Clos Apalta is an oenophile’s paradise, a tranquil retreat where visitors can live and breathe wine. Nestled into a forested hillside of Chile’s Colchagua Valley, the winery and lodge was founded by the Marnier-Lopostolle family and has the reputation of being one of the country’s leading wine producers. The winery itself is beautiful. There are dug into the granite hillside providing a cool environment for the wine to age. Photo by: JC Viens

At the heart of the building is a dramatic spiral staircase that resembles wine being poured into a glass. Visitors can watch how the wine are created as well as taste some of them. Photo by: Daniel Perches

Four luxury casitas are within staggering distance of the winery, each with its own hot tub, fireplace, king-sized bed, and terrace. These plush pads are equipped with fully stocked fridges and iPod sound system. The food there is taken as seriously as the wine, with a local chef preparing gourmet meals, washed down with glasses of the vineyards’s finest wines. The 450 -acre vineyard can be explored on horseback or admired from the comfort of the infinity pool. Photo by: acchen

Photo by: acchen

Over 400 red umbrellas gathered in the city of Talca, Chile next to the new pedestrian mall structure. The event is simple – a visual impression of the inhabitants of a city, which it is uncommon to see daring displays in public spaces. The project was based on the autonomy of the form, space, schedule, construction and structure.

The whole notion and design were done by students Jaime Latorre and Pablo Retamal of the 5th Year Architecture Workshop under the guidance of Professor Juan Roman at the University of Talca’s School of Architecture.

The project, didn’t have any functional idea. It is just done to make people think differently about landscapes by adding a new layer of experience to it. The total budget is 26 million dollars and the visual effect of the Red Umbrella Project is huge, inspiring and remarkable as well.

The event was part of the urban landscape 62 hours. Information was diffused through flyers and radio. Four spheres, constructed from grey umbrellas, were assembled and hung along Talca’s main street within sight of each other to point towards the “Plaza de Armas.”

The 2010 Dakar is on the territories of Argentina and Chile and promises to each kind of driver a sequence adapted to their qualities. The long stay in the Atacama Desert will be the exciting point of a 9000 kilometres loop through the continent. But the global balance of the course with varied difficulties force all to be consistent and careful to the end. The days will be long and not only in road section. The most skillful competitors will find an opportunity to build on a position from which they will be able to capitalize. 

The road is as one of the most beautiful in the world will serve as a break before jumping on a detailed exploration of the Atacama Desert. The driest part of the world that the competitors will this time discover all the way to the city of Iquique, is the kingdom of dune crossings. During five stages, cut by a rest day at Antofagasta, the riders and crews will head to the north of Chile where off-road mileage will be considerable. It will be without doubt the toughest part of the rally, with reduced road sections: the stop watch will never stop. 

The riders and drivers of the Dakar will experienced a rich diversity of landscapes. From Argentina where the competitors got a first taste of their passion, to Cordoba, where the aficionados of the traditional round of the WRC turned out in force, the rally’s popularity remained constant. Argentinian flag is carried by Orlando Terranova, at the wheel of a BMW X3. Long and thin, Chile is the next with its Pacific Ocean coast and the Andes chain of mountains. Over such a huge length all types of climate are present, as well as many different types of relief. 

From the first to the last, staying focused is the key. There are always withdrawals just a few lengths away from the finish. The last 206 kilometres  covered on very fast tracks  have to be taken extremely carefully. At the finish, the heroes of this 32nd edition will at first be celebrated in the village of San Carlos de Bolivar. The aficionados, aware that the most intense moments of joy occur on the line, will certainly have come in numbers. After the finish, the competitors will drive to Buenos Aires where a huge crowd will be expecting them for more glorious moments. Photos by: Natacha Pisarenko.

For more information and extremely awesome pics click here

At the southern tip of Chile, islands and icebergs feather around the tip of the mainland, and channels and stairs carve routes from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Along Chile’s west or Pacific coast, the fjords are as deep and dramatic as their northern counterparts, but with the addition of near total isolation, ice-blue icebergs, and only a handful of native people. Photo by: Marylou Badeaux

The breathtaking remote area holds be-inlets, snowcapped mountains, pristine wilderness, and breaching whales, and it is not difficult to see what make a trip there so special. In our busy world, where everything is only a click of mouse away, just getting there is an organizational feat. The 1,100 km take around four days to travel a leisurely pace, allowing you to stop and notice the smallest details, like dolphins following in the wake of the boat and seals playing along the shore. Photo by: The World by Road

Albatross, giant petrel, and Magellan penguins are just there of the delights for bird-watchers. As the cruise ship anchors, you can take a canoe to explore the islands and inlets nearby. It is charming area, dotted with wildlife and very few visitors. Just a handful of fishing villages stud the coastline, and penguin colonies number more than people in many areas. As night falls the Milky Way stands out brightly in the black sky. Photo by: The World by Road

