
How to plan your trekking tour in Chile
How to plan your trekking tour in Chile – In Chile there is no comprehensive rescue system, the distances are often enormous and the cell phone network is not well developed either. Therefore, any hiking trip must be planned well in advance and very well. There are many hiking routes with tracks and descriptions on the web. However, planning your own route with them is not possible in most cases. In addition, the quality of the maps, the handling and the view of the different applications varies a lot. It is worth comparing them.
Satellite image
Smaller terrain details can be seen better in satellite photos than in map mode. Even roads that are not marked on a map can often be recognized in the satellite image. Different applications show different qualities, so it is worth comparing them. Wiciloc shows a clear image with good colors and is even slightly better than the Google Earth view. With Fatmap you will find a particularly nice and user-friendly 3D representation.

Map quality
The most widely used map is undoubtedly OpenStreetMap. You might think that it is displayed in the same way in all applications, but this is not the case. The content is the same, but the presentation, especially the colors, and therefore the clarity, are different. Faded directions and icons often obscure the map view, so comparing the different options is also an advantage here.

3D view
You can also view imported routes in 3D mode in Google Earth. In this case it is even possible to combine several routes on one map. The Fatmap application allows easier handling with higher image quality and a more detailed view. Existing routes can now also be displayed in the 3D view in AllTrails.

Route planning
If you do not want to make a predefined route but plan your own route at home, Outdooractive and Komoot offer an easy-to-use software. You can plot your own route with it, but you can also have it generated automatically. To do this, just set 2 or more points, the software uses the existing paths and plans the route. Distance, altitude and other details are also displayed. The planned route must be saved on the cell phone to be able to use it offline in the field.

Route portal
Almost all hiking applications are based on predefined routes created by the community. Unfortunately, the data provided for the routes is often relatively poor, so many only use the track as a source of information. The outdoor portal Trekkingchile publishes thousands of routes, often in several languages, which can be accessed free of charge. 360 of them have been personally explored and described by us.

Hiking Maps
No application is as clear as a conventional paper hiking map. This is mainly due to the size and section of the map sheet, which shows the context of the route more clearly. Then there is the calmness during interpretation, which is undisturbed by digital features and nervous blurring back and forth. On the trail, a hiking map has another big advantage: you’ll never run out of battery power.
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- How to plan your trekking tour in Chile