Tour Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to Chile. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they take this tour. Although we do our best to make sure that what follows is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document sent to all tour registrants, whose contents supersedes any information contained here.
ENTERING CHILE: A valid passport is required. A visa is not required of U.S. citizens. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after the date the tour ends. Citizens of other countries may need a visa, and should check with their Chilean embassy or consulate. If required by the embassy or visa-granting entity, WINGS can provide a letter for you to use regarding your participation in the tour. US, Canadian, and Australian citizens pay an entry (“reciprocal”) fee, good for the life of your passport; at the time of writing, UK citizens do not have to pay this fee.
MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can view maps of Chile in the University of Texas series here. Click on the map’s lower right corner to adjust the size. You can review the U.S. Department of State background notes on Chile here.
HEALTH: There are no major health risks in Chile, and no cholera, malaria, typhoid or yellow fever where we will be.
ALTITUDE: In the South and the Lake District we won’t be at elevations greater than about 5,000 feet, but in the Andes of Central Chile we get up to 8-10,000 feet. In the north we’ll get to 15,000 feet for one day, but it is possible to stay at the hotel at 11,500 feet, near which we’ll spend the preceding day to help acclimate. We do not run around at these elevations, and much of the birding is from the vehicles. Altitude sickness is a possibility at these elevations, although most people are fine. The drug Diamox can help alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness but can’t be taken by everyone. You should consult your doctor if the possibility of altitude sickness is a concern. People with a history of respiratory or coronary problems should consult with their doctors in any event.
PACE OF THE TOUR: The tour starts with arrival in Santiago, followed by four segments covering the South (Tierra del Fuego), the Lake District, Central Chile and the North (Atacama Desert and high Andes). Because of the high latitude, there is plenty of daylight, and because of the nature of the birding, being out at the crack of dawn is not a prerequisite as on ‘hot tropical’ tours (e.g., Belize, Ecuador). Chileans aren’t famed for getting up early, nor for going to bed early (e.g., dinner is almost a cultural impossibility before 8:00 pm). Most days we’ll have continental breakfast between 5:30 and 7:00 a.m. (5 a.m. before our pelagic), or at 8 a.m. on other days when there’ll be the option of an early morning birding walk near our hotel. After breakfast we usually depart for a day of birding and/or travel, with box lunches and a supply of snacks (fruit, cookies, etc.) and drinks to keep us going. Dinners are at our hotels, and are sometimes set menus.
One morning we do a six- to eight-hour pelagic trip out into the Humboldt Current.
Most of the walking is on level to gently sloping terrain and there are no long hikes; particularly in the south we do a lot of birding from in or near the vehicle. We may descend a couple of short steep slopes to important birding areas; another day we may walk around on a (dry) bog at 13,500 feet elevation.
CLIMATE: The Austral spring means that weather in the South and Lake District can vary from bright and sunny (though not warm) to cold and rainy, or even with snow; and it tends to be windy in the South. In Central Chile it is similar to spring in central California, i.e., from sunny and mild in the lowlands to cool (and in the afternoons windy) at high elevations. The coast can be sunny and breezy or cool and foggy, just like California. The Atacama Desert in the North is the driest place on earth, and rain at this season would be exceptional; the lowlands are hot (to cool and foggy on the coast), the highlands cold at night and in the early morning, becoming sunny and warm in mid morning, and usually windy in the afternoons.
ACCOMMODATIONS: At Punta Arenas we stay at a modern hotel overlooking the Straits of Magellan. In Porvenir we stay in a comfortable family-run hotel with cozy rooms and dining room overlooking the harbor. In the Lake District we stay at a ski-resort hotel. None has an outdoor pool but this hasn’t been a concern, given the climate! In Arica we stay in a resort hotel on the coast. At Putre we stay in a new and very comfortable hosteria (basically a motel). All have private bathrooms and heating; food is abundant, and good to excellent, although choices are limited at Putre. In Santiago, we stay at a standard, comfortable city hotel.
DRESS: Informal dress is acceptable everywhere.
TRANSPORTATION: Most of our land transportation will be in minibuses. We will often be on gravel roads in the south, possibly quite dusty. We have several internal flights and two boat trips.
SMOKING: We request that you do not smoke in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group, if possible.
If any lodge, accommodation or location where the group is staying or is gathered has a more restrictive smoking policy than the WINGS policy, the more restrictive policy will prevail.
GENERAL INFORMATION & CONDITIONS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information & Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A more complete General Information for Tours to Chile will be sent to each registrant on receipt of their booking. Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Updated: November 2010