Regions in Brief

Isla Negra

125km (78 miles) W of Santiago

Isla Negra is mostly known as "the place where Pablo lived" -- Pablo Neruda, that is. His third -- and favorite -- home is here, perched high above the sand and sea that inspired him, and it is now a museum. The endearing little town is about 1 1/2 hours south of Valparaíso, and anyone planning to spend the night in that city might consider this recommended destination as a first stop. Another idea is to include a visit to Isla Negra before or after a tour of the San Antonio wine region. After lunch here at one of two good restaurants, you can head north for a beautiful coastal drive to Valparaíso. The Casa Museo Pablo Neruda, at Calle Poeta Neruda s/n (tel. 35/461-2844; www.fundacionneruda.org), is larger than Neruda's other two homes, and his collections of knickknacks here are extraordinary: glass bottles, wooden sirens salvaged from ships' bows, butterflies, shells, African masks, ships-in-bottles, and more. Neruda, it seems, when not penning verse, liked to travel, hunt out treasures, and spend a lot of cash. The museum is a wonderful place to visit, and kids love it, too. The tomb of Neruda and his wife is also on view here. Tours in English cost $6.75 (£3.40), and reservations must be made in advance. It's open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

At the back of the museum is Café del Poeta (tel. 35/461774), with pleasant outdoor seating and a direct view of the rocky beach and crashing waves below. You'll find good pisco sours, seafood dishes, and fixed-price lunches here. Hostería La Candela, Calle de la Hostería 67 (tel. 35/461254; www.candela.cl), is a charming little hotel and restaurant owned by a local filmmaker and his musician wife. The rooms are all decorated differently, in theme with Neruda's "20 Poems of Love"; a few have balconies with sea views and fireplaces. The restaurant serves Chilean fare.

The coastal strip of Isla Negra has been declared a Zona Típica (Heritage Zone) to preserve the area from becoming overrun by multistoried apartment buildings. You can get here from Valparaíso by bus with Tur Bus (tel. 600/660-6600; www.turbus.cl) and Pullman (tel. 600/320-3200; www.pullman.cl), which leave from the Terminal Alameda in Santiago, located at Av. Alameda 3750 (Metro: Universidad de Santiago). I recommend that visitors rent a car, stop along the way in Pomaire or wine taste, visit Isla Negra, and return to Santiago or head up to Valparaíso. To get here by car from Valparaíso, drive back out toward Santiago on Ruta 68 and follow the sign to Algarrobo (Isla Negra is south of Algarrobo).

Zapallar, Maitencillo & Colchagua

Zapallar is the refuge of Chile's moneyed elite, and the stalwart residents who have lived here over the past century have lobbied successfully to keep the riffraff out and construction to a minimum. Accordingly, it is the loveliest residential cove along the shore of the Central Coast. Each home flourishes with exotic landscaping, and the beach is so pristine, it looks as though it has been raked with the meticulousness of a Zen master.

All this aside, Zapallar is also where you'll find one of the region's most popular restaurants, El Chiringuito (tel. 33/741024), on the south end of town. Birthed from humble beginnings, Chiringuito serves the same tasty but simply prepared seafood dishes it always has, so bring your bourgeois manners and your proletarian bite; the crashing sea views and outdoor seating here encourages you to linger for a long lunch. Credit cards aren't accepted, and reservations are strongly recommended for weekends and during the summer. The place to spend the night here is the Hotel Isla Seca, Ruta F-30 E, no. 31 (tel. 33/741224; www.hotelislaseca.cl). The hotel has 38 handsome, comfortable guest rooms, two swimming pools, and a full-service restaurant. Rates are $75 to $90 (£38-£45) for a standard double, $130 to $160 (£65-£80) for a double with a terrace and ocean view.

Neighboring Zapallar is Colchagua and farther south, Maintencillo, two middle-class weekend retreats for Santiaguinos. In this region, individual private cabins and weekend homes are really the only lodging options here, with one exception: Cabañas Hermansen, one of the more interesting places to bunk for the night (Av. del Mar 592; tel. 32/277-1028; www.hermansen.cl). These self-catering, Swiss Family Robinson-style cabins are handcrafted to be individually different and are scattered amid thick foliage on a hilly slope. Although perfectly comfortable and a hit with kids, you've got to have a sense of adventure to stay here and a rental car to get around. The cost is $55 to $77 (£28-£39) for two people, $80 to $135 (£40-£68) for six; no credit cards are accepted.

A few attractions in this area stand out. At the northern end of the beach in Cachagua, there is a rocky pathway that takes visitors past the Island of Cachagua Nature Sanctuary, where you can view Humboldt penguins and sea lions (try to bring binoculars if you can). In Maitencillo, at Playa Caleta, there is a fishermen's market with a dozen stands hawking shellfish and fish just pulled from the sea. This is as fresh as it gets: Order a plate of raw clams or live scallops, and watch the fishmongers expertly fillet the catch of the day.

Parque Nacional La Campana

La Campana National Park as an "outdoor" destination doesn't offer the diverse array of activities or infrastructure that you find in Cajón de Maipo, but it has two main highlights: its dense concentration of the southernmost species of palm tree in the world, the Palma Chilena (Jubaea chilensis), and the Cerro La Campana, the best 360-degree summit lookout point in the central region (but it's a strenuous hike to get to it). Charles Darwin immortalized this 1,800m-high (5,904-ft.) lookout point in his book Voyage of the Beagle, stating he never so thoroughly enjoyed a day as the one he spent atop this summit. In spite of this renown, it is one of the most overlooked national parks in Chile.

Parque Nacional La Campana is located in the dry coastal mountains, 110km (68 miles) from Santiago, close enough for a day visit or as a stop on the way to or from Valparaíso. There are three sectors with separate entrances. Sector Ocoa has the concentration of palms and is a lovely day hike winding through palm groves and ending at a waterfall. The trail is mostly flat and about 6km (3.75 miles) long. The stout-trunk palms that you see here grow very slowly and live as long as 800 years. Hundreds of thousands once blanketed the central region, but they were nearly harvested to extinction for their sap, which was used to make miel de palma, something like a pancake syrup. Reach this sector from the Panamericana Highway; the signs for the park exit are very visible.

The Sector Cajón Grande has a 7km (4.25-mile) trail through oak groves (best to view in the autumn) that is easy to moderate. By far the most popular is the Sector Granizo, where you'll find the trail head for Darwin's climb to Cerro La Campana. The trail is very steep in parts, especially the last 90 minutes, and can be slippery in parts due to loose rock, but if you can hack it, the breathtaking view at the end sweeps from the Andes mountain range to the coast, allowing you to see Chile "as in a map," said Darwin. The trail is 7km (4.25 miles) and takes approximately 7 to 8 hours to complete. Both sectors Grande and Granizo are in the park's southern region, with both entrances close to the town Olmué. The materials and information offered by the park rangers at Conaf are well designed and very informative. There are campsites in all three sectors, which cost $12 (£6) per night for one to six people; admission to the park is $3 (£1.50) adults and $1.75 (90p) children; open year-round from 9am to 6pm (tel. 33/442922). Bus service here is spotty; better to rent a car, or Santiago Adventures arranges tours here.