Traditional cuisine

Chile’s varying landscapes bring with them a variety of cuisine. Seafood is king, where almejas con limón (raw clams in lemon juice), conger eel soup, conger eel fritters, machas a la parmesana (razor clams with parmesan cheese), buttered scallops with grilled cheese, ceviche (raw, minced sea bass and lemon juice), and crab pie all feature on the menu. Another significant food is surprisingly the sandwich, with a plethora of popular fillings, including: diced meat and avocado; salmon, cream cheese and rocket; and green beans, tomatoes, chili and sliced meat. Other well-loved dishes are soups, stews, dried horsemeat, humityas (steamed cornhusks wrapped around mashed corn), milcaos (potato bread), and costillar de chancho (baked pork ribs). Traditional desserts to try include: brazo de reina (like a Swiss roll), alfajores (two biscuits held together with a layer of chocolate mousse), cuchufli (tubes of crunchy pastry dough, drizzled with chocolate) and leche asada (a type of baked custard dessert). 

Traditional beverages

Mote con huesillo is the perfect beverage to sip on a hot day. Served with a spoon, this dessert-like, non-alcoholic drink contains dried peach, husked wheat and caramelised peach juice. Sweet carbonated drinks, mineral water and fruit juices are also readily available. Borgoña (a mix of red wine, strawberries, and sometimes sugar), melón con vino (wine and honeydew melon) and terremoto (meaning ‘earthquake’, combining wine and pineapple ice-cream), all rank as some of the most popular drinks here. Craft beers are brewed locally, with those made by Cervecería Kunstmann, Szot Brewery, and Desértica Cerveza Artesanal among some of the most highly recommended. Pisco – a distilled grape wine brandy – is also well-received by visitors and locals alike.  

Landscape and wildlife

Glaciers, snow-capped volcanoes, hot springs, desert, grasslands, mountains and coastal habitats all contribute to Chile’s numerous climates, landscapes and wildlife. The country’s geography is so unusual that more than 30% of all the mammals inhabiting Chile are unique to this destination and do not exist anywhere else in the world. Llamas, alpacas, emus, armadillos, porcupines, opossums, bats, foxes, boars, deer and monkeys are a few of the mammals residing in Chile. Wildlife enthusiasts venturing to the coast will be pleased to learn that there are regular sightings of dolphins, whales, sea lions and otters here. The Andean Condor is the national bird, sharing the Chilean sky with buzzards, hawks, parrots, woodpeckers, finches, and mocking birds, among other species. Chile has 36 National Parks in total, all aiming to preserve and protect the distinct, diverse and unusual ecosystems.