Exploring Valparaiso

After our experience in Santiago, we decided to stick to Tour 4 Tips in Valparaiso as well to explore the city. They have 2 tours – Valparaiso Offbeat at 10am and Valparaiso Highlights at 3pm. Both start from Plaza Sotomayor, a central square in the city which can be easily reached by taking a local bus from the main bus terminal.  We had time for only one, so opted for the Offbeat tour, which covers Downtown areas and offers you a glimpse of murals.

At 10am you will find the Guides waiting at the Square dressed bright Red-White striped shirts – who refer themselves as Wally’s – Like Where’s Wally. Once its 10am, groups are formed and after short introductions they take you for Walking tour of Valparaiso. They are friendly, informative and will immerse you in history without boring you (Well, except when they start discussing Pinochet & Allende).

Valparaíso is very famous for its Murals and Graffiti. While Mural is considered an Art form done with permission, Graffiti is vandalism. The guides take you through neighbourhoods having both. A few snapshots from the tour below.

You also get to ride two major forms of transport – the old Trolleybus and the City Bus – with the Guides and group. The Tour finishes at their office, located in an old classic Apartment . You get to taste Jote – Wine+Coke drink – as you conclude the tour The tour is offered for free and if you like their services, you can tip them at the end. They neither force you or emotionally appeal to you to get the tip! You also get to ask any questions regarding the city and get free maps and directions.

Exploring the City on our own

Post a quick lunch at an Asian Restaurant – Tokyo House – we went about exploring the city on our own. There were two items on our list. First, to ride the Historic funiculars and then enjoy the famed colourful houses in the Historic Quarter.

First was the Funicular. The Guide told us beautiful one was located near the main square – Concepción. In operation since 1833, this is a small ride for 300CLP one way.

Riding the funicular brings you to Cerro Concepción, a hill overlooking the bay and Historic Quarter of Valparaiso. From here you can get a panoramic view of the city and the colourful houses of Valparaiso.

After that we decided to head back to our Hotel. Took the local bus to the Terminal and an intercity bus back to Pajeritos.

Getting to Valparaíso

Valparaíso is primarily by Bus or Car. Easiest way is to take a Bus from Pajaritos Bus Terminal in Santiago. There is no need to book in advance, you can show up 1 hour before the trip and buy a ticket from the Counter. There are many Private companies running their services on an hourly basis. The Buses are air-conditioned and have reclining seats.

Getting around Valparaíso

Valparaiso is a small city and has a good public transport system. You can use the cheap Tolleybus or Buses which follow circular routes to Navigate the City. To move uptown-downtown you can use the historic ascensores or funiculars.

Our must see destination!

Located on Easter island (Or Rapa Nui) are more than 800 Stone monolithic figures, called Moai. While Archaeologists and Historians have come up with many theories, they not yet know exactly why or how they were made! The most ‘out-of-the-word’ explanation is that they were made under the influence of Extra-Terrestrials – which Rahul likes to believe. He has been wanting to visit the Island ever since watching the old Jonny Quest Episode and then learning more about the same in multiple Documentaries. So when we planned our trip to South America, it became a must see destination.

Story Behind the Moai

So, who are the Moai ? In short, they are believed to be representations of Chieftains of the Native Tribes on the Island. They were erected when a Chief died. Each Tribe had a Ceremonial Platform, called the Ahu on which the Moai where raised. The more Richer and Powerful the Tribe, larger and bigger were the Ahus and Moais they built.

The First Moais resembled stone blocks. As time progressed, Moai building technology also advanced and more intricate and lifelike designs were made. You can see evolution of the Moai in the following picture (From Right to Left)

The latest ‘design’ had eyes, made of Coral Stones. They also had a ‘Top Knot’ meant to represent the hairdo of the Chieftain. The following is a reconstruction of a Moai.

The largest Ahu can be found in Ahu Tongarikki – There are 15 of them, located against a great backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and the Island Coast.

