GHOST TOWNS, WHITE GOLD RUSH WORLD HERITAGE, Tarapacá I Region, Chile By Ale Mcalister

Humberstone and Santa Laura towns, have 1.5 kms of distance from each other, today they are remaining ghost towns that once had days of glory and wealth, home of many Europeans that immigrated for Wealth and business.  Most of these English adventurers, invested in the nitrate industry within the driest desert in the world and extracting the mineral known as “white gold “. Other nitrate plants that were also in the circle of important development in the area were Chacabuco offices, and Pampa Union Puelma Francisco today real ghost towns in the middle of the desert.

Humberstone, was built in 1872 by its owner The Peruvian Nitrate Company using the name La Palma, in commemoration of the battle in the town of the same name in Lima in 1855.  After the Pacific War ended the English firm Gibbs & Company was the new owner of Humberstone, by returning the certificates received for its previous sale.

Santa Laura, was built the same date Humberstone was, owned by the firm Barra y Riesco.  In 1915 the government bought it from the English owners Foelsch & Martin.  It became the second most important nitrate office and decayed started the World War II and also once the synthetic nitrate was introduced to the Chilean market.  The synthetic nitrate had prices that were almost impossible to compete with.

In 1932, Humberstone suffered the first strike and stopped functioning under the administration of Gibbs, and in 1958 closed permanently. Santa Laura offices also closed in 1960,  both were auctioned in 1961.
The nitrate offices or towns developed a large urban community and its own peculiar language, customs and cultural expressions, as well as a business and technology deployment, therefore these towns were witnesses of it.  The nitrate industry also were acknowledged as a major influence for the modernization of agriculture worldwide and one of the first multinational companies. The nitrate companies of northern Chile were the largest producers of natural nitrate in the world.

These small nitrate cities or towns were home of all the  workers, employees and managers that almost reached around 3700 people in those days, today abandoned ghost towns, that remember a wealthy past and today are an important cultural and touristic attraction in the area. Within the design and architecture of these cities which had a French Industrial Revolution influences and that today are an example of industrial archeology worth a visit.
Another thing that we can highlight from these nitrate cities were the construction of schools, hospitals, hotels, markets, sports facilities, swimming pools and even a theater, which brought International Shows and performances, examples of wealth and where you see that the people who lived here, had nearly all the commodities and entertainment in these mini cities that were in the middle of nowhere.

These nitrate offices are located in the North of Chile, 57 km from Iquique, and that today are real ghost towns abandoned completely, there are still remaining of what life was like for the people who lived and worked during the “white gold” rush, the Nitrate.

To visit this place, you can fly to the northern city called Iquique then visit the small town of Pica, Matilla and La Tirana also very attractive rural places and near this area as well and then go to these ghost towns that are close and then enjoy this unique experience, at the ghost towns taking a tour to its remaining buildings and houses.

Today these towns are an important touristic attraction of the area, and real natural open museums nominated by UNESCO a World Heritage Site, along with Sewell, Easter Island, Valparaiso, and the churches of Chiloé.

The closest cities to go and tour and make Hotel Reservations for your holidays in Chile are Iquique and Arica, that is not as close as Iquique but also as attractive and not so far to Iquique. For further information www.visitchile.com

LAGUNA BRAVA, HISTORY, COLORS AND EXTREME ADVENTURE, Argentina By Ale Mcalister

LAGUNA BRAVA,

HISTORY, COLORS AND EXTREME ADVENTURE
By Ale Mcalister
This amazing historical and colourful place, Parque Nacional de Laguna Brava, park is located in the Province of La Rioja, that counts with numerous touristic attractions, such as fishing, windsurf and mountain climbing between other sports together of course with the local National Parks that are worth to visit, such as Parque Nacional de Talampaya, also in the same Province. www.exploreargentina.com.
This Park is South-East from  Buenos Aires to La Rioja there are 1200 km and can be reached by bus or plane. From La Rioja to Laguna Brava there is 450 kms and only has access driving on a 4×4 vehicle driving along the national route 38 to Patquía and then the national Route 150 to the intersection with the Valle Fertil.   The Entrance to this park is called Portezuelo at its highest point over the sea level.

