Historical & Cultural Landmarks in Chile

Caleta Tortel is a picturesque lumber town in Capitán Prat Province, Chile's eighth-largest and fourth-least-populated province. With no conventional streets, the town features an intricate walkway system made of cypress wood, which has become part of the town's culture and a local tourist attraction.

Located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the Los Lagos Region in southern Chile, Chiloé Island is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago. From pastoral landscapes to iconic wooden churches, Chiloé is known for its distinctive folklore, cuisine and architecture.

The Churches of Chiloé are found in the Chiloé Archipelago, off the coast of Chile's Los Lagos Region. Here are about 70 churches built within the framework of a "Circular Mission" introduced by the Jesuits in the 17th century and continued by the Franciscans in the 18th and 19th centuries.

There were as many as 80 simple churches built on Chile's high-altitude Altiplano plateau. These "Churches of the Altiplano" were built by Spanish missionaries seeking to convert the local people of the area. Today, some 50 small adobe churches survive in the settlements along this passage.

Easter Island lies at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. It is famous for its monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui National Park is a protected Chilean wildlife area and UNESCO World Heritage Site on Easter Island.

The Historic Quarter of Valparaíso presents an excellent example of urban architectural development in Latin America. Built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, its labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways embody a rich architectural and cultural legacy.

Humberstone and Santa Laura contain over 200 former saltpeter works where workers from Chile, Peru and Bolivia lived in company towns and forged a distinctive communal pampinos culture. That culture is manifest in their rich language, creativity, solidarity, and their pioneering struggle for social justice.

La Moneda Palace is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers and occupies an entire block in downtown Santiago, in an area known as the Civic District. It was the site of a 1973 military coup d'état against President Salvador Allende.

The Maipo Valley is one of Chile's most important wine-producing regions. Located at the very northern end of Chile's extensive Central Valley, the region extends eastwards from the city of Santiago, Chile's capital, to the Andes and westward toward the Pacific coast.

Sewell, an outstanding example of a company town, is a deserted Chilean mining town located on the slopes of the Andes. It was built by the Braden Copper Co. to house workers at what was to become the world’s largest underground copper mine, El Teniente.