Mainland Chile has no mosquito-borne disease. Easter Island is the exception.

Are there mosquitoes in Chile? A few, and on the mainland they carry no disease of concern. The CDC's Chile page lists no dengue, Zika, chikungunya or malaria, and the biter that bothers summer hikers in Patagonia is the tábano, a large horsefly that hangs around the lakes in early summer. Easter Island is the exception, with the dengue mosquito established and a local dengue outbreak in 2026.

Patagonia's tábanos

Tábanos are Patagonia's main summer biting nuisance, and they carry no disease concern. They show up in humid areas near lakes in the first half of summer, from about December into January, with the peak depending on the weather. Calm, hot days, low ground and the water's edge bring them out, and wind keeps them down. Expect them on calm days around the lakes of Torres del Paine and in the Lake District near Puerto Varas and Pucón, along with some mosquitoes.

Forum regulars say repellent works poorly on tábanos, so light-colored long sleeves and trousers are the usual advice. The same flies work the Argentine side of the border; our Argentina briefing covers Bariloche and El Calafate. If your Patagonia trip includes rural cabins or camping, the CDC's Chile page lists hantavirus, spread by rodent urine and droppings, so steer clear of droppings. It also lists Chagas disease, spread by triatomine bugs.

Easter Island: the 2026 dengue outbreak

The dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is established on Rapa Nui, and the regional health authority has said it has been there since 2000. Dengue first broke out on the island in 2002, Chile's first outbreak, and came back in 2006–07, 2008, 2009 and 2011. In early March 2026 the Valparaíso regional health authority confirmed four cases, three of them caught on the island. By mid-July, Chilean press reports citing the health ministry and the regional authority counted at least 28 confirmed cases. The island also had Chile's first Zika outbreak, from January to May 2014, traced to French Polynesia.

The CDC's Chile page lists no dengue or Zika, so it doesn't reflect the island's outbreaks. The newest reports date from July, so check the current dengue situation with Chile's health ministry before you go. The 2026 outbreak began in March, at the end of the southern summer, which puts a February–April visit in the window when dengue has appeared. If you're pregnant, ask a healthcare provider about Zika before an Easter Island trip.

On the island, Aedes bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon. Put repellent on over sunscreen before a day out on the island and again before sunset. The trade wind keeps mosquitoes down most days, but numbers rise after rain. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Where you're going

Here is how the main stops compare for a December–April trip.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor forum threads and linked so you can read them in full. None is dated to a particular year, and wind and weather change the picture from one day to the next.

• Torres del Paine · January

  In a thread about mosquitoes in Torres del Paine in January, a poster said the tábanos show up in humid areas near the lakes in the first half of summer. TripAdvisor ↗

• Chilean Lake District (Los Lagos) · December to January

  Posters said horseflies peak in December or January depending on the weather, prefer still, hot days, low altitude and the water's edge, and are slow and easy to swat once they land; they advised light-colored clothing. TripAdvisor ↗

• Chilean Lake District (Los Lagos) · summer

  Replies to a traveler asking what to do about horseflies said wind keeps them down and that they are easy to swat once they land. TripAdvisor ↗

• Easter Island · October (question); August and after rain (replies)

  One poster said the island is usually windy enough to keep mosquitoes away but still suggested bringing repellent. Another visitor found lots of mosquitoes after rain two weeks earlier, while a different poster barely saw any in August. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Chile and whether Easter Island was on the route.

Traveler questions