We continue our drive towards the Provincial Route 26 crossing the town of Villa Union, where it’s recommended to stay if you intend to visit this park on a day tour, due to its extensive grounds and long time drive.  Other villages along the way are Vinchina and Villa Castelli.   The closest Provinces are Catamarca and San Juan and very close to the Chilean frontier path Pircas Negras.
It is also recommended to take a full program which may include the tour to this park or to Talampaya.   For long walk lovers, hiking and extreme 4×4 adventures this is the perfect place.
The history of Laguna Brava area is wide in terms of anthropology, with approximately 4000mts above the sea level, and where they have found traces of human activity of 8,000 years ago.   This area was then home of the natives Tehuelches and Mapuches, and it was common path for all the indigenous communities in their transition from the mountains to the sea.
The first white men who settled in the area (circa 1741) were the Jesuit missionaries, and that today thanks to them we have more information of what this place looked like those days.
The Mapuche indigenous dominated the land around 1743/45 forcing the departure of the Jesuits. At that time the chief Cangapol, who dominated these lands made the Mapuches rule until late year 1,800.

Among the amazing colorful landscape, one of the attractions are the Vicuña reservation and pink flamingos, Pumas or Chilean Tiger, and other species in this isolated but beautiful place, salt lakes, grassy steppes, clear sky, and bright sun, the perfect silence which is suitable for mountaineering, as its also close to the Big Volcano Bonete 6159mts of altitude above the sea level and Pissis and The Veladero, the second highest after South America’s Aconcagua Peak.

We recommend you to visit it during the months of April and May and from October to November due to climatic conditions, consisting of a harsh winter. For the more adventurous travelers, they can stay in this place, carrying the necessary elements such as adequate shelter, food and fuel. The length of the circuit and complete range of Laguna Brava is about 3 days.
For more information on Hotels in Argentina and Tours, special offers or tour packages please visit www.exploreargentina.com

A TRIP TO THE STONE ERA NATIONAL PARK TALAMPAYA, LA RIOJA, Argentina By Ale Mcalister

A TRIP TO THE STONE ERA
NATIONAL PARK TALAMPAYA, LA RIOJA

By Ale Mcalister

The emblematic figure of La Rioja province is the Talampaya canyon located in the National Park and is located 250 kilometers from the city of La Rioja, and 50 kilometers from closest town of Villa Union, and about 70 Kms from the province of San Juan.   A very colorful place with different mountain shapes and natural sculptures, where you can see that all the Argentinean version of the Rocky Mountains were touched by the strong winds, heavy rains followed by imminent erosion, and that makes it a very important tourist attraction.

To visit this National Park Talampaya, from Buenos Aires there is a distance of 1,200 kms driving through the 9th highway from (Pan American ramal Escobar) to Cordoba, Carlos Paz Highway, Route 38 up to Patquía, route 150 to get to the Talampaya National Park and route 76. From the city of La Rioja, take Route 38 to Patquía then continue along the 150.

The park has an area of 215,000 hectares and has a main entrance building built in 2006 to welcome all the tourists and visitors with restaurant services, healthcare, commercial offices, camping and a multipurpose room where activities related to the Park are performed.

For many anthropologists and prehistory lovers that would like to appreciate and feel  what the first humans lived millions of years ago, this is the perfect place to imagine, and take long hike of adventure and appreciate the beautiful geography and natural  photography that the place offers, and which condenses million years geological history.  Its great walls,   witnessed the transition of the first dinosaurs and primitive humans later.

This National Park was nominated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and forms part of the so called Triassic Basin of Ischigualasto, a vast desert region that has at least 250 million years of prehistory.

The strong winds and erosion have shaped a natural exotic landscape, in which you will be able to view different shaped natural giant sculptures.

During the middle Triassic period, these lands had the dinosaur ancestors.   Most were found in Talampaya, at the formation called The Chañares. These early dinosaur pieces are unique in the world that preceded the dinosaur’s birth.  These shaped mountains, saw the birth of the Diaguita culture and the Cienaga cultures, during the III and X century of our era, as its evidenced by the mortars dug on the rock.

Talampaya National Park is counts with three types of hiking routes and levels, from beginner to experience. For those who love hiking and mountain climbing, this is the place to go.  We recommend the following tours offered by the National Park:

The first circuit is called El Murallon, The second Los Cajones and the third La Ciudad Perdida.

The tour itself takes around 6 hours and the drive starts on a 4×4 truck, moving towards the dry riverbed called Gualo.   After that wonderful ride, you trek through some dunes and plain desert watching at some Guanacos until you reach a natural sight view of the entire canyon.   Once here, you will be able to see a 3kms range crater 3 km long with fantastic formations inside of it. Within  a 70 meters of depth area and endless labyrinths with formations made by earlier water currents.

Among the hidden treasures there is a large natural amphitheater of 80 meters of depth excavated by erosion.  The Talampaya National Park area was home of small indigenous communities that lived within more than 2000 years ago among different periods.

