Rhys Calloway
The city on foot — cerros, barrios and the hours that matter
Based in Lastarria, Santiago.
Rhys is a Welsh writer who came to Santiago on a three-month trip and stayed to walk it properly, from the funicular up Cerro San Cristóbal to the muralled lanes of Barrio Yungay. He maps city breaks around neighbourhoods, viewpoints and day trips to the Cajón del Maipo, timed so you skip the queues and the smog days.
Latest stories
Lollapalooza Chile 2027: Day-by-Day Lineup and How to Plan a March Trip to Santiago
Lollapalooza's 2027 running order isn't out yet, so a March trip has nothing firm to hang on. The Santiago festivals that are already fixed have dates and prices you can plan around, and one of them you can still walk into.
Climbing Cerro San Cristóbal above Santiago
What it costs to get up Santiago's 880-metre hill, when the lifts and gates open, and what the summit is actually like.
Up Costanera Center for the Highest View in Santiago
What the lift up Santiago's Gran Torre costs, what you see from the top, which hour to pick, and the cheaper rival across the river.
Santiago's Barrio Lastarria by Car in October
Six cobbled blocks, three museums on three different schedules, and the parking problem nobody mentions. How to do Lastarria properly in the spring window.
Santiago's Bellavista on Foot from Neruda to the Summit
The painted streets between the Mapocho and Cerro San Cristóbal, walked properly: the poet's house, the two ways up the hill, where to eat, and the day that Mondays ruin.
The Marraqueta Run Starts Before Seven in Santiago
A walkable map of Santiago's bread morning: which counters open at 7am, which prize-winning marraqueta is worth the metro ride, and where ten people can actually sit down.
Where Santiago Goes When the Winter Smog Settles In
From May to August the city sits under a brown lid. Here is what the inversion layer is, how locals plan around it, and the drives, walks and hot pools that get you above it.
One Day in Valparaíso, Starting from a Santiago Metro Stop
How to do the coast in a day without losing half of it to transit: one bus, the cliff lifts that are actually running, and a 17:00 museum deadline.
Planning a Santiago Weekend Around Two Nights of Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden play Estadio Nacional on back-to-back nights in late October 2026, and the consecutive dates change how you should book everything else.
Where Santiago's Skyline Turns Into a Mountain Trail
A route-by-route guide to hikes from Santiago's rooftops into the Andes: a 90-minute sunset scramble up to a full-day glacier trek.
The Mapocho Trail: Santiago on Foot and by Bike
A river Santiago spent decades trying to hide turns out to be the best-organised walking and cycling route in the city, if you know which banks to follow.
The Cueca, the Chino and Santiago's Fonda Season
Every September, Santiago trades its usual rhythm for chicha, terremotos and the stomp of cueca — here's a working route through the city's mega-fondas, barrio parties and the bars where the dance is still danced hard.
The Poet's Three Houses: Pablo Neruda's Santiago and the Homes He Built Like Poems
A practical, honest walk through Pablo Neruda's Santiago — one house in the city, two more worth the day trip, and everything in between that explains why he built them like poems.
Snow in the Morning, City by Afternoon: Santiago's One-Hour Andes Ski Day
A practical route through Santiago's three Andes ski resorts, the road up through Farellones, and the two city viewpoints that let you see the mountains you skied that same morning — plus honest notes on which venues suit groups and which don't.
The Completo and the City: Santiago's Street-Level Hot Dog Obsession
In Santiago, a hot dog buried under avocado, tomato, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise isn't a snack — it's the most democratic meal in the city, and every santiaguino has a counter they'll defend to the death.
Reading the Andes: Santiago's Cerros and the Funiculars That Climb Them
A practical, route-by-route guide to Santiago's hills — from the funicular up San Cristóbal to the dawn scramble up Provincia — sorted by how much effort you actually want to spend.
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