CHILE is an unusually shaped country stretching 4,200 km (2,610 miles) in length and no wider than 180km (115 miles). It is bordered by Peru to the North and to the east by Bolivia and Argentina. The Pacific runs along its West and on the south coast the south Atlantic joins the cold Antarctic. Chile has sovereignty over the Juan Fenandez Islands and Easter Island. Half of the width of the country is taken up by the Andes Mountains and coastal highlands which run parallel with each other from North to South. Between these mountain ranges runs a fertile valley, except in the north where transverse ranges join these mountains, and in the south where the sea has broken through the coastal range forming channels.

The North attracts many tourists, as it offers the world's largest open cast copper mine, Spanish style colonial villages and beautiful beaches. The central region also has attractive beaches and it is possible to visit Easter island which is famous for the Moai, the enormous stone figures which are scattered all over the island. It is also possible to visit Juan Fernandez Islands where Selkirk was shipwrecked in the early 18th century, on which the novel Robinson Crusoe is based.

The central region is also home to the vineyards which produce the majority of Chilean wine. The South hosts many wonderful lakes and waterfalls and small fishing ports. At the southern most end of the Pan American Highway it is possible to continue on to see the glaciers and harsh terrain of Chilean Patagonia.

The country has vast differences in climate with the North being very hot and consisting of the driest desert in the world - The Atacama Desert. The centre is quite mild and has rainfall throughout the year (although the official rainy season is May to August). This area is mainly agricultural. The South is much colder and also has some agriculture and forest, which gives way further south to grassland where cattle and sheep are raised.