Introducing Moquegua
This parched, dusty inland town survives in the driest part of the Peruvian coastal desert, soon to merge into northern Chile’s Atacama Desert – the driest in the world. The Río Moquegua delivers enough moisture to the surrounding rural areas to grow avocados and grapes (the latter often used to make Pisco Biondi, one of the nation’s top-shelf brandies), but as you walk away from the river it becomes hard to believe that any agriculture is possible here.
Advertisement
Moquegua means ‘quiet place’ in Quechua, and the region has long been culturally linked with the Andes. It has peaceful cobblestone streets, a shady central plaza with flower gardens and some unusual buildings that are roofed with a type of wattle-and-daub mixture mixed from sugar-cane thatch and clay. Sadly, many of these structures sustained significant damage during the 2001 earthquake, which hit Moquegua harder than any other settlement in the region.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
-
RE: Medical Clinic for IV Chelation, residency and lots more questions!
by dungenessa 29 August 2011
¡Hola! I´m not sure I'd pick the Guayaquil area to retire in, as it´s not the cheapest, nor the most relaxing part of Ecuador, although…
-
Re: Uros islands independently?
by mariedragon 22 May 2011
CEDESOS office is in Puno at the following address: Moquegua 348, 3rd floor email www.cedesos.org We organised our trip from there. …
-
RE: Strike/ roadblock near Peru/ Bolivia border
by jamesbrunker 16 May 2011
Going via Tacna and Arica to La Paz is an option. Did it yesterday with no problems after discovering route from Moquegua to Desaguadero…
In our shop
Bags feeling light?
Coffee table looking bare?
Get your guidebooks, travel goods, even individual chapters, right here.
Hotels & Hostels
Check out all our reviewed and recommended accommodation and book online.
Advertisement
