Gastronomic trip Chile – Part 2

Valparaíso

Valparaíso, known for its San Francisco-like hills and traditional, colourful houses, is a known city in the Chilean tourist trail. Valparaíso has a more South-American feel than Santiago (with the latter being quite modern/Western) and the main attractions can easily be done in one day.

After a solid walk through the city and the harbour, a traditional seafood lunch, and some time off in the spa of the Palacio Astoreca hotel, we were ready for our next dinner at Alegre restaurant. Alegre is one of Chile’s most upcoming restaurants and we had a great dinner with very well executed dishes, spot-on flavours and a memorable mixture between Chilean ingredients and international preparation techniques. Discover the full review here.

Atacama

The last two days of our trip were spent in the Atacama Desert of Chile. This surreal region is located in the far North of Chile and covers a 1,000-kilometre area between the Pacific coast, just a few kilometres from the Peruvian border. It is the driest non-polar place in the world and most of the area is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes. The Atacama Desert has been compared to Mars because of its otherworldly appearance and many space movies have been filmed here. It is also a region where many scientific tests and experiments (by for example NASA) are held.

The desert is in the top 3 of touristic activities in Chile and several interesting areas can be visited in the region, such as the ‘Valle de la Luna’ (Moon Valley), ‘Salar de Atacama’ (Atacama salt flat) and the El Tatio geyser field.

The town of San Pedro de Atacama (which lies on 2000m height) is where most tourists stay to visit the sights. In recent years, dozens of hotels and exceptional lodges in and around the village have been constructed. We stayed at the beautiful Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa, a truly beautiful lodge that has been perfectly integrated into its surroundings.

Valparaíso and Atacama

Palacio Astoreca Hotel

Alegre Restaurante

Alto Atacama