3 Best Sights in The Central Valley, Chile

One of the best museums in Chile, this attractive, colonial-style, 20th-century building houses exhibitions on the history of the region. It's the largest private natural-history collection in the country and second only in size to Santiago's Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. Exhibits include pre-Columbian mummies, extinct insects set in amber viewed through special lenses, the world's largest collection of silver work by the indigenous Mapuche, and the only known original copy of Chile's proclamation of independence. A few early vehicles and wine-making implements surround the building. The museum is the creation of Santa Cruz native and wealthy businessman Carlos Cardoen. His foundation, Fundación Cardoen, runs three additional museums in greater Santa Cruz, which are dedicated to wine, antique cars, and indigenous arts and crafts. Purchase a Route of the Museums pass if you want to visit two or more.

Ceramics, stone tools, and other artifacts collected from pre-Columbian peoples are on display at this small outpost from Fundación Cardoen, which operates four other museums near Santa Cruz.

This three-room museum re-creates a typical 18th-century home, complete with period furniture and religious artifacts. A small collection of 19th-century weaponry is the type that would have been used in the momentous Battle of Rancagua. Dioramas illustrate this dramatic moment in the country's quest for independence. The whitewashed colonial building is a few blocks south of Plaza de los Héroes.