Professional surfer on a wave known as El Gringo.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Arica

The pace of Arica is simply delightful. It's warm and sunny year-round, there's a cool pedestrian mall to wander around come sunset, and decent brown-sugar beaches are just a short walk from the town center. Top this off with some kick-ass surf breaks and a cool cliff-top War of the Pacific battlefield at El Morro, and you may just stay another day or two before you head up to nearby Parque Nacional Lauca or take an afternoon off from 'beach duty' to visit the Azapa Valley, home to some of the world's oldest-known mummies.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Museo de Sitio Colón 10
Arica
See the 32 excavated Chinchorro mummies in situ at this tiny museum below El Morro. They were discovered when an architect bought this former private home…
El Morro de Arica
Arica
This imposing coffee-colored shoulder of rock looms 110m over the city. It makes a great place to get your bearings, with vulture-eye views of the city,…
Ferrocarril Arica-Poconchile
Arica
One part of the old rail line that linked Arica with La Paz, Bolivia, has been restored, allowing you to ride a tourist train that runs once a week…
Cuevas de Anzota
Arica
About 10km south of the center, the serene beaches give way to an area of jagged cliffs, rocky shorelines and caves that were used by the Chinchorro…
Catedral de San Marcos
Arica
This Gothic-style church has a threefold claim to fame. First, it was designed by celebrated Parisian engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, before his…
Ex-Aduana de Arica
Arica
Eiffel designed this former customs house. Prefabricated in Paris, it was assembled on-site in 1874, with walls made of blocks and bricks stacked between…
Museo Histórico y de Armas
Arica
Atop Morro de Arica, this museum recounts a key battle that took place on this hillside in 1880 during the War of the Pacific. There'a a collection of…

View more attractions

placement: fullWidth
path: destinations/top
possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],

targeting:

{
  "destination": "Arica",
  "city": "Arica",
  "region": "Americas",
  "country": "Chile",
  "continent": "South-America"
}

Plan with a local

placement: fullWidth
path: destinations/bottom
possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],

targeting:

{
  "destination": "Arica",
  "city": "Arica",
  "region": "Americas",
  "country": "Chile",
  "continent": "South-America"
}