Subscribe

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Norte Grande

Dust devils zoom wantonly through sun-scorched Norte Grande with its undulating curves of rock and stone, Andean lagoons, snowcapped volcanoes, salt flats and sensuously perforated coastline. Famous as much for its hilltop observatories as its massive copper mines, those vast, uninhabited spaces touch the soul and the imagination. Norte Grande's star attraction is the tiny adobe village of San Pedro de Atacama, just a day trip away from the world's highest geyser field and some astounding desert formations.

But there's more to Norte Grande than San Pedro. Go for lung-bursting, jaw-dropping adventure near the mountain village of Putre in the high-altitude reserve of Parque Nacional Lauca or further afield to Monumento Natural Salar de Surire. Spend a week sunning yourself on the beaches outlying Iquique and Arica, or make your own adventure in the lost ghost towns and hard-sprung mining centers that make this region unique.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Norte Grande.

  • See

    Museo de Sitio Colón 10

    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 with the intention of converting it into a hotel. You can gape at the glass-protected bodies as they were found, in the sand below the floors, in different positions, complete with their funerary bundles, skins and feathers of marine fowl. There are a few infants, with red-painted mud masks. Go up the wooden ramp for a better vantage point of the mummies and then check out the great view of the city from the covered terrace. The included audio guide (available in English and other languages) gives a fine context to the site.

  • See

    Valle de la Muerte

    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 dramatic viewpoints of the distant cordillera. The name Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) is actually a linguistic distortion of Valle de Marte (Mars Valley), which more accurately represents its red rock features and otherworldly beauty. Tour groups typically come in the afternoon before heading over to the nearby Valle de la Luna for sunset. It's an easy bike ride (or long walk) here, and also accessible by your own vehicle. The tall sand dune is a prime destination for sand-boarding, with outfits like Sandboard San Pedro offering both morning and afternoon excursions.

  • See

    El Morro de 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, port and Pacific Ocean. This lofty headland was the site of a crucial battle in 1880, a year into the War of the Pacific, when the Chilean army assaulted and took El Morro from Peruvian forces in less than an hour. The hilltop is accessible by car or taxi (CH$4000 round-trip with a 30-minute wait), or by a steep footpath from the south end of Calle Colón. The story of El Morro is told step by step in the flag-waving Museo Histórico y de Armas, which has information in Spanish and English.

  • See

    Ferrocarril Arica-Poconchile

    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 between Arica and the Lluta Valley town of Poconchile, some 37km to the northeast. The 1950s vintage train cars currently depart Saturdays at 10:30am and arrive back in Arica at 3:30pm, after a one-hour stop in Poconchile. The train departs from the station in Chinchorro, about 3km northeast of the center. Call ahead or confirm with the tourist office that the train is running. Outside high season (December to mid-March) it tends to run only twice a month.

  • See

    Cuevas de Anzota

    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 culture some 9000 years ago. A new coastal walk takes you through the area, with staircases leading up to lookout points, and fine vantage points over the dramatic coastline. Keep an eye out for sea lions, chungungo (a marine otter) and a host of marine birds. There's no public transportation down this way. Take a taxi.

  • See

    Catedral de San Marcos

    This Gothic-style church has a threefold claim to fame. First, it was designed by celebrated Parisian engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, before his success with the Eiffel Tower. Second, it was prefabricated in Eiffel's Paris shop in the 1870s (at the order of the Peruvian president) then shipped right around the world to be assembled on site. Still more curious is the construction itself: the entire church is made of stamped and molded cast iron, coated with paint.

  • See

    Pintados

    Just off the Panamericana, about 45km south of Pozo Almonte, the brown hillsides of the Atacama have been transformed into a magnificent canvas of aboriginal art. There are some 420 geoglyphs decorating the hills like giant pre-Columbian doodles at Pintados, 45km south of Pozo Almonte. Geometrical designs include shapes, figures and animals. Most of the works date from between AD 500 and AD 1450.

  • See

    Pukará de Quitor

    Dominating a curvaceous promontory over the Río San Pedro, this crumbling 12th-century pukará (fort) was one of the last bastions against Pedro de Valdivia and the Spanish in northern Chile. The indigenous forces fought bravely, but were overcome and many were promptly beheaded. About 100 defensive enclosures hug the slopes here, like big stone bird's nests. The hilltop commands an impressive view of the oasis. The fort is just 3.5km northwest of San Pedro, and easily accessible on foot, by bike or by vehicle. Note that the mirador (lookout) closes at 6pm.

  • See

    Plaza Prat

    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 sugar-frosted rather than built. Jumping fountains line the walkway south to the marble-stepped Teatro Municipal, a neoclassical building that has been hosting opera and theater since 1890. A handsomely restored tram sits outside and occasionally jerks its way down Av Baquedano in high season.

Featured videos

An epic solo adventure in South America

1:03