Does it snow in Chile?

Chile is one of the longest (not biggest, but longest) country in America, which makes defining their general weather especially difficult, so much so, they have around seven different sub weathers… Yes, that’s right.

However, and generalizing a lot, you could say Chile has an overall very nice weather all year long. Even during the winter times, the days won’t feel as cold, at least not in most regions of the country.

❄ Does it snow in Chile? 🇨🇱

⛅ Climate of Chile

As we just said, defining the general climate of Chile can be quite tricky. Since it is so long, and due to its geographical position, different regions of the country experiment different climates.

Their climate is so different from zone to another, you can expect a desert-like climate in the north of the country, while if you travel down east, you will be able to experience glaciers… That’s how freaking cold it can get.

Although its climate is very strange, you can define it as humid and subtropical. This means, you should get ready to face various heat waves but also endure some cold winters. You could say you’re getting the best of both worlds.

Chile, like most of its neighbour countries, have a total of four seasons:

🌨 When does it snow in Chile?

Chile experiences snow during the winter time, as you would expect, although it tends to rain more than it actually snows, at least in most regions of the country. But don’t get sad! It does snow, that’s for sure.

You can expect some snow to drop during the peak of their winter time, meaning right in the middle of July, which is when the temperatures could drop more than usual.

As to how often does it snow, well, not too much, unless you’re talking about the Andes Mountains, when it tends to snow heavily during the winter time, experiencing several inches.

Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you might have notice that snow season happens right in the middle of July (something odd for the rest of the world, who would be in the middle of summer time). This means, it does not snow during Christmas time.

Sadly, it doesn’t snow during Christmas time, but if you are up for a snowy summer (assuming you’re traveling during your summer vacations to Chile) then this is the right country to go to!

🌨 Where does it snow in Chile?

Like we have mentioned before, not all the country of Chile experiences snow, as a matter of fact, only a few places get snow during the winter time, while others just experience heavy rainfall.

When it comes to Santiago, it doesn’t snow Actually, it has only snowed about two times in years, and it is considered a climate phenomenon. During most of the times, all you can hope for is some rain and cold wind.

Now, really close to Santiago are the Andes, a huge, massive mountain (various, to be honest) that surround the city, and guess what? It does snow over there! Actually, it’s the perfect place to go skiing, but we’ll talk about that in a minute.

Villages around the Andes experience heavy snowfall as well, such as the Curarrehue village, which tends to get all white and full of snow during the winter time.

⛷ Skiing in Chile

You probably already have an idea of where you can go skiing in Chile, but if you don’t, it’s near and around the Andes mountains. Here are a couple of great ski resorts you might want to check out!

Valle Nevado

Located near Santiago (about an hour) is the Valle Nevado ski resort, the biggest one located in South America. It’s amazing, luxurious, and surrounded by snow-covered mountains, perfect to do some winter sports.

Volcan Osorno

Have you ever thought about skiing down a Volcano? Well, now you can! At the Volcan Osorno ski resort, located just a miles away from Puerto Montt, you can actually ski down a volcano. How cool is that?

Portillo

Another great (and Chile’s oldest) ski resort! It is located just two hours away from Santiago, and it has now turned into a Boutique resort, perfect to spend the day skiing around.

Valle Corralco Hotel & Spa

Are you ready to enjoy some quality time skiing down the snowy mountains only to get back to your hotel and enjoy a relaxing moment at the spa? Then this is the place you’ll want to go! It’s located in Araucania, and it’s simply breathtaking.