Photo by: luckypenguin

In 1982 when scientists first measured Earth’s magnetic field by satellite, they found our planet’s center to be in central Chile’s dry Elqui Valley. So it should come as no surprise that, this magnetic epicenter was chosen to be the site for the construction of one of only seven astronomic hotels in the southern hemisphere. Photo by: J.R. Gast

The accommodation is very futuristic. The creator, Arthur C. Clarke represent a brand new approach to environmentally sensitive tourism. Elqui Domos is a collection of seven geodesic domes, each having two levels. The living area and bathroom are below, whereas the bedroom above has a removable window in the ceiling to allow observation of the night sky. Photo by: J.R. Gast

A telescope is provided in each dome, just to ensure you never lose sight of the reason for coming there. Each dome has its own terrace with views of a more terrestrial nature. Photo by: J.R. Gast

Hotel staff can organize activities such as horseback riding and mountain biking, or a visit to vineyard or the home of Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral to fill up the daylight hours until the sun goes down and the exciting stuff begins. Astronomy courses and abundance of astronomic literature are available, as are hammocks and outdoor wooden bathtubs in which to read. A number of international observatories are in the area, featuring the Mamalluca amateur observatory, which welcomes visitors. Photo by: J.R. Gast

Photo by: Eduardo S.Garcés

Hotel de Larache is cobbled together from 20 small farming plots, drawing inspiration from the traditional estancias of northern Chile. Set in the oasis of San Pedro within the Atacama Desert, it offers guests the opportunity to explore the region’s unique landscape. 105 km from Calama in the Atacama Desert. This hotel, very shortly after its opening was chosen amongst the 100 best hotels in the world!

Hotel de Larache has 52 luxury spacious rooms with Jacuzzi, sitting rooms and ample natural light with wood and tile accents and plush linens. Far superior in style, these airy rooms afford about 50% more space.

Hotel Amenities: Outdoor pool and sauna, Massage services, Dining room with exquisite cuisine, Private stables, Gift shop, Library with books and maps, Laundry, Internet facilities. Meeting room for 70 persons.

Open Bar. Including alcoholic drinks and a wide selection of wines. 

Every day different excursions are offered: by bike, on foot, on horseback or in a group of max. There are few places on earth, where a dream of luxury and adventure will come true!

The two thousand square kilometres Atacama Desert, in northern Chile, is one of the most arid in the world. Some 10 km away from San Pedro, Valle de Luna should not be missed. As the sun sinks below the horizon, experience  wonder f the area and its close resemblance to the the lunar landscape.

One interesting area with stones and sand formations that per millenia the floods and the winds have given it a series of colors and texture to the desert.

It contrasts with the eerily silent landscape of the nearby Valley of the Moon with its tiny but beautiful salt ponds and the backdrop of snow-capped volcanoes.

It is a small depression of salt ground, 1,650 feet (500 m) in diameter, that exhibits odd sculptural shapes.

You can also walk to the top of a little mountain to watch the amazing sunset and the colors of the Atacama desert.

In fact, Moon Valley is a place of peace. Hot but calm and very quiet!

Hotels in tree houses are not a new concept, but The Magic Mountain Hotel is not just another hotel. Located within the Huilo Huilo Private Natural Reserve, Chile, it is without a doubt one of most unique hotels in South America. This exclusive lodge is shaped like a volcano and complete with every modern comfort.

The hotel is decorated in a natural and cozy mountain style with local wood and stone. Windows, walls, doors and stairs are all carved out of the local rustic woods. Large windows of the hotel add warm tones to the wood.  Each nine room is named for a different local species of bird and all of them have private well-equipped bathrooms.

The major attraction here is hot Tubs in the Forest, made of huge trunks of trees. They are filled with hot water and are set on a platform overlooking the forest. This is really a place to take a very good glass wine and relax.
The hotel facilities include: a restaurant with local specialties, bar, sauna, mini-golf court and internet access. Mountain Area’s Activities: hiking, trekking, horseback riding, rafting and mountain biking.

Example price at double rooms:
December / March: CLP 87,000
September / November: CLP 79,000
April / August: CLP 66,000

1 CLP (Chilean Peso) = 0.00177 USD (American Dollar)

It is not possible to get to Easter Island, without traveling a long distance. For example if you live in New York City you will travel to Santiago, Chile (almost 12 hours), probably you should rest a day and then catching another jet plane 5 hours into the Pacific to reach your goal. The adventure trip will be an hour shorter if you live in New Zealand, but don’t count on it.

Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. The island is a special territory of Chile.

Easter Island (10 miles by 15 miles) was formed eons ago by three massive volcanoes rising from the sea. Most of the island is strewn with stone, with jagged cliffs for a coastline. The island is also strewn with over 800 gigantic and breathtaking statues averaging over 20 feet high. Only a relative few of these are upright and in original placement, but many of the rest can be seen and visited, half buried or prone. The experience is very much like visiting a fiction we have not imagined.

The island was settled — probably about A.D. 700.

