Chile Current Time & Time Zone & Time Zone Map

How many time zones does Chile have?

Chile has three civilian time setups on this page: Easter Island Time, Continental Chile Time (most of the mainland, including Santiago), and a year-round UTC−03:00 zone for the far south—Aysén plus Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena.

This page shows three live cards, with example places Hanga Roa (Easter Island), Santiago, and Punta Arenas. Most Chileans live on Continental Chile Time, which still changes for Daylight Saving Time.

What do Chile’s time zones cover?

Below are the three zones on our map, with their usual UTC offsets and the IANA identifiers used by the clocks on this page.

Easter Island Time (IANA ID: Pacific/Easter)

Standard: UTC−06:00 (EAST) | Daylight: UTC−05:00 (EASST).
Covers Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Isla Salas y Gómez. It follows Chile’s DST calendar, but clock changes happen at 22:00 local time on the changeover Saturday—two hours earlier than Santiago. Example city on this page: Hanga Roa.

Continental Chile Time (IANA ID: America/Santiago)

Standard: UTC−04:00 (CLT) | Daylight: UTC−03:00 (CLST).
Covers most of continental Chile, including Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción, and the north. This is the main national clock. Example city on this page: Santiago.

Aysén / Magallanes Time (IANA ID: America/Punta_Arenas)

UTC−03:00 year-round (no DST).
Covers Región de Aysén and Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena (including Punta Arenas). Magallanes has stayed on permanent UTC−03:00 since 2017; Aysén joined that year-round offset more recently. Example city on this page: Punta Arenas.

Who sets Chile’s time zones?

Chile’s official time is set by the national government through decrees (historically under the Interior ministry), not by each region inventing its own permanent offset. Those decrees define continental time, Easter Island time, and which southern regions stay on UTC−03:00 year-round.

That federal control is why Magallanes (and later Aysén) could lock to permanent summer offset while Santiago keeps changing clocks for DST.

How does Daylight Saving Time work in Chile?

On Continental Chile and Easter Island, clocks usually spring forward one hour around the first Saturday in September (mainland change takes effect at midnight—Sunday 00:00) and fall back one hour around the first Saturday in April (again at midnight on the mainland). Exact years can be adjusted by decree.

Easter Island uses the same weekends, but changes at 22:00 local time on the Saturday. Aysén and Magallanes do not change clocks; they stay on UTC−03:00 all year.

Southern Hemisphere note: Chile’s DST season runs through the southern summer—roughly September to April—so when North America or Europe is on standard (“winter”) time, much of Chile may still be on daylight time, and the reverse is true around the northern summer.

What is the time difference across Chile?

Relative to Santiago (America/Santiago):

• Hanga Roa (Easter Island): usually 2 hours behind Santiago year-round (both places change clocks together, on the same weekends).
• Punta Arenas (Aysén / Magallanes): same clock as Santiago in summer (both UTC−03:00); 1 hour ahead of Santiago in winter, when Santiago falls back to UTC−04:00.

For cities outside Chile, use Chile ↔ Regional Compare above to line up the United States, Europe, Asia, or Oceania next to Chile’s zones, with a live converter against Santiago. You can also try our World Meeting Planner or Time Zone Converter.

A brief history of Chile’s time zones

Chile has changed DST dates and offsets many times. Mainland Chile long used seasonal time; Easter Island kept a separate, more westerly offset. In 2017, Magallanes locked to permanent UTC−03:00 so the far south would not keep switching with Santiago. Aysén later moved onto that same year-round clock.

Today’s pattern is: Santiago and most of the country still observe DST; Aysén/Magallanes stay put; Easter Island keeps its own offset and DST change hour.

Where this page’s time data comes from

The clocks and zone labels on this page follow the IANA Time Zone Database: Pacific/Easter, America/Santiago, and America/Punta_Arenas. Santiago and Easter Island change with Chile’s DST rules; Punta Arenas stays on UTC−03:00 year-round. For a broader overview, see Time in Chile (opens in new tab).