I have been lucky enough to have visited each Chilean region, and I can honestly say that, if you want diverse and spectacular scenery in a peaceful and friendly society, you cannot lose with Chile. Some scenic highlights: 1) Parque Nacional Lauca – at 14,500 feet, with one of the highest non-navigable lakes in the world…which is ringed by about seven snow-capped volcanoes (active and inactive). 2) Volcan Osorno – which is an exact, but petite, replica of Mount Fuji in Japan. Osorno is a perfect conical snow-capped volcano flanked by thick forest and turquoise-colored lakes. 3) Parque Nacional Torres del Paine – tucked away in a remote corner of Chile is a park whose dominating feature is a massif recently churned up due to plate tectonics. Opaque green, grey, and blue lakes are woven into the landscape. 4) Glaciers and penguins and other weird animals like vizcachas and nandus – these fauna are all just fun to see. 5) The salt flats near San Pedro de Atacama – cracked white salt-encrusted earth stretched out as far as the eye can see. 6) Chiloe – an amazing island trapped in time. I loved the tranquility of the smaller islands…it felt like stepping back 100 years.

If you can get there – go.