There are several hundred free-roaming horses on the island, families mostly, and they often share the roads with you but are thoughtful in moving aside. There are 10 or 12 hotels, the most desirable one being the Hotel O’TAI, with lovely gardens, comfortable rooms, a pool, good breakfast, a friendly staff and reasonable rates. The people who live on Easter Island are friendly and often very beautiful.

This glass salon has the functionality of a reading room and exhibition space in the Lounge Founders of the National Library in Chile. The salon is surrounded by silkscreen chosen by the Library.

The silkscreen has two sides of the element, with text that enable its reading on both sides, which gives a more ambiguous character as a fabric.

The glass salon is divided into two areas, exhibition space and reading space. This generates into the visitor a better predisposition before accessing the study area.

The project is fantastic because maintains the morphology of the living room in the Library. Also is cultural and gives to the students cosy, warm place with great lighting atmosphere, where to spend their studies and researches.

The Arrebol Patagonia Hotel is located in the forest area of Puerto Varas, Chile just on the south-east border of Llanquihue Lake. The area is amazing full with native trees, lagoons, ravines and little rivers.

 

The hotel is built on a big slope and has the best view of the city, lake and horizon. The two principal materials are steel and reinforced concrete. The windows are made of Rauli (native tree), but the most innovative detail is the heating that works with geo thermic energy.

 

The hotel is composed by elements from the region, that’s why you may see a wooden paneling outside and inside the building.

 

Arrebol Patagonia Hotel is a peaceful place, where tourists could have the chance for total relaxation. The hotel offers 7 chill-zones with beautiful greenery and music for the soul.

 

Each room is stylish decorated with soft colors, comfortable furniture and of course latest technology from iPod shuffle to jazz music in your bathroom.

 

One of the coolest activities in the world to refresh oneself is to bath in a hot spring into the wild. This will happened if you plan a trip to the Geometric Hot Springs, which are sixty springs of pure hot thermal water. They are located in the middle of native forests of the Villarrica National Park in Chile.

To be easy to bath with pleasure in the midst of wild nature, 17 pools were created with red wooden paths and ramp. For sure you won’t trip, while walking to dive into springs. Neither would you slip because the path is heated with thermal water, that runs under it, prepares you for the ‘’big jump’’!

Around these springs, there’s meeting place (‘’quincho’’) built up of pure wood, where you can sit and chat with your friends after a refreshing bath.

The experience to enjoy such a bath lets you to leave all worries and enjoy the pleasure of the bath or to observe the nature.

This is an incredible place in one an incredible country – Chile!

Explora Hotel in Atacama, Chile invites travelers to make a life pause. This wondering hotel offers to visitors to go out and experience its natural and cultural richness and return every evening back to comfort.

Atacama or San Pedro de Atacama is 34,000 acres cultivated oasis, inhabited for more than two thousand years. The hotel takes some distance from existing settlements. It also has pre-Colombian style of the structures- a town without the use of streets.

 The hotel buildings are a sequence of interior and exterior places, where the public and the private are not very well defined.

Guest rooms are raised 3’over the ground level, to have a view of the whole oasis, the mountains and the horizons beyond. The interior of the hotel is very soft and gives a rest to the eyes after a long day spent in the sunshine. The broken lines and forms of the structures give life to things.

 To temperate the place, water runs through places and terraces, while breeze cools down in the void spaces.

This is a natural hotel, which is attracted by the movement of light like ocean waves lead to nowhere.

Patagonia is a geographical region of South America. Mostly located in Argentina and partly in Chile. Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park is one of the destinations that draws trekkers to Patagonia.

Tourism in torres del Paine has raised in the recent years with North Americans. A tour group from the Exploralodge in the park.

Hikers being transferred to a boat on Lago Grey. This is the only one place with glaceries accessible in Patagonia.

Guanacos in Torres del Paine National Park.

A variaion of a lady’s slipper on the trail.

Remota is a spectacular structure situated in Puerto Natales, an old fishing town in Patagonia, which is the latest hotel project from the Chilean green architect Germàn del Sol. It is all about minimizing the footprint, minimizing the silhouette, maximizing the impact of the place rather than the building.

 

Remota is a hotel made from wood, asphalt, slate and a bit like a bunker, albeit a stylized one. Interiors, however, are less severe, and not at all bunker-like; plenty of rich unfinished wood, plenty of organic curves and imperfections. The views aren’t quite sublime — the building’s low profile sees to that — but the windows allowed roomsto be bath in a steep-angled Patagonian sunshine.

The breathtaking Chile’s landscapes are meant to be enjoyed from outdoors. Every kind of excursions are available, from casual walkabouts to more rigorous tours, and at the end of the day you can sink back into what is as much a luxury hotel as it is an eco-lodge, complete with sauna, infinity pool, jacuzzi, massage, and a restaurant serving local channel and ocean fish, local farmers’ produce, and an assortment of Chilean wines.