Over 500 km west of Valparaiso, Robinson Crusoe Island is about as remote as it gets in the South Pacific. Part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago, this volcanic speck has rainforest, sheer cliffs, and dry coastal plains, all packed into an island you could walk across in a day. Around 500 people live here, nearly all in the village of San Juan Bautista.
The island's claim to fame is Alexander Selkirk, the Scottish sailor marooned here from 1704 to 1708, whose story inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. The Plazoleta del Yunque marks the spot, and the Mirador de Selkirk is the saddle where he climbed daily to watch for ships. The island is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, home to dozens of endemic plant species found nowhere else on earth, protected within the Juan Fernandez National Park.
San Juan Bautista has a few places to stay. A boat ride of about one hour connects the village to the airstrip, from where small planes fly to Santiago.