videla three ministers were communists, but in 1948 Gonzáles banned the communist party. He was succeeded in 1952 by former dictator Carlos Ibánez del Campo, mainly supported by the nationalist Partido Agrario Laborista, but also by far left-wing parties like the Partido Socialista Popular.

In 1973 the army staged a coup against the Marxist government and Chile became a military dictatorship with Augusto Pinochet Ugarte as the president. It was in 1974. All political parties were prohibited. In 1990 the presidential parliamentary democracy was restored. In 1999 the CPD backs Ricardo Lagos Escóbar, member of both the Partido por la Democracia, who won the 1999/2000 presidential elections.

Geografy

It is a long and narrow coastal country on the west side of Andes Mountains. Chile extends over 4,630 kilometres from north to south, but only maximum 430 kilometres from east to west. It's comparable in size to the Turkey.

North side of Atacama Desert includes huge mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. Southern Chile is rich in woods, pastures, and includes chain of volcanoes and lakes. Southern coast is labyrinth of fiords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. Andes Mountains are stationed in the eastern border. Chile is the longest (N - S) country in the world (over 4,200 km).

Chile controls Easter Island and Suck y Gomez Island, easternmost islands in Polynesia. They were incorporated to its territories in 1888.