Tourism in Chile 2017 by the World Travel Awards, emphasizing its abundance of natural and eco-tourist attractions. Tourism for the year 2018 is projected to continue the increase in visitors, with more than 7 million international tourists estimated to travel to Chile. Online guidebook Lonely Planet has listed Chile as its number 1 destination to visit in 2018. Lonely Planet emphasizes visiting the city of Valparaiso, the northern Atacama Desert, and Patagonia to the south. Occupying the southwest part of South America, Chile is normally divided into three geographic areas: The latitudinal width of the country, which spans over 39° (over 72° if
Patagonian Desert Patagonian Desert The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonia Desert, Patagonian Steppe, or Magellanic Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi). It is located primarily in Argentina with small parts in Chile and is bounded by the Andes, to its west, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, in the region of Patagonia, southern Argentina. To the north the desert grades into the Cuyo Region and the Pampas. The central parts of the steppe are dominated by shrubby and herbaceous plant species