2 Best Sights in El Norte Chico, Chile

This national reserve stretching for 40 km (25 miles) along the coast north of the town of Chañaral has some of Chile's most spectacular coastal scenery. Steep cliffs fall into the crashing sea, their ominous presence broken occasionally by white-sand beaches made for picnics. Within the park is an incredible variety of flora and fauna, including sea lions, sea otters, foxes, and the very rare Peruvian diving petrel, as well as some 20 species of cacti, including the rare copiapoa, which resembles a little blue pin cushion. At the tiny fishing village of Caleta Pan de Azúcar, you can find several local guides who can take you on boat trips to see colonies of Humboldt penguins.

A patch of land so rich in vegetation and animal life in the heart of El Norte Chico's dry, desolate landscape defies logic. But Parque Nacional Fray Jorge has been a UNESCO world biosphere reserve since 1977, with a small cloud forest similar to those found in Chile's damp southern regions. The forest, perched 600 meters (1,968 feet) above sea level, receives its life-giving nourishment from the camanchaca (fog) that constantly envelops it. Within this forest, you will come across ferns and trees found nowhere else in the region as you maneuver a slightly slippery boardwalk on a 20-minute tour. Although Fray Jorge will not take a lot of time to see, it makes a pretty spot to stop, and there is a picnic table from where you can watch the fog drift over the Pacific Ocean below.