Valparaíso

Valparaíso is unlike any other city in Chile. Built on 42 cerros (hills) that tumble steeply to the harbour, it is a vertical city where century-old ascensores, funicular elevators, rattle up cliff faces alongside graffiti-covered staircases and winding alleyways that open suddenly onto breathtaking ocean views. The city's historic quarter, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, preserves the architectural legacy of its golden age as the Pacific's premier port: Victorian warehouses, Art Nouveau mansions, and the oldest stock exchange in Latin America.

Today, Valparaíso is Chile's bohemian capital, a city of poets, artists, and musicians where Pablo Neruda's house La Sebastiana still watches over the bay, and every wall, staircase, and alley seems to serve as a canvas for muralists from around the world.

Its New Year's Eve fireworks display, launched from the harbour and the hillsides simultaneously, is one of the largest in the Americas.

The valleys behind the coast have transformed the Valparaíso Region into one of Chile's most exciting wine destinations. The Casablanca Valley, discovered for viticulture only in the 1980s, is now synonymous with crisp Sauvignon Blancs, elegant Chardonnays, and cool-climate Pinot Noirs that rival those of Burgundy in finesse.

Morning fog from the Pacific keeps temperatures low, producing wines with a bright acidity that has won international acclaim. Further inland, the warmer Aconcagua Valley excels with bold Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs, and the high-altitude Aconcagua Costa sub-region is pushing the boundaries of Chilean viticulture into increasingly marginal terrain.

The wine route between these valleys passes through rolling hills dotted with boutique estates, many of which offer tastings, on-site restaurants, and harvest-season experiences that combine gastronomy with panoramic views of vine-covered slopes stretching to the Andes.

The Valparaíso Region extends far into the Pacific to encompass two of the world's most extraordinary island groups. Easter Island (Rapa Nui), 3,700 kilometres offshore, is home to the enigmatic moai, nearly 900 monolithic stone statues carved by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people between the 13th and 16th centuries, standing as silent guardians along the volcanic coastline.

The island's Polynesian culture, unique in Chilean territory, survives in the Tapati festival, the ahu ceremonial platforms, and a language still spoken by several thousand islanders. Closer to the mainland but equally remote, the Juan Fernández Archipelago, where the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, shelters one of the world's highest concentrations of endemic plant species per square kilometre, along with the Juan Fernández fur seal and the tiny rayadito bird found nowhere else on Earth.