Discovering North of Chile by Car

“Discovering North of Chile by Car,” is a travel story with more than 50 photos of a remote and fascinating region of Chile. You’ll journey through beautiful landscapes, from Antofagasta up to the border with Bolivia and Peru, from the volcanoes of the Andes, the arid Atacama Desert, to the raging waves of the Pacific Ocean. You’ll drive between lakes, salt deserts, geysers, rocky areas, canyons and small and isolated villages, full of charm and contrast.

“Discovering North of Chile by Car,” is a travel story with more than 50 photos of a remote and fascinating region of Chile. You’ll journey through beautiful landscapes, from Antofagasta up to the border with Bolivia and Peru, from the volcanoes of the Andes, the arid Atacama Desert, to the raging waves of the Pacific Ocean. You’ll drive between lakes, salt deserts, geysers, rocky areas, canyons and small and isolated villages, full of charm and contrast. With brief historical notes and references to the people and their traditions, the author engages the reader, providing realistic glimpses that are described in a subjective manner, thus retaining the emotion of the trip, by forwarding every nuance. It is a story of more than 1,500 miles spent on Chilean roads. This book will help you to learn firsthand, more about the places of this region of Chile and to prepare a road trip in this extreme area of the country. To travel, while looking for the most exciting and spontaneous expressions of nature, is a desire that many of us have in our hearts. This book, illustrated with over 60 photos and some video clips, tells of a journey undertaken in this spirit, through northern Chile. Here you’ll find three basic elements of nature, in their extreme manifestations, are opposed to each other: the fire of volcanoes, the arid land of the desert, and the vast expanse of ocean. The journey starts along the Andes, between 3,500 and 4,500 meters above sea level, a region dotted with active volcanoes, and lagoons and salt lakes inhabited by flamingos. Coming down from altitude you’ll enter the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, but alive and lit by a thousand colors. Then you’ll descend along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, where roaring waves crash on high cliffs, mixed with long stretches of isolated beaches. More than 1,550 miles of your journey will be spent in the most absolute solitude, in close contact with nature, driving on dirt roads that seem never-ending. This is not a travel guide with detailed information on restaurants and hotels, which often change so quickly that more reliable information may be obtained from a dedicated website. Instead, this is a story that transmits the feelings and emotions evoked from this region of Chile. It is a book for anyone who is planning a trip to this area, and who wants some basic tips on how to properly prepare to travel by car in this region. But this is also a good lecture for those who want to learn more about this remote corner of South America, its most beautiful places, culture and people.

Franco Folino is a cardiologist and a journalist. He started working as a journalist by writing for several Italian motorsport magazines, and later also in television media, extending his interest in other fields of information. He later became a cardiologist and published several scientific papers in prestigious journals. Passionate about travel, he has covered many miles on the roads of Europe, North America and South America, always looking for the most authentic expressions of the nature.