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Valparaiso from Santiago de Chile

Visiting Valparaiso from Santiago

Valparaíso is a city located 120 kilometers west of Santiago de Chile, capital of the country. It is the main port of the country, capital of the 5th Region and seat of the Legislature. Valparaiso is densely populated in the hills and it is very famous for the old elevators. The most prominent places are the National Congress, the Prat Pier, the Artillery Elevator, the Sotomayor Square, the Paseo 21 de Mayo, the “La Sebastiana” Museum, Pablo Neruda’s house, and the Arturo Prat Naval Museum.

Valparaiso: the origins

The area where Valparaíso developed later was inhabited by the monkeys before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, an eminently fishing and nomadic people. They had wolf hide rafts for fishing and also fed on wild fruits. The sector that extends between Concón and Punta Duprat, where the Molo de Abrigo is located, was known as Alimapu (‘land destroyed by fire’) by the picunches, while the area where the city later developed was called Quintil for the monkeys.

Valparaiso: how to arrive?

The city is recognized for being a great center of higher education, since some of the most important universities in Chile are established, such as the University of Valparaíso, Federico Santa María Technical University, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and the University of Playa Ancha. Geographically, Valparaíso is presented in the form of a great natural amphitheater, located in the bay of the same name and surrounded by hills, in which most of the population lives. Between the foot of the hills and the sea the Plan is formed, administrative, commercial and financial center of the city; while the edge of the sea is occupied by the port.

Due to its architectural wealth developed mainly at the end of the 19th century, 6 in 2003 its historic center was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, becoming the third Chilean site protected by the international body, after the Rapa Nui national park and 16 Chiloé churches. Now, how to arrive? You are probably going to go to Valparaíso from Santiago de Chile, right? Well, you will have to go either to Terminal La Alameda or to Terminal Pajaritos. From there, buses of the Turbus and Pullman companies leave, which in just under two hours will leave you at the Valparaíso highway terminal. Once you arrive at the Valparaíso station, you will have to take an urban bus to the central part. But come on, in the station itself there is a tourist office that if you show it where your accommodation is, it will indicate you perfectly. It is quite easy to move through its streets, you will see, since on one side of the city is the sea and on the other the hills.

Wather in Valparaiso

Valparaíso has a cool Mediterranean climate of great cloudiness with dry and warm summers and humid and temperate winters with an average annual temperature of 14.5 ° C, being highly influenced by the Humboldt Current which moderates temperatures in summer and winter, causing the annual thermal amplitude to be attenuated. In July, which is the coldest month, the average temperature is 11.8 ° C, while in the summer it rises to more than 17 ° C. Temperatures rarely exceed 30 ° C, although up to 32 ° C have been recorded in the city. Rainfall is concentrated in autumn and winter, the rainiest month being July (118 mm); the total annual average of precipitations is of 373mm. Snow has appeared on rare occasions in the highest sectors of the city.22 Valparaíso is also characterized by strong winds that during winter can produce thermal sensations below the freezing point.

Valparaiso: What to see?

Alegre Hill

Cerro Alegre is one of the places you can visit in Valparaíso. You know that Valparaiso is a city of colors, and hills. In Valparaíso everything is built at the height of the hills, and right there we find all the murals with striking colors. Cerro Alegre is one of the most touristic and important areas of Valparaíso, with a residential neighborhood with unique architectural elements and a lot of color. Its backbone is found in Montealegre street. It should also be remembered that Chile is a seismic country, and has suffered several catastrophic earthquakes on many occasions. One of them was in 1906 that forced to change the complete architecture of Cerro Alegre.

Concepción Hill

The other famous and touristic hill to visit in Valparaíso is this Cerro Concepción. In fact, here we find most of the accommodations and hotels. It is the place we recommend the most to stay for the night, both for your safety and for its environment and important places to see. The name of Concepción comes from the name of the fort that was built there to defend the city. It has also received names such as Cerro del Chivato, the name of a mythological being that in theory lived at the foot of the hill, in the Cueva del Chivato, kidnapping everyone who passed there at night. In Cerro Concepción we find an atmosphere and many street stalls, with crafts and cafes and incredible colors among the murals.

