Are you ready for some amusing Chilean trivia?
This year (2023), take dream adventures like trekking through Torres del Paine in Patagonia, soaking up the sun on the soaring altiplano of the Atacama desert, touring Santiago, resting with a glass of wine at one of central Chile’s best wineries, and much more. It’s all in a day’s work, and the natural wealth of Chile’s stunning landscapes, interesting history and culture, friendly people, delectable food and drink, and thrilling adventure options make it an easy job!
So, to start off our 30th birthday celebration, we’re presenting 30 of our favorite facts about Chile, a great nation. Chile, cheers!
The name “Chile” may derive from the indigenous Aimara word “chilli.” “, which means “where the earth stops.” It might potentially be based on the Mapuche mimicry of a bird call which sounds like “cheele cheele.”
Have you ever wondered whether we’re the only ones in the universe? Chile has an officially financed and acknowledged UFO research bureau, making it one of the few nations on the planet. The agency is part of the Air Force and monitors odd aircraft behaviour.
Furthermore, many Chileans like “watching the sky,” publishing home films of possible UFOs and extraterrestrial activities. Chilean-style close encounters!
Chileans are the world’s second largest bread consumers, after only the Germans. No surprise, given how tasty the many varieties of bread, such as the famed marraqueta loaves, are.
The Gran Torre in Santiago is the highest structure in South America, at 62 floors tall. Visit the recently opened observation platform for a breathtaking perspective of the city and the neighboring Andean cordillera.
The minga is a fascinating cultural practise in Chile that takes place on the islands of the Chiloe archipelago. When a family decides to relocate, the community joins together to actually lift the wooden house from its foundations and bring it to its new home with a team of oxen and logs, or attaches it to a boat and gently floats it to a distant island!
The Atacama Desert is the world’s driest desert, with an annual rainfall of just 0.6 inches. There are even areas in the Atacama that have never seen rain since records started. When it rains, though, the desert blooms with gorgeous fields of purple flowers that reach for kilometers.
Pour yourself a cold one! Chile is well-known for its delicious red wines and diabolical pisco, but it also boasts a vibrant and diversified beer culture!
This is due to a large inflow of German immigrants from the late 1800s who migrated to Chile to reside in the south and carried with them their brewing traditions. So, while you’re there, try some local artisan beers.
Chile is popularly regarded by its citizens as the “pais de los poetas” or the “country of poets”. This is due to the fact that two of the country’s most well-known and revered literary icons, poets and novelists Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda, both received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Chileans know how to celebrate the New Year with style! On New Year’s Eve, the coastal communities of Valparaiso and Via del Mar put on the largest firework display in South America, unleashing an incredible display over the massive bay that separates the two cities for the ultimate fiesta!
In 2007, 16,000 fireworks were fired off, earning a Guinness World Record.
Chile is home to the world’s largest swimming pool, which holds the Guinness World Record. The pool, located in the San Alfonso del Mar Resort, has the length of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools and holds 66 million gallons.
Chile is famous for its wine, however the grapes are not indigenous to the country. The Spanish invaders were the first to bring Vitis viniferia vines across.
Oh, brave new world! The character of Caliban in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest is said to have been inspired by reading explorer stories and descriptions of aboriginal tribes living in Tierra del Fuego in Chile’s extreme south.
In 1960, the strongest earthquake ever recorded – a 9.5 on the Richter scale – occurred in Valdivia, Chile. The quake lasted around eleven to thirteen minutes and killed between 1,000 and 6,000 lives as a consequence of the magnitude of the quake and the subsequent wave.
But don’t worry, Chile has a long history of earthquakes, and all structures are designed to survive both large and mild shocks.
Chile maintains one of only two permanent civilian outposts on the Antarctic continent. The little community of “Villa Las Estrellas” has a school, a hospital, a post office, and even a small souvenir shop.
One path of the Pan-American Highway terminates in Quellon, on the beautiful island of Chiloe, with a big sign for photos and even the opportunity to buy a commemorative statement.
The alternative (official) path spans the continent and concludes in Ushuaia, Argentina.
The street food is delicious! Savory sopaipillas, empanadas, completo hot dogs, candied peanuts, fresh drinks, crates of chocolates and chips…practically there’s no need to go to a restaurant (nearly). The street food is abundant, inexpensive, and delicious.
The range and sorts of meals and drinks vary by season (for example, more fresh juices and mote with huesillo in the summer), but there is always something pleasant to be discovered while out and about.
Chileans like ice cream, so if you shout for it as well, you’ll be in good company. Chileans enjoy their sweet treat all year, and ice cream shops are as common in Chile as Starbucks are in the United States.
Furthermore, many ice cream businesses offer flavours inspired by local fruits and other ingredients.
Excuse me, Egypt, but the world’s oldest known mummies were discovered in Chile! The Chinchorro mummies were unearthed in the Camarones Valley, with the oldest dating back to 5050 BC.
There are penguins in Chile! Nesting and breeding locations for a variety of penguins, including Magellanic penguins, Humboldt penguins, and southern rockhopper penguins, may be found across the nation, including Chiloe and Tierra del Fuego.
The Mapuches, Chile’s biggest aboriginal tribe, were noted for their fury in combat. They were the only indigenous tribe to halt the Incan empire’s push into their region, and they also gave the advancing Spanish conquistadors a run for their money.
Chileans are quite friendly, so don’t be shocked if they kiss each other (and you) on the cheek in welcome. This is the Chilean way!
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