Most of the Ahus are located on the coast, with Moais facing towards the centre of the Island. This is so as the elders can shower blessings on the Islanders living there and their Farms for good produce. However, there is one Ahu, situated inland. Here the Moai face towards the sea. Any guesses why ? The Tribe that built it where Fishing Tribe. They live near the coast and work in the sea – so directions are reversed!

Decline of the Moai

The First European ship arrived in 1722. The Islanders were astonished by the fair, clothed folks with advanced technology. Disillusioned and disappointed with their beliefs, they toppled the Moais. When James Cook arrived in 1774, many Moais were in toppled state – many remain in that state still.

We still didn’t say how they were built or transported right ? That’s the biggest mystery. We know where they were built though – in the quarry at extinct Volcano of Rano Raraku. The Artisans made base models and were customised to suit needs of the Tribe that came shopping You can still see many incomplete Moais lying there – even a huge 22 foot one!

Large Moai – Under Construction when the ‘factory’ shut

Rise of the Birdman cult

Many years after the Moai phase elapsed, the Birdman Competition rose to popularity. An annual contest, where specially trained athletes representing each tribe would compete in a life or death contest to get the egg of the Manu Tara bird from the small Island Motu Nui off the coast, braving the sharp cliffs and rough sea.

Other Points of Interest

Apart from the Moais, Ahus and Birdman related places, Easter Island has beautiful landscape. If you have time, you can visit Anakena Beach for a refreshing swim!

Useful Travel Information

Getting there

In spite of its remoteness, Easter Island is a popular Tourist destination and has an Airport with daily flights to Santiago in Chile. There is also a weekly flight to Tahiti – the only International connection. We flew in from Santiago on the daily LATAM flight. Tickets are on the expensive side and flights are full, so do book in advance.

Getting around

You don’t need more than 3 days on the island. It will take 2 days to cover all the main attractions and is best to join an organised group tour. On the third day, you can rent a car and explore the island on your own. We were crunched on time, so stuck to the 2 day itinerary and explored the Island with Tours A  & B from Easter Island Travel. You can read our review here.

Accommodation & Food

Being so remote, cost of living is on the higher side on the Island. We stayed in a B&B 10 minutes away from the town centre (Read review here). There are restaurants in town where you can order a meal or Super-markets from where you can buy stuff and cook at your place.

1. Ride the Funicular to San Cristóbal Hill

San Cristóbal Hill or Cerro San Cristóbal is the highest point in the city located within the Santiago Metropolitan Park. To get to the top we suggest you ride the Funicular uphill. The queue gets longer as the day progresses, so it is suggested to tick this off first. The ride is a short one and has only one stop en-route – Santiago Zoo. As you rise up, you get to see the view of Santiago city revealing in front of you. Once you reach the top, you can buy some thing to much from the many vendors and check out the 360º view of the city. At the summit of the hill is the statue of Virgin Mary.

2. Take a Walking Tour

Tour 4 Tips is a great agency offering guided walking tour of the city. The tour is Pay-what-you-like, as in if you like their services, you can tip them at the end. We took the Santiago Highlights Tour which covers the Historic Centre of Santiago. The Tour starts outside Bellas Artes Museum at 3pm. You can spot the Guides wearing White & Red striped shirts (like Wally in Find Wally) waiting at the spot – just walk up and introduce yourself. Once it’s time, they’ll organise into English and Spanish speaking groups and start the Tour.

The Tour lasts approximate 3 hours and you get to see different areas of Santiago – The Hip Lastarria neighbourhood, La Moneda Palace and the Heart of the City – Plaza de Armas.

That’s about it  We really wish we could have spent more time here, taking in the culture, cuisine and interacting with local people, but may be next time. We just got a glimpse of it and barely scratched the surface. Being the capital of the most prosperous country in Latin America, Santiago is well connected by Air, Land and Sea. Accommodation is easy to find, however we stayed in the Airport Transit Hotel to save multiple transfers, as we had 4 flights in/out combined.

