Must-see attractions in Norte Grande

  • 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…

  • Valley of the Moon, Amphitheatre

    Valle de la Luna

    Norte Grande

    Watching the sun set from the exquisite Valley of the Moon is an unforgettable experience. From atop a giant sand dune, you can drink in spectacular views…

  •  The VLT, Very Large Telescope complex at the European Southern Observatory located on Cerro Paranal in the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile.

    Cerro Paranal Observatory

    Norte Grande

    In the world of high-powered telescopes, where rival institutes jostle to claim the 'biggest,' 'most powerful' or 'most technologically advanced'…

  • People watching the sunset at Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), Atacama Desert, Chile.

    Valle de la Muerte

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    Around 3.5km west of San Pedro, this striking valley should figure high on any itinerary to the region, with jagged rocks, a towering sand dune and…

  • Humberstone

    Norte Grande

    The influence and wealth of the nitrate boom whisper through the deserted ghost town of Humberstone. Established in 1872 as La Palma, this mining town…

  • Steam rising from geysers, El Tatio geyser field

    El Tatio Geysers

    Norte Grande

    El Tatio is ringed by volcanoes and fed by over 80 gurgling geysers and a hundred gassy fumaroles. Contrary to popular opinion it is not the world's…

  • Standing on the edge of Laguna Cejar.

    Laguna Cejar

    Norte Grande

    San Pedro has its own mini version of the Dead Sea, a mere 22km south of the village. This topaz-colored lake allows you to float effortlessly because of…

  • Chuquicamata

    Norte Grande

    Chuqui was, until recently, the world's largest single supplier of copper (a title just snatched by Mina Escondida, 170km southeast of Antofagasta),…

  • Flamingos at Los Flamencos National Reserve, Chile.

    Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos

    Norte Grande

    The big draw of San Pedro is this magnificent reserve that covers some 74,000 hectares. It's divided into seven geographically distinct sectors south,…

  • Museo Arqueológico San Miguel de Azapa

    Norte Grande

    This museum, 12km east of Arica, is home to some of the world's oldest-known mummies. There are superb local archaeological and cultural-heritage displays…

  • Ruinas de Huanchaca

    Norte Grande

    What at first glance looks like the ruins from some ancient indigenous settlement in fact dates only from the turn of the 20th century. Created by…

  • Monumento Natural La Portada

    Norte Grande

    While not in Antofagasta proper, but rather 22km north of the city, this enormous offshore arch – the centerpiece of a 31-hectare protected zone – is the…

  • 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,…

  • Gigante de Atacama

    Norte Grande

    It's the biggest archaeological representation of a human in the world – a gargantuan 86m high – and yet little is really known about the 'Giant of the…

  • Laguna Chaxa

    Norte Grande

    The jagged crust of the Salar de Atacama looks for all the world like God went crazy with a stippling brush. But in the midst of these rough lifeless…

  • Monumento Natural Salar de Surire

    Norte Grande

    Visiting nearby Monumento Natural Salar de Surire is a surefire way to see huge herds of roaming vicuña, pockets of cuddly viscacha, as well the…

  • 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…

  • Cemetery

    Norte Grande

    Pisagua's most sobering site is its old cemetery 3km north of town, spread over a lonely hillside that slips suddenly into the ocean. Here, vultures guard…

  • Pukará de Quitor

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    Dominating a curvaceous promontory over the Río San Pedro, this crumbling 12th-century pukará (fort) was one of the last bastions against Pedro de…

  • Plaza Prat

    Iquique

    The city's 19th-century swagger is hard to miss on Iquique's central square. Pride of place goes to the 1877 Torre Reloj clock tower, seemingly baked and…

  • Termas de Puritama

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    These idyllic volcanic hot springs puddle together in a box canyon, about 30km northeast of San Pedro en route to El Tatio. Their temperature is about 33…

  • Museo Corbeta Esmeralda

    Iquique

    This replica of sunken Esmeralda, a plucky little Chilean corvette that challenged ironclad Peruvian warships in the War of the Pacific, is Iquique's new…

  • Aldea de Tulor

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    Circular adobe structures huddle together like muddy bubble-wrap in the ruins of Tulor, the oldest excavated village in the region. It’s an interesting…

  • Lluta Geoglyphs

    Norte Grande

    A short distance inland from the intersection of the Panamericana and Chile 11, you'll see the pre-Columbian Lluta geoglyphs, also known as the Gigantes…

  • 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…

  • Muelle de Pasajeros

    Iquique

    Hour-long boat tours around the harbor leave from Iquique's 1901 passenger pier, just west of the Edificio de la Aduana. The tour floats past the Boya…

  • 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…

  • Oficina Santa Laura

    Norte Grande

    The skeletal remains of Oficina Santa Laura, 2km west of Humberstone, are a half-hour walk southwest of its abandoned neighbor. Less visited and more in…

  • Barrio Histórico

    Norte Grande

    British flavor prevails in the 19th-century Barrio Histórico, between the plaza and the old port, where handsome Victorian and Georgian buildings still…

  • Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas

    Norte Grande

    More than 20,000 wild vicuña are thought to roam the sparsely inhabited 2100 sq km of the off-the-beaten-path Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas, directly south…

  • La Silla

    San Pedro de Atacama Region

    The European Southern Observatory is home to an array of powerful telescopes, with many important discoveries emerging from astronomical research…

  • Iglesia San Pedro

    San Pedro de Atacama

    The recently restored Iglesia San Pedro is a delightful little colonial church built with indigenous or artisanal materials: chunky adobe walls and roof,…

  • Pintados

    Norte Grande

    Just off the Panamericana, about 45km south of Pozo Almonte, the brown hillsides of the Atacama have been transformed into a magnificent canvas of…

  • Pukará de Copaquilla

    Norte Grande

    Teetering on the brink of a spectacular chasm 1.5km beyond the posada (inn) is this 12th-century fortress built to protect pre-Columbian farmlands below…

  • Mano del Desierto

    Norte Grande

    Located roughly 70km south of Antofagasta, this soaring granite hand stretches up from beneath the desert earth, like some ancient vestige of a long…

  • Museo Naval

    Iquique

    Take in the artifacts salvaged from the sunken Esmeralda at this small museum inside the haughty colonial-style customs house, built in 1871 when Iquique…

  • 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…

  • Plaza Colón

    Norte Grande

    The British community left a visible imprint on Antofagasta's beautiful 19th-century Plaza Colón, which sports rushing fountains amid its palms, mimosas…

  • Resguardo Marítimo

    Norte Grande

    This handsome building with wooden balustrades, built in 1910 as the coast guard, sits at the entrance to the newly restored Muelle Salitrero (Nitrate…

  • Museo Regional

    Norte Grande

    The former Aduana (customs house) now houses this two-floor museum, which has well-presented displays on natural history, and prehistoric and cultural…

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