Artisan Traditions of Chile: A Journey from Santiago to Patagonia February 14-March 1, 2027

Heritage by Hand invites you to join us on an extraordinary journey through Chile — from the vibrant capital of Santiago through the dramatic landscapes of the Lakes Region to the magical island of Chiloé, gateway to Chilean Patagonia. This is a trip for travelers who want to go deep: into living craft traditions, Indigenous culture, and some of the most beautiful and least-visited corners of South America. February and early March are the height of the Chilean summer — long days, lush landscapes, and the Lakes Region at its most breathtaking.

Itinerary at a Glance

Sun Feb 14: Arrive Santiago, group dinner
Mon–Wed Feb 15–17: Santiago — La Moneda Cultural Center, Pre-Columbian Art Museum, Museo de la Memoria, design stores, Ko Chile workshop, Artesanías de Chile, expert lectures
Thu Feb 18: Fly to Temuco, visit Mapuche weavers & silversmiths, drive to Pucón
Fri–Sun Feb 19–21: Pucón & Villarrica — mid-century modern hotel, weavers, wood carvers, hot springs, spa & free day
Mon Feb 22: Drive to Chiloé via Puerto Montt ferry
Tue–Fri Feb 23–27: Chiloé — Castro, Dalcahue Artisan Fair, curanto lunch, Isla Ballena, weavers, dye plants, penguins & national park
Sat Feb 28: Ferry to Puerto Montt, fly to Santiago
Mon Mar 1: Depart for home

Santiago

We begin in Santiago, one of Latin America's most dynamic and culturally rich capitals. Our days in Santiago are designed to give participants a panoramic grounding in Chile's traditional artisan communities — who they are, what they make, and what they are doing to maintain and transmit their cultural traditions in the contemporary world. This context will deepen and enrich everything we encounter as we travel south.

We will visit the Centro Cultural La Moneda — the magnificent exhibition center located beneath the Plaza de la Ciudadanía, adjacent to Chile's seat of government — where world-class rotating exhibitions consistently showcase the best of Chilean and Latin American art, craft, and design. We will visit the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino — one of the finest pre-Columbian art museums in the Americas — whose extraordinary collection of Indigenous textiles, ceramics, and objects from across the continent provides essential context for the living craft traditions we will encounter throughout the trip.

We will also visit the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, Chile's powerful memorial museum dedicated to the victims of the Pinochet dictatorship. Our host and Heritage by Hand owner has written extensively about memorial museums in Latin America and will offer her own perspective on this profound institution — helping participants understand the political history that has shaped contemporary Chile and the resilience of its people and cultures.

We will visit Artesanías de Chile, the government organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Chilean artisan traditions, and will have the rare opportunity to meet with a former director — an expert with an unparalleled understanding of the country's craft landscape, its artisan communities, and the policies that shape them. We will also hear from local historians and textile and design experts whose work illuminates the deep cultural roots of what we will encounter throughout the trip.

We will explore the city's vibrant contemporary design scene — visiting standout design stores and cultural institutions that reveal the depth and ambition of Chile's creative identity. We will also visit the small Santiago workshop where the Ko Chile bath and body collection is made — a rare behind-the-scenes look at the artisans behind a Heritage by Hand collection.

Santiago has emerged as one of South America's most exciting gastronomic cities, and we will dine at Borágo and Ambrosía — two of the city's most celebrated restaurants, both recognized on the World's 50 Best list, where Chilean ingredients and culinary tradition are elevated to extraordinary heights.

The Lakes Region — Temuco, Pucón & Villarrica

We fly from Santiago to Temuco, the heart of Mapuche territory, where we will spend time with master weavers and silversmiths — an encounter that most travelers never have access to. Mapuche silverwork — known as platería mapuche — is among the most sophisticated Indigenous metalworking traditions in the Americas. Mapuche weaving, worked on traditional upright looms, carries centuries of cosmological meaning in every pattern and color.

That evening we drive to Pucón. During our days in Pucón, we will visit Villarrica — just a short drive away — to meet a community of master wood carvers. We will also visit a family of weavers and soak in the region's famous hot springs. We will stay at a legendary Bauhaus-inspired architectural hotel perched above Lake Villarrica — one of Chile's most celebrated and iconic properties, with a spa and sweeping views over the lake and the Villarrica volcano.

