Top Ten Chile Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures

It's Chile's biggest secret: northwest of Santiago and east of the beach resort Viqa del Mar, Parque Nacional La Campana is the country's most overlooked park. But as one of its most spectacular places, you'll be glad the crowds don't know about it. The park's network of hiking trails cross ridges and scale summits with spectacular views from the Pacific Ocean to the Andean summit of Aconcagua (across the border in Argentina). It's also the last bastion of the endangered Chilean palm, which produces fruits known as coquitos (little coconuts) as well as a sweet molasses.

La Campana is open all year. Because of the maritime influence and the relatively high altitudes (up to 7,000 feet), it can be surprisingly cool, even in summer. Camping is possible, both in organized campgrounds and along the trail, but fire is a hazard in late summer and fall.