Chile holiday, tailor made

Our itineraries are not about theme parks or man made developments, but seeking out beautiful unspoiled places, enjoying watching the wildlife and mountain scenery or visiting historic monuments. The money from tourism into National Parks and heritage sites encourages their protection, and ensures their future.

The Kimal Hotel is a family-run hotel, built in an ancient orchard in an Adobe Style, using traditional Atacaman building materials. This style of building is traditionally associated with the poverty of the indigenous peoples.

Elqui Domos is one of the seven astronomic hotels in the world and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. It is located in the middle of the Elqui Valley, which provides a privileged observation of the sky, with special installations and trips to the most important astronomic centre in the country.

There are six rooms with capacity for three people at a maximum each; build in a geodsic form as domes, perfect for the observation of the stars and planets, and keeping the comforts of a regular house or apartment. Each dome has two levels on the inside: in the first one there is a bathroom and a sitting area, and in the second level there is the bedroom. The beds are always set in the highest point of the dome so, once you open the small window on the ceiling, you can introduce the sky into your room, a unique experience that is only possible in this hotel.

Each dome also features a terrace where you can enjoy the daylight landscapes of the valley or prepare meat on the grill or BBQ. The hotel has all the things you need for that available, all you need to bring is coil and the meat. Other free services are fridgebar, coffee and tea service, all kinds of literature and information about astronomy or tourism in the area, and a telescope in each room.

Considering that resting and relaxing are the most important parts of travelling to Elqui Domos, a resting area has been built where you can find hamacs, floating chairs and a giant wooden bathtub, all outdoors.

The hotel organizes trips on bike or horseback, at night; classes so you can learn how to properly use a telescope, astronomic guides in any trip, car and bike rental, and others. The astronomic 'conference' is two hours long, and the horseback trips at night have the same length.

Cabanas del Paine are built inside the Torres del Paine National Park, which received the 1978 Unesco prize. The Cabanas are specially built in wood so as to harmonize with the landscape. The food is all sourced locally and the majority of it is home-made.

In 2003 Valparaiso was declared a World Heritage Site, due to its historical importance, natural beauty, original architecture and layout. There are a large number of historical Monuments within the city of Valparaiso. One of the oldest is the 'La Matriz del Salvador' church in the port area just below the Santa Domingo Hill, which was originally built in 1559. There is a spectacular fireworks display that explodes over the harbour of Valparaíso every New Year's eve. The show draws immense crowds every year with people arriving and saving their place in the early morning in order to keep their prime viewing spots. If you are based in Santiago, make sure you get your bus tickets in advance since they disappear very quickly.