Leaving Santiago
The first stage of your journey takes you into the heart of Chile’s ‘Norte Chico’, or Little North, a kind of transition region between the fertile centre of the country and the incredibly arid Atacama desert. Fill up with petrol and take the ring road around the north of Santiago, until you reach the intersection with Ruta 5, otherwise known as the Panamerican Highway. This road will take you all the way to the border with Peru and, if you wish, beyond.
Heading north
Once you have cleared the area round the capital, the traffic starts moving more quickly on this broad road. Be ready, though, to stop at traffic lights – this isn’t a motorway. As you drive towards La Calera, the road takes you through attractive hilly regions and towards the coast: see the picture, taken after heavy rainfall in August.
Moving up the coast
You should be making good progress now, as the traffic thins to mostly long-distance vehicles, but try to find time to stop for some of the great views of the Pacific along the way. Perhaps stop for lunch in a seaside town such as Los Vilos. Further up you come to signs for the Fray Jorge National Park, with its amazing section of cloudforest. Definitely worth seeing, but outside the high season it’s best to check opening times in advance. If you are travelling at any time apart from the Chilean summer, you may want to find somewhere to stay next to one of the wonderful, empty beaches that line this part of the coast. Prices are low, and there are some excellent beach-side restaurants in towns such as Tongoy.
Coquimbo and La Serena
If you keep going, you’ll come to Coquimbo, with its marvellous steel church designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel. But don’t go any further, on your first day, than La Serena: it’s the last big city for quite some distance. It’s also quite an attractive place (the second-oldest city in Chile) and has a good range of accommodation. One word of warning: try to time your arrival so that you get there before the daily buses from Santiago (see online timetables). Otherwise, you may well find all the rooms have been taken by backpackers.
