Chile - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 371

consist of furnished rooms in someone's
home, often with breakfast included;
not surprisingly, the quality varies
enormously. A basic double room will
cost about CH$12,000-20,000; single
rooms can cost as much as two-thirds the
price of doubles.
Cabañas are usually found in well-
visited spots, particularly by the ocean.
They tend to come with a fully equipped
kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms, and
can be a great option for those travelling
in groups. Depending on the time of
year, a cabaña for two people costs about
CH$20,000-30,000. Lower rates can be
negotiated for larger groups.
Refugios are cheap (except those
in Torres del Paine National Park),
bare-bones lodgings found in national
parks, usually consisting of several bunk
beds in a wooden hut. Most have clean
bedding, showers and flushable toilets;
some require you to bring your own
sleeping bag. Costs are around
CH$8000-10,000 per person. Many
refugios stay open year-round, but if you
are planning on wilderness trekking, or
on travelling in the south of Chile in the
winter, try to arrange lodgings by calling
the local Conaf office ( W conaf.cl), Chile's
national forestry service, in advance;
individual offices are listed on its website.

available. The quality of HI hostels is
not necessarily better than independent
hostels, though they do tend to meet
basic standards, so can be preferable to
some budget hotels.
Note that in some widely visited places,
such as Pucón and San Pedro de Atacama,
a hostal may not necessarily mean a bona
fide youth hostel - in many cases they
simply turn out to be family homes.
Chile has marvellous opportunities for
camping , with a proliferation of both
fully equipped campsites (which can
be somewhat pricey) and beautiful
wilderness spots. There is ample free
camping on empty beaches, although in
most national parks you should only
camp in designated spots. Campings y
Rutas Chile , published only in Spanish by
Turistel, and updated annually, has an
extensive, though not entirely complete,
list of campsites around Chile.

4

FOOD AND DRINK
Despite the abundance of fresh produce,
food in Chile can seem somewhat bland
as few spices are used; exceptions are
pebre (a spicy salsa served with bread) and
ají chileno , served with barbecued meat.
Breakfast ( desayuno ) consists of coffee and
the ubiquitous pockmarked bread with
butter and jam. Lunch ( almuerzo ) is the
main meal of the day, typically made up
of three courses; at lunchtime most
restaurants offer a good-value fixed-price
menú del día . Dinner ( cena ) is usually
served late, rarely before 9pm, and in
Chilean households is often replaced by a
lighter evening snack ( once ). Restaurants
open from around 7pm but don't start to
fill up until around 9pm.
Chicken and beef are the commonest
meats , the latter often served boiled or
grilled with a fried egg on top ( lomo a
lo pobre ) or as part of a parillada (mixed
grill). Two dishes found on menus across
the country are cazuela , a hearty meat
casserole, and pastel de choclo , a sweet-
tasting corn and beef pie. When in
Patagonia, do not miss the asador
patagónico , spit-roasted lamb ( cordero )
and wild boar ( jibalí ) steaks, while llama
and alpaca steaks and stew are a staple of

HOSTELS AND CAMPING
Hostel and camping options are plentiful
across the country, especially in well-visited
cities and popular outdoor destinations.
Some independent hostel groups compile
booklets listing the best hostels, which are
worth picking up. Backpackers Chile , for
example, who have both a booklet and
website ( W backpackerschile.com), offer a
reliable benchmark for high-quality hostels.
The booklet is available from any of the
hostels listed on the site, and at major
information offices. Also worth picking up
is the Get South booklet ( W getsouth.com),
which offers discounts and freebies for
various hostels across Chile, as well as
Argentina and Uruguay.
Most major cities and key tourist
centres have a Hostelling International -
affiliated hostel ( W hihostels.com),
for which member discounts will be