Journey to San Pedro de Atacama : Crossing the Bolivia-Chile land border

So, on the third and final day of our Salar de Uyuni Tour (Read here), our Driver/Guide dropped us at the Bolivia-Chile border high up in the Altiplano. After stamping our passports at the Bolivian Border post, we boarded the mini-van which was supposed to take us to San Pedro de Atacama (SPdA for short), the nearest Chilean town and main gateway to the Atacama Region. The drive is a slow descent, from 4500m+ to 2600m! Not only does the landscape change, but also the infrastructure! Chile is one of the most developed countries in South America, while Bolivia is one of the poorest.

The mini-van took us to the Chilean Border post, at the entrance to the town of SPdA. The officials were happy to see the pre-issued visa and filled forms and stamped the passport without any delay. The baggage had to be unloaded from the van and screened. It is advised not to carry any Food or Organic material from Bolivia to Chile. Post that the driver dropped each tourist to their respective Hostels in the town

San Pedro de Atacama – Desert Tourist town in the foothills of Andes

The small tourist town has a desert theme, most buildings and establishments have a shade of brown or yellow! Tourism is the major livelihood and there are many restaurants, hostels, tour operators and souvenir shops, all catering to the passing tourists – meaning higher prices everywhere!

We stayed in Hostal Desert, a small cozy Bed & Breakfast, 10~15mins walk from Centro or the town centre.

Major Attractions

There are Four major attractions – Geyser field, Moon Valley, Altiplanic Lakes and Green lake, each of which can be visited as part of half day guided tour – requiring 2 Full days to complete. There are other places of interest, but not worth exploring unless you intend to stay longer. We visited only the first two (described in detail below), as the last two were similar to the sights we saw during our Salt Flat tour.

Tatio Geysers field and Town of Machuca

This is the most spectacular attraction and must see if you are here. World’s third largest active geyser field with more than 80 geysers! They become super active when the sunrises, venting out steam and bubbling gases. To see this sight, you have to start very early – at 5am – braving sub-zero temperatures. But it’s totally worth it!We opted for the Tour Agency  Turismo Grado 10. They are slightly expensive, for a valid reason. They have a unique Mercedes Truck-Bus for transportation, which also doubles as a mobile kitchen. So when other Agencies give you cold breakfast boxes, here you get a freshly cooked hot breakfast! Also, they give blankets to keep yourself warm!

Once the sun is up and shining, the steam vents die down and people head over for a dip in the hot springs on site. The water is not ‘hot’ as we know it. It is just warmer than the surrounding temperature. We didn’t brave to go anywhere near as it was still freezing for us.

On the way back, we stopped at a Machuca village. It is a small settlement of Atacama people, who have inhabited this region from historic times.

Here I finally got a chance to taste Alpaca meat! Swati couldn’t bear the thought of eating cute Alpacas so she decided to stay inside the bus!

On our way back we made couple of more photo stops.

This is another must do tour in SPdA. The arid nature of the region has provided it the features of an Alien landscape, most comparable to surface of the Moon. Located 30 minutes outside the town, both this region is located in the Los Flamencos National Reserve. The trip is again best taken as part of an organised group tour in an evening.

First part of the tour consists of crawling through caves. These are covered in salt deposites. Looks like mud, but it is solid rock. Our group consisted of 20 odd people. Best is to either be in the front, or better be at the back. This helps in capturing some good photographs. Otherwise there would be people in front and back. Also try to arrive before the tourist groups come in truckloads, then it gets really cramped!

After emerging from the cave, we board the van for a short drive to see sand dunes. After a short walk and climb on a sand hill, you get to a vantage point from which you can appreciate the desert landscape!

Penultimate stop on the tour were some rock formations that formed as a result of wind erosion. These were termed the Three Marys, but one tourist broke a figure while posing. Since then people are not allowed near them.

Last stop was the most scenic – the panoramic view of the Moon Valley, with Andes in the background. Here you wait and see the sun set. The most interesting phenomenon is when the sun goes below the horizon. You’ll see that the Andes mountain range change colour from brown to pink!

With that, our time at San Pedro de Atacama came to an end. We opted for a transfer to the nearest airport – Calama – and took the evening flight to Santiago de Chile.