Oblique Light

Stairwells in Valparaíso

If you ever walk this city, take the stairs instead of the road.

Marisol Aguirre

Feb 18, 2026

“What should I actually do when I get there?”

When a friend visiting Chile asks me this, I reach for the obvious answers first. The fish market before dawn, a ride up the old funicular, the long walk out to the breakwater. Every one of them is worth the trip.

But I usually add one more: “Take the stairwells between the hills. They are the only honest map this city keeps.”