Chile Guide
Valparaíso, Viña and the Central Coast
Of Chile's 4000-kilometre-plus coastline, the brief central strip between Santo Domingo and Los Vilos is the most visited and most developed. Known as the Litoral Central by Chileans and rather optimistically promoted as the "Chilean Riviera" in many tourist brochures, this 250-kilometre stretch boasts bay after bay lined with gorgeous, white-sand beaches, and a string of coastal resort towns of varying size and character.
Valparaíso ("Valpo" for short) and Viña del Mar (or "Viña") sit next to each other near the middle of the strip. They are geographical neighbours but totally unalike in look and feel. Viña is Chile's largest beach resort and one of the ritziest. With its high-rise condominiums, casino, and seafront pizzerias, along with the northern beaches in nearby Reñaca where bronzed sunbathers laze until sunset and then go clubbing all night, Viña typifies modern hedonism. Valparaíso, on the other hand, has a much more natural, old-fashioned style, with ramshackle, brightly painted houses spilling chaotically down the hills to the sea, but no decent beaches. For beaches, you'll need to head south or, preferably, north to find anything from disco-packed pleasure grounds to tiny, secluded coves – if you know where to go (and where to avoid).
Don't miss out on the exquisite seafood available all along the coast; look out for the picoroco inside its rock shell, which resembles something out of a sci-fi movie. Head for the little restaurants by the caleta where the local fishermen bring in their catch or, if you're renting a cabaña with its own kitchen, be adventurous and buy your supper from the market to cook for yourself. Finally a word on transport: there are numerous daily buses from Santiago to Valparaíso and Viña, and several direct services from the capital to most of the other resort towns. From Valpo or Viña you can catch buses to all the resort towns in the Litoral. The stretch between Algarrobo and San Antonio is also served by frequent local buses which are much quicker if you go direct on Ruta 78 rather than via Viña and then heading south. From Horcón to Papudo there are fewer daily local connections – except during summer when buses run fairly frequently. On nearly all routes you can ask your driver to stop anywhere along the coast or highway so you can hop off at some isolated cove.
Highlights
1 Valparaíso Chile's most remarkable city sits precariously on a dozen hills above a huge bay, with a quirky set of antique elevators that haul you up to panoramic lookouts.
2 Isla Negra Chilean poet Pablo Neruda came here for inspiration and he penned many of his Nobel Prize-winning poems while gazing out at his favourite beach.
3 Quinta Vergara A taste of exotic nature amidst all the beaches, this Viña park features all manner of subtropical trees and rare plants, plus a museum of fine art.
4 Reñaca Enjoy daytime sunning or night-time clubbing at this leading seaside resort, packed full in summer with the younger set of vacationers.
5 Zapallar With some of the best seafood in the region, soothingly empty beaches and opulently stylish houses, this eternally fashionable coastal resort is one of the pearls of the Riviera.