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Patagonia
The far south comes with a few items less than northern Chile: - the Andes reach only 3500 m (11500 ft) instead of 6500 m (21000 ft), - there're practically no volcanoes, - the width of the continent measures less than 250 km (150 mi). But less can sometimes generate more, which specifically holds for the land mass. At the tip of South America the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean on either side of the continent get close together, such that the winds of both Oceans react intensively with each other producing fierce storms and heavy rain. Humid air is usually brought in from the Pacific Ocean and precipitates over the Andes as rain and snow. Due to the low temperatures in the south constant snow formed the largest ice fields on earth outside the Arctic and Antarctic. On the east side of the Andes the dehydrated air finally blows over the dry plains of the Argentinean Pampa to the Atlantic Ocean.
On the flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas at the south end of the continent the chance of climate could be well observed out from the window. See the pictures below to get an impression.
The southernmost continental city on earth faces the Strait of Magellan, the southern passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
Torres del Paine
All the way down south lies one of the most beautiful national parks of South America. Here, the wind-battered Patagonian Pampa meets on the sheer cliffs of the Andes. Surrounded by blue shining lakes, mountains tower 2000 m (6500 ft) vertically up into the sky; a landscape which looks like carefully arranged by a big hand.
El Calafate is located on the shores of Lago Argentino in the middle of the Argentinean Pampa. From there it was only a short trip to the scenic Andean glaciers and mountains.
El Chaltén is a tiny village in Wild West style. It's located at the foot of the Fitz Roy Mountains which offer some very nice hikes.
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