Chile is the place to be when you want to turn off the plugged-in chatter of every day and feel truly away from it all. This adventure takes you to the very brinks of civilization with a visit to the high Atacama Desert and then to Easter Island, where the gigantic stone effigies glare over the Pacific. In between, you’ll have a chance to explore urban Santiago and go wine tasting at a vineyard in the long shadows of the Andes. But never fear. Even in the wildest settings, you’ll settle into the finest luxury inns and hotels. Throughout, you’ll have the fulltime company of accomplished local guides who help you make sense of cultures and environments that couldn’t be farther from the norm. As your guide Andres likes to say, “Chile helps you feel what you’ve never felt, learn what you never knew, and have the time of your life, too!”

DAYS 1-2 – ATACAMA DESERT
From your luxury hotel near San Pedro, you’ll explore the vast red desert’s natural and human history. With your expert local guide, you’ll visit a 12th century forest, meet a farm family, walk the streets of a 2,000-year-old village and catch sunset in the otherworldly Valley of the Moon. In a sod-roofed town, the local women will lay out a home-cooked lunch for you. At Los Flamencos National Reserve, you’ll spot flocks of flamingos tip-toeing in lagoons at the base of the snow-capped Andes.

DAYS 3-4 – SANTIAGO / CASABLANCA VINEYARDS
For height, the skyscrapers of Santiago can’t begin to compete with the Andes. You’ll get a feel for this lively capital on a walk that ranges from the modern to the elaborate Spanish colonial architecture. The nearby Casablanca valley is one of the world’s finest wine-growing regions. At a family-owned vineyard, you’ll go for a beautiful walk, talk with the wine-makers and enjoy a tasting in their cellars. You’ll also visit Valparaiso, the colorful port city known as the “Pearl of the Pacific.”

DAYS 5-8 – EASTER ISLAND
The first miracle of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is that the Polynesians in their fragile outriggers managed to find this volcanic dot in the Pacific Ocean more than a thousand years ago. You, of course, arrive by plane to marvel at the enigmatic moai sculptures that stand sentinel on the hills and beaches. From the comfort of sustainable resort, you’ll visit the 3,000,000-year-old volcano that gave birth to the island. You’ll watch the sun rise alongside the beachside rank of moai at Ahu Tongariki. On the slopes of Rano Raraku, you’ll walk amid the hundreds of statues, still standing in place where they were sculpted from the live rock…and then marvel at how one 80-ton sculpture was moved to the pink coral beach at Akahena. Your time on Easter Island draws to a close with a performance of traditional Rapa Nui music and dance.