Norte Grande

It is said that the high quantities of quartz and copper in the region gives its people positive energy, and the good vibes of northern Chile's number-one tourist draw, San Pedro de Atacama, are sky high.

The popularity of this adobe precordillera oasis stems from its position in the heart of some of northern Chile's most spectacular scenery. A short drive away lies the country's largest salt flat, its edges crinkled by volcanoes (symmetrical Licancábur, at 5916m, looms closest to the village). Here too are fields of steaming geysers, a host of otherworldly rock formations and weird layer-cake landscapes.

San Pedro itself, 106km southeast of Calama via paved Chile 23, is quite small, but it attracts hordes of travelers. Despite the high prices and tourist-agency touts, there's undeniable allure to this desert village with its picturesque adobe streets, laid-back residents and music-filled eateries.

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 and a handy audio guide in English. Colectivos (CH$1200) at the corner of Chacabuco and Patricio Lynch provide transportation.

It's not just the exaggerated altitude (3000m to 6300m above sea level) that leaves visitors to this national park breathless. Situated 160km northeast of Arica (near the Bolivian border), Parque Nacional Lauca, comprising 1380 sq km of altiplano, is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve home to breathtaking scenery, snow-sprinkled volcanoes, sparkling lakes and isolated hot springs. It also shelters pretty highland villages and a huge variety of wildlife. The nimble-footed vicuña and rabbit-like viscacha are the star attractions, but you're also likely to see other South American camelids and a variety of bird species (there are more than 150 species in the park, including the occasional condor and fast-footed rhea).

Lauca's most spectacular feature is glistening Lago Chungará, one of the world's highest lakes, abundant with birdlife. Looming over it is the impossibly perfect cone of Volcán Parinacota, a dormant volcano with a twin brother, Volcán Pomerape, just across the border.

Barefoot surfers, paragliding pros, casino snobs and frenzied merchants all cross paths in the rather disarming city of Iquique. Located in a golden crescent of coastline, this city is counted among Chile's premier beach resorts, with a glitzy casino, beachfront boardwalk and more activities (from paragliding to sand-boarding) than any sane person can take on in a week. The big draw here is the swaths of pitch-perfect beach, which offer some of the best surfing around.

Refurbished Georgian-style architecture from the 19th-century mining boom is well preserved, and the Baquedano pedestrian strip sports charming wooden sidewalks. Iquique's main claim, however, is its duty-free status, with a chaotic duty-free shopping zone (zona franca).

The city, 1853km north of Santiago and 315km south of Arica, is squeezed between the ocean and the desolate brown coastal range rising abruptly some 600m behind it.

Pocket-sized Putre is an appealing Aymara village perched precariously on a hillside in the precordillera at a dizzying elevation of 3530m. Just 150km from Arica, it's an ideal acclimatization stop en route to the elevated Parque Nacional Lauca on the altiplano. As such, this languid mountain village now hosts a number of hostels and tour agencies.

Originally a 16th-century reducción (Spanish settlement to facilitate control of the native population), the village retains houses with late-colonial elements. In the surrounding hills local farmers raise alfalfa for llamas, sheep and cattle on extensive stone-faced agricultural terraces of even greater antiquity.

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 largest geyser field, but the third largest. The best time to see the geysers is 6am, so make sure you wipe the sleep from your eyes if you want to experience the awesome spectacle.

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.

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 once fizzed with an energy, culture and ingenuity that peaked in the 1940s.