Northern Chile is among the driest parts of the world. It includes the regions of Arica-Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo.

Cities

Coquimbo's plaza

• 1 Antofagasta — a relaxed mining city with lots of leisure activities and a large car industry
• 2 Arica — the "city of the eternal spring" offers beautiful beaches, and a very dry, mild climate
• 3 Calama — "copper capital" of the country with the giant mine of Chuquicamata nearby
• 4 Caldera — gateway to Bahía Inglesa, a picturesque and lovely beach to just enjoy the sun
• 5 Copiapó — gateway to Bahía Inglesa and Desierto Florido
• 6 Coquimbo — includes the Union Flag of the UK in its coat of arms
• 7 Iquique — a seaside city with long beaches and a picturesque city centre
• 8 La Serena — gateway to the Pisco Valley
• 9 Pisco Elqui — famous for the national schnapps produced here, Pisco
• 10 Punta de Choros — gateway to the National Humboldt Penguin Reserve to see Humboldt penguins, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, and many types of seabirds
• 11 Putre — gateway to Lauca National Park
• 12 San Pedro de Atacama — gateway to popular attractions such as Salar de Atacama, El Tatio Geysers and Valle de la Luna
• 13 Vicuña — supposed to be best stargazing in the world, but nowadays just a regular town on the way to Pisco Eqlui

Other destinations

• 1 Lauca National Park – in the Andes with large volcanic mountains, and its neighbour Las Vicuñas National Reserve just south.
• 2 Llullaillaco National Park – home to Llullaillaco Volcano.
• 3 Valle de la Luna – an impressive dry desert landscape.

Understand

Northern Chile has been thriving on the mining industry since the middle of the 19th century. It started with saltpetre which came to an abrupt end at the beginning of the 20th century when the synthetic production of nitrates was invented. The remains of the old production sites are still impressive and provide an insight into the hard life of the workers. Nowadays copper has taken over the role of Chile's main export good and is mined in giant open pits. Furthermore some minerals like lithium are produced in the salt lakes.

Many visitors come to see the spectacular landscape of the Andean Highlands. Snow-covered mountains more than 6,000 m high contrasting with blue lakes, mountains showing all shades of red and brown due to their volcanic origin, and a number of geothermal areas with hot springs and geysers are among the natural attractions of the region.

On the more relaxing side, Arica and Iquique offer long sandy beaches at the Pacific coast.

Get in

By plane

Airports in this area with several flights daily from Santiago:

• Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport (ANF ^IATA) in Antofagasta – also connections to/from Peru
• Chacalluta International Airport (ARI ^IATA) in Arica – also connections to/from Bolivia
• El Loa Airport (CJC ^IATA) in Calama
• Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ ^IATA) in Iquique – also connections to/from Bolivia
• La Florida Airport (LSC ^IATA) in La Serena

By car

The national highway #5 (Panamericana) is the main artery of the region connecting central Chile with Antofagasta, Iquique, Arica and Peru. Access from Bolivia (La Paz and Oruro) is via highway #11 passing Lauca National Park and Putre towards Arica. The alternate route from Oruro via Colchane and highway #15 towards Iquique is less used and thus in better condition (at least on the Chilean side). Access from northwestern Argentina (Salta) goes along Chilean highways #23 or #27 to San Pedro de Atacama and Calama.

Get around

By car

The highways outside of the highlands are generally in good condition as are the main highways through the highlands to the neighbouring countries. Other roads in the highlands can be very rough. Before moving along such roads individually it is best to enquire locally about road and weather conditions.

Renting a truck or 4WD in Antofagasta or Calama is a great idea if you are 3-5 people and want to explore the region around on your own. This will save you a lot of money on expensive tours in San Pedro de Atacama, and rental cars are much cheaper in Antofagasta or Calama. But due to the rough terrain, it is strongly recommended to get a 4WD or truck, instead of a regular, unless you plan to stay on proper roads.

By bus

Buses connect all cities and also provide connections to neighbouring countries. There are no longer any passenger trains in Northern Chile.

See

• 1 Atacama Desert  
• 2 Bahía Inglesa (updated Apr 2018)

  

  Bahía Inglesa

• 3 Rocas Negras (3 km south from Bahía Inglesa along the beach). A set of pitch black rocks in between sand of shells along the beach, where you can find many pecten shells of up to 10 cm in diameter. (updated Apr 2018)

• 4 Desierto Florido (updated Apr 2018)

  

  Desierto Florido

• 5 Gigante de Atacama  
• 6 La Portada (updated Apr 2018)

  

  La Portada

• 7 Mano del Desierto (updated Jul 2023)
• 8 Oficina Humberstone  
• 9 Parque Paleontológico Los Dedos (beyond Rocas Negras), ☏ +56 976160891. Tu-Su 11:00-19:00. In the hot middle of nowhere about 1 km from the beach, an outdoor museum for fossils of penquins, sharks, crocodiles, whales and much more. (updated Apr 2018)

Do

• 1 Isla Damas (updated Jul 2023)
• 2 Parque Nacional Fray Jorge  
• 3 Nevado Ojos del Salado  

Stay safe

Be aware that you can easily get up to more than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) of altitude on normal roads. Get accustomed to this by getting higher in reasonable steps. If you join one of those one-day excursions from Arica to Lauca National Park then you are very likely to suffer from altitude sickness which must be taken seriously.

In the mountainous areas, mobile phone coverage is usually limited to the vicinity of towns. If you set out on a track road other than one which connects towns or popular tourist attractions then it might be a good idea to take a satellite phone with you. Filling stations are rare so make sure you know your options.