TRAVEL AND TOURS

A coming together of past and present together with a balanced mix of man-made urban outlines and nature's daring brush strokes is to be found in Valparaiso, an enchanting and bohemian city with funicular railways that climb and descend the slopes of hills dotted with picturesque dwellings - a cosmopolitan port that welcomes wandering vessels and stately and delicious Pacific beaches.
That is Valparaiso as it is today and always has been. Many things may change, but not the essence of a city that emerged without ever being officially "founded", of a port that during the 19th century lived of cultural and commercial relations with weather-beaten "sea wolves" from the Europe, of a corner of Chile that has pride of having had one of the first railways in South America.
Valparaiso -capital of the region with the same name- has no exact foundation date, although many attribute the honor to the Spaniard Juan de Saavedra, who arrived in the area in 1576 driving a handful of native changos (child workers).
Surrounded by Mts Concepcion and Alegre, and washed by the ocean, the city which is one of humanity's Cultural Heritages had its moment of glory in the 19th century, due to intense foreign trade with Europe, mainly with Italy, England and France: that explains the mixture of old and new buildings it shows.

Valparaiso, with one and a half million inhabitants, is the "port of Santiago" and the most important in Chile. Its special and picturesque characteristics are its funicular railways that climb the hills surrounding the port, dotted with colourful dwellings that command a view of the pretty harbor.
A city lay bare. Our eyes are glued to this economically influential metropolis located 115 km northwest of Santiago, Chile's capital city; a metropolis that - as travelers recommend - should be explored starting at Muelle Prat (Prat Wharf), where vessels of all sizes and from all countries dock.
The tour should continue through Sotomayor Square and its monument to the heroes of Iquique, one of the Pacific War's sea battles. The many attractions seem endless. Here one finds the National Congress that used to function in Santiago and the Victoria Sotomayor and Anibal Pinto squares, the Natural History Museum, the Naval Museum, the Cathedral and the Paseo Muelle Baron.
Valparaiso is not only a city, it is also a region with seven provinces (including the Juan Fernandez archipelago and Easter Island itself) and 38 municipalities that offer adventure sports such as mountain climbing, skiing, hunting and nautical sports, among others.
Everything and things for every taste, in a port that is nostalgically bohemian, where even the breakers seem to recite verses and the wind whispers old tales, while the funicular railways ply up and down the teeming hills and someone -maybe yourself- gazes at the unending beauty of the Pacific Ocean.