Recently, I took my first trip down to Chile. I visited the largest city in Chile, Santiago. The airport in Santiago is quite impressive and recently opened in 2021. The area around Santiago reminded me of my travels to Arizona, as there are many mountains and also a desert like appearance of the vegetation. The Santiago airport is only a short 20 minute ride to the city center.
Chile was originally a Spanish colony, so in the heart of the city is a large park like plaza, Plaza de Armas, which is surrounded by all the important buildings from the colonial days. These include City Hall, the Post Office, and the Government Center which is now a really cool museum about Chilean history. Another feature of Spanish colonial influence is the large cathedral which also borders Plaza de Armas. The Santiago Cathedral is over 225 years old and contains magnificent art.
Chile has quite an interesting political history. In the 1970s to the 1990s it was ruled by the dictator, Pinochet. As I was walking around downtown Santiago, I saw the current home of the Chilean Supreme Court which is a short walk from the former congressional building. Interestingly enough, during one of these times of political upheaval, Chile moved its Congress from meeting in Santiago to the second largest town of the country, Valparaiso. Valparaiso along the Pacific Ocean and is about 90 minutes from Santiago.
Transitioning from the old to the new, Santiago is also home to the largest skyscraper in South America, Gran Torre Costanera. This building is the approximate height of the Eifel Tower and soars 62 stories above the city. It is a quick elevator ride to the top with two floors of 360 degree lookout. The top floor also does not contain a roof so it is completely open-air. The view is incredible of the Andres mountains which borders the city to the North and East of the city. The Andres is the tallest mountain chain outside of Asia, and the longest in the world.
Another must-see is going to the San Cristobal Hill. At the top of this hill is a large statute of Virgin Mary. The hill also provides an incredible view of Santiago with the Andres in the background. Getting to the top of the hill is an adventure in itself. There are two many ways to travel if you don’t want to hike – the cable car and also the incline. The incline was built 100 years ago and contains open air cars that glide up a track to the top of the mountain. The cable car is the more modern system that has a midpoint stop alongside the mountain and individualized pods that allow for some great photography.
While English is not common in Chile, I found getting around quite easy using American rideshare applications such as Uber. I never had to wait long for a vehicle and did not have any issues making many stops in and around Santiago.