South America Cruise - from Valparaíso / Santiago de Chile - 124503

Valparaíso is one of the first cities founded by the Spanish in Chile. What is today Chile's largest sea port lies in a picturesque bay around which the city centre is built. This is where you can see historic buildings in the Victorian and neoclassical styles, huge squares and a modern port facility. The residential areas are for the most part situated on the hills surrounding the city to which the many stairways and a unique cable-car system with 16 carriages lead. It is well worth the journey uphill - the view of the harbour and the city centre is simply breathtaking. Probably the most unusual city in Chile, it is known for its interlinked houses with their traditional inner courtyards.

Cape Horn (Spanish: Cabo de Hornos) is the most southerly point of South America and was named by Dutch sailors after the city of Hoorn. It is situated on an island that is part of Chile and for a long time was one of the routes most feared by seafarers. Passage to the West in particular was extremely dangerous and difficult due to the constant Westerlies. In Cape Horn there is a monument in the shape of an albatross that is visible from out at sea. The monument is dedicated to the many sailors who perished in these waters aboard their heavily-laden cargo ships during the first few decades of the last century.

Ushuaia, the capital of the Argentinean part of Tierra del Fuego, was built by prisoners. The old prison has become an attraction and is a must-see. The town, which is considered to be the most southerly town in the world, lies directly by the snow-covered mountains of the Andes and by the Beagle Canal.