La Sebastiana (Pablo Neruda´s House)

Pablo Neruda, the famous chilean poet, had thre famous houses, one is located in Isla Negra, another that we visited in Santiago de Chile and the last one can be found in Valparaíso. It´s may be the most most beautiful of all, and one of the most important tourist places to visit in Valparaíso. You can find La Sebastiana in the upper part of the city, you can walk from Cerro Concepción or Alegre and it will take a little over half an hour. You will have to go uphill a bit, half the way to the best, but the views that you will have from above will worth it.

The Elevators

As Valparaíso is on a very important slope, you will have to go up in its elevators so as not to take your breath away on each slope. In addition, it´s very cheap and it is quite cool to go up in one of them because of the perspective that the rise gives you. It is one of the most famous tourist attractions to visit in Valparaíso. The elevators operates every day from 07:00 am to 11:00 pm.

Reina Victoria Elevator. One of the shortest lifts, 40 meters, but steeper. At its upper station, a small square with fantastic views and full of murals awaits you. From here begins Paseo Dimalow, another space full of street art that connects with Cerro Concepción.

The Artillery Elevator. From Plaza Wheelwright – also known as Plaza Aduana because of the building that is there – to the natural viewpoint of Paseo 21 de Mayo, on Cerro Artillería. The views from this point and the artisan walk make it one of the lifts most used by tourists.

El Peral Elevator. Opened in 1901, it is one of the oldest still in operation. After strolling through Plaza Sotomayor and Plaza de Justicia, in plan, you can take this elevator to go up to the panoramic Paseo Yugoslavo del Cerro Alegre.

Concepción Elevator. The pioneer of what would become one of Valparaíso’s most recognizable features, it was inaugurated in 1883 and recently repaired to recover this vital part of Chile’s history. The Concepción elevator connects the famous Turri Clock building with Paseo Gervasoni del Cerro Concepción.

The Port of Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a port city, clearly. As soon as you arrive in the city you will realize it, since you can smell the fishing atmosphere in all places. The port of Valparaíso is the port with the highest number of passengers in the country and the second with the highest container movement, after San Antonio (which when it was built greatly affected the economy of “Valpo” as it completely overshadowed it). Even so, it annually transfers more than 10M tons of cargo and its terminals pass over 30% of all Chilean foreign trade. In addition, each year more than 40 cruise ships and 100,000 visitors pass.

The Murals (Painted Walls)

There are several tours where you can enjoy the most important, you can go to see the Open Sky Museum, as well as the murals that you will see throughout the city, especially in the Cerros Alegre and Concepción. A lot of color, a lot of art, with graffiti murals that were painted with the paint of the boats, something similar to the neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires. We will also find protest murals, with messages, and most of them deserve a few minutes to understand the artist’s intention.

Book an excursion to enjoy Valparaiso from Santiago de Chile

From Santiago, you can book the excursion to the Viña del Mar and Valparaiso.

Visiting Santiago? check our best tours to enjoy Chile

#353 – Santiago, Atacama Desert & Easter Island – 9 nights
#351 – Santiago, Torres del Paine and Atacama Desert – 9 nights
#363 – Santiago, Atacama, Torres del Paine & Skorpios III Cruise – 12 nts
#360 – Chilean Patagonia and Atacama Desert – 12 nts

Tours in Chile with Argentina, Peru, and other destinations in Chile

It´s a nice list of four tours including the Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar in the itinerary. But, a great idea is to combine these places, with other destinations in Chile and why not… Argentina and Peru. Check some great options below:

#1052 – From Rio to Santiago via Iguazu, Buenos Aires and Atacama – 18 nts
#1081 – Colorful Argentina, Chile & Peru – 17 nights
#1004 – Argentina & Chile in 12 nights – Option IV – 12 nts
#1090 – The Great tour of South America – 26 nights