One of our days in Pucón is intentionally unstructured — a rare and welcome pause in a full itinerary. Participants can choose their own adventure: a long morning in the hotel spa, a sailing excursion on Lake Villarrica, fly fishing on the Trancura River, birdwatching in the surrounding native forest, kayaking on the lake, or for the more adventurous, a guided ascent of Villarrica volcano — one of the most active volcanoes in South America and one of the most exhilarating hikes in the region.

Chiloé — Island of Magic, Craft & UNESCO Heritage

From Pucón we drive through the stunning volcanic landscape to Puerto Montt, where we board the ferry to Chiloé — one of the great scenic transitions in South American travel. Chiloé is the gateway to Chilean Patagonia: an island of mist, color, and extraordinary craft tradition, where the pace of life slows and the landscape feels like the edge of the world.

We will base ourselves in Castro, the island's capital, where we recommend staying in one of the famous palafitos — the colorful traditional stilt houses built over the water that have become one of Chiloé's most iconic images. We will explore Castro's UNESCO World Heritage wooden churches, including the magnificent Iglesia San Francisco, and stroll the waterfront to take in the palafito architecture at its most photogenic.

In Dalcahue, we will browse the celebrated Artisan Fair — one of the finest traditional craft markets in Chile — and sit down to a traditional curanto. One of the great culinary traditions of the Americas, curanto is a feast of fresh seafood, smoked meats, and potatoes slow-cooked together in a pit dug into the earth and covered with nalca leaves. It is at once a meal, a ritual, and a window into the soul of Chiloé — an experience as important as any museum or church on the island.

We will spend time with an innovative local designer who works directly with traditional weavers, preserving and reimagining the island's textile heritage. We will have the opportunity to watch these spinners, dyers and weavers at work, and — if the season allows — to harvest dye plants with them in the surrounding landscape. We will visit Isla Ballena, home to a remarkable cooperative of basket weavers. We will take a boat tour to the Puñihuil penguin colony — one of the only places in the world where Magellanic and Humboldt penguins nest side by side. We will hike through the native rainforest and dramatic Pacific coastline of Chiloé National Park, and visit the Muelle de las Almas — the haunting Dock of the Souls cliffside art installation near Cucao.

General Information

The program fee includes all ground transportation within Chile during the trip, two internal flights (Santiago to Temuco and Puerto Montt to Santiago), entrance fees to museums, national parks, and cultural sites, workshop and studio visit fees, speaking fees for artisan visits and expert lectures, and the Puñihuil penguin boat tour. Participants will cover their own international flights to and from Santiago, lodging costs, meals, and airport transfers. We will provide lodging recommendations for each destination, including palafito hotels in Castro, upon booking. There will be a moderate amount of daily walking, and some activities may involve uneven terrain in rural and coastal areas. Please keep your physical abilities in mind when booking.

Chile Trip Dates

Arrive Sunday, February 14, 2027
Depart Monday, March 1, 2027

Pricing

$5,200 per person
Deposit: $1,500 due upon booking
Final payment: $3,700 due October 1, 2026
Maximum of 11 guests. Trips typically host 6–8 participants.

Cancellation & Refunds

• Cancel before August 1, 2026: full refund
• Cancel between August 1 and October 1, 2026: 50% refund
• Cancel after October 1, 2026: no refund

We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect your investment in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

What to Budget Beyond the Program Fee

Accommodations (per person, based on double occupancy): Budget approximately $75–$250 per person per night in Santiago, approximately $150–$200 per person per night in Pucón (4 nights), and approximately $35–$50 per person per night in Castro. Total lodging for the trip: approximately $1,000–$1,700 per person.

Meals: Most meals are at your own expense. Budget approximately $60–$80 per day, or $840–$1,120 for the full trip. Dining at Borágo and Ambrosía in Santiago will be an additional splurge — and well worth it.

International flights: Budget approximately $800–$1,400 return depending on your departure city and travel dates. We recommend booking early as February is peak summer season in Chile.

Estimated all-in budget per person: $8,000–$9,600

Health and Activity Levels

There will be a moderate amount of daily walking (10,000+ steps on some days). Chiloé and the Lakes Region involve some rural travel on unpaved roads. The Chilean summer is warm but the south can be cool and rainy — we will provide a packing list before the trip. The optional volcano hike requires a good level of fitness and is entirely optional.