Ojos del Salado
Chile is full of natural wonders, fascinating history and unexpected surprises. Here are a few facts you may not know:
1. A glacier that is still growing
While most glaciers around the world are retreating, Chile’s Pío XI Glacier is one of the few that has continued to advance. Located in Patagonia, it is the largest glacier in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica.
2. Mummies older than the Egyptian pyramids
The Chinchorro people of northern Chile began artificially mummifying their dead thousands of years before the ancient Egyptians. Their mummies are the oldest known examples of artificial mummification in the world. The Chinchorro sites in the Arica and Parinacota Region have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021.
3. The real-life Robinson Crusoe
Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, whose story helped inspire Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, survived alone for more than four years on a remote island in Chile’s Juan Fernández Archipelago. One of the islands in the archipelago was later named Alejandro Selkirk Island.
4. The highest active volcano on Earth
Rising to 6,893 metres on the Chile–Argentina border, Nevado Ojos del Salado is the world’s highest active volcano. Its spectacular high-altitude landscape also features some of the highest permanent bodies of water on Earth.