Chile is definitely a place to visit. The good thing with this country is that, with 4000 kilometers long, you can see almost every landscape you can imagine, from the dryiest place on earth (Atacama desert) to the ice desert of "Tierra del Fuego" (Spanish for "Land of Fire").

If you plan to go there late 2006, I guess it's not warm enough to visit the southern part of Chile, the best season being January to March - summer season. I also recommend the 8th region and below (South and Far South regions), including Patagonia, Chiloe and the Lake region.

I spent a few weeks visiting the Far North last year (June-July). Some places like San Pedro de Atacama are worth visiting. It's a cute little village in the middle of the Salar de Atacama. We stayed in Hotel Kimal (http://www.kimal.cl/index_i.htm), a bit expensive but it has everything you need (and more: spa) and the osners are nice. There's a lot of tours organized for visitors: Valley of the Moon, Tatio Geysers, Salar de Atacama, and some volcanoes treckings. The Landscape is simply unbelievable.

Other places worth visiting up in the north are: Parinacota village (Lauca National Park, 1st Region), Humberstone salpeter works (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1178), Giant geoglyphs at Pintados, near Iquique.

I've posted the photos of this trip in my Flickr photosets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99155568@N00/sets/652441/
Let me know if you're deciding to go to Chile.

One last thing: Chileans are sooooo nice! I've never met such a nice people. They're always glad to help you.