Sights in Copiapó
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A
Escuela de Minas
There's a treat for railroad enthusiasts in the grounds of the historic Escuela de Minas, now the Universidad de Atacama, just west of town; on its grounds is the beautiful yellow-and-black Locomotora Copiapó (1850), the Norris Brothers locomotive thought to be the first to operate on the Caldera–Copiapó railway line (and hence the first to operate in South America). Attached are 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-class carriages.
reviewed
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B
Museo Mineralógico
The must-see Museo Mineralógico literally dazzles. This tribute to the raw materials to which the city owes its existence displays a kaleidoscopic collection of more than 2300 samples, some as delicate as coral, others bright as neon under fluorescent light. The museum was founded in 1857 and supported by the Universidad de Atacama (successor to Copiapó’s famous School of Mines).
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C
Iglesia Catedral
Copiapó's mining heyday is evident throughout its town center. Shaded by century-old pepper trees, Plaza Prat is graced by several buildings from the early mining era, not least the elegant Iglesia Catedral, with its three-tiered tower, and the musty old municipal Casa de la Cultura. Watch out for the roving fortune-tellers, once they get started you'll have a hard time getting away.
reviewed
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D
Casa de la Cultura
Copiapó's mining heyday is evident throughout its town center. Shaded by century-old pepper trees, Plaza Prat is graced by several buildings from the early mining era, such as the musty old municipal Casa de la Cultura the elegant Iglesia Catedral, with its three-tiered tower. Watch out for the roving fortune-tellers, once they get started you'll have a hard time getting away.
reviewed
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E
Museo Regional de Atacama
Built in the 1840s by industrial moguls and radical politicians, the Matta family, the Museo Regional de Atacama is a national monument worth a snoop simply for the architecture. It houses a piecemeal museum with indigenous artifacts and a mock mine made of fiberglass.
reviewed
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F
Palacete Viña de Cristo
Mining-magnate Apolinario Soto’s Palacete Viña de Cristo, built in 1860 from European materials, and mixing a jumble of oriental and classical styles, was the town’s most elegant mansion. It belongs to the Universidad de Atacama.
reviewed
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G
Estación Ferrocarril
Railroad buffs will want to see the Estación Ferrocarril, the starting point for the very first railroad on the continent. It’s now a neglected picture of peeling paint flanked by two graffiti-marred engines (both British-made).
reviewed
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H
Asociación Minera Copiapó
The stuffy national monument Asociación Minera Copiapó, between Avs Vallejos and Colipí, is one of many buildings reminiscent of Copiapó's early boomtown era.
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