To obtain a full picture of archaeological value of the park you must visit the Museum of Natural Sciences, of the University of La Rioja. In the different mountain caves of the Park, many vestiges were found and today are displayed at this museum.   In other sites of the Park, they found parts of pottery, several cemeteries and a wooden spear darts better preserved and intact than the ones found from the radiocarbon data found of the year 660, AC.

Other cities and nearby attractions to this destination and National Park are: Santiago del Estero, Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, Tucumán, Córdoba, Chilecito Famatina.

Schedule for visiting the National Park of Talampaya:

Receives tourists all year round
From May 1 to August 31 (inclusive) from 8:30 to 17:30 pm.
From September 1 to April 30 (inclusive) from 8:00 to 18:00 pm

Fixed hours for excursions:
Summer Schedule
1st Shift: Presentation 8:00 – Departure 8:30
2nd Shift: Presentation 11:00 – Out 11:30
3rd Shift: Presentation 14:00 – Departure 14:30
4th Shift: Presentation 16:30 – Departure 17:00

Winter Schedule
1st  Shift: Presentation 8:30 – Departure 09:00
2nd Shift: Presentation 11:00 – Out 11:30
3rd Shift: Presentation 13:30 – Out 14:00
4th Shift: Presentation 16:00 – Departure 16:30

For further information about this destination and Tours and Hotels in Argentina or La Rioja,  or the nearest  places do not hesitate to visit our web site  www.exploreargentina.com

CHILOE CHURCHES, FIRST EUROPEAN ICONS IN CHILE WORLD HERITAGE By Ale Mcalister

The Archipelago of Chiloe is located in the extreme South of Chile and has a rainy and cool weather in summer, but it rains all year. To catch a plane from the capital of Chile, Santiago, its approximately two-hour flight to the southern city of Puerto Montt, where it reaches land Chiloé route is to the point where you take a ferry, which go to people in Chacao. There are also Catamarans and Cruise ships and tour the channels and have a sightseeing view of the Big Island of Chiloé.

The Isla Grande de Chiloe is about 180 kms long and 50 kms wide. Today, the Archipelago has over 154,700 inhabitants. Within its biggest attractions are the 5 island groups surrounding it and of course the amazing channels, that are very important  to connect land and sea with the circulation of sailors of the early days and today, with the different points of the island.   We have the Canal de Chacao, channel located at the northern part of the Island with its 3-ports, and where the small boats sail to Castro, Tenaún and Achao.

It’s important to mention its attractive fauna and flora.  The result of the constant rains and thaws,, there are extensive forests of Arrayanes  or Myrtles, oaks and avellanos or hazels, together with the large fern forests.   The Pudu, one of the world’s smallest deer, and that is protected and the Mampato or small horse, which was brought by the Spanish the early sixteenth century. The Toninas or dolphins, sea lions and the seasonal visit of different species of whales, particularly the Blue Whale, make their coasts unique, and that will be protected area in the near future.

The story goes back to 1540s where the island of Chiloe was viewed by the early Spanish explorers. And in 1553 Francisco de Ulloa is the first Spanish explorer who comes to the Island, being the official discoverer sent by Pedro de Valdivia.

During the seventeenth century the Catholic order of Jesuits arrived in Chiloé to evangelize the 3 Indian colonies that existed on the island, the Chono, Caucahué and Huilliche, those living on agriculture and fishing. Most died out by strong pests such as smallpox and typhoid among others.
These catholic religious perform the so called “massive-circular evangelism groups”, and where over more than 80 chapels were built around Chiloé. Spiritually, this is reflected in the modus operandi of the circular task, held by the Jesuits to evangelize this sparsely populated, semi-sedentary, community and that were connected together by the sea so they built a religious community participation, making the local natives have a spiritual and community work, which they called “fiscales”.   Later on, the San Franciscans arrived and also had their religious communities established by the Jesuits earlier.

On December 2000, all the built and remaining fourteen churches were recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage.  Subsequently, in 2001, added to its World Heritage list two other churches having a total of 16 churches scattered throughout the archipelago.

The recognition of the exceptional universal value that these churches represent and the main characteristic was that they were built of wood and the data of foundation goes back to the XVIII century. The churches that remained and were nominated are: Achao Aldachildo, Caguach, Castro, Shilling, Chonchi, Colo., Dalcahue, Detif, Ichuac, Nercón, Quinchao Rilán, San Juan, Tenaún and Vilupulli.
To make tours in Chiloe, Puerto Montt and the Lake District along with more information on hotels Ancud, Castro, Puerto Montt or the rest of Chile, www.visitchile.com