SITES OF INTEREST TO TOURISTS
CALETA VITOR
There are several optional roads to intermediate points as you can see on the map. The first is Caleta Vítor, which is the exit to the sea of the Chaca Valley, a relativelly isolated coast with fine places for fishing, collecting shellfishes and scuba diving. To reach there you must enter via Chaca and travel to the sea some 20 Km on a non paved road. You must carry food and water because nobody lives there. Inform the Carabineros in Arica about your plans before departure.
CODPA
On the road to climb the Cuesta de Chaca Sur, at Pampa de Camarones there is a non paved branch road of approximately 50 km which you must drive carefully in order to reach the little village of Codpa.. Codpa is a typical pre altiplano valley with wonderful landscapes, good access and fine weather. There is a good hostal there and the Pintatani, the local sweet wine produced from the colonial age tastes wonderful.CAMARONES
Camarones valley also exits to the coast. It is very near to the sea which can be seen from the panamerican highway with the naked eye or just looking at the map. It has similar features to Caleta Vítor but it is populated. The small village of Cuya with good services is near Camarones.PISAGUA
On the road to climb the Cuesta de Tiliviche, and shortly before the Pampa del Tamarugal there is a branch road to the coastal village of Pisagua. It is a fine place for fishing and scuba diving. The road is fully paved and in excellent condition to the town. Pisagua has an unique architecture value and historically was a very important port for nitrate exports. There are good tourist services such as stores, restaurants and even a hotel.
DOLORES AND PAMPA GERMANIA
Pampa del Tamarugal is a good place to take a picnic and rest in the shade of a tamarugo tree in the middle of the desert. Entering towards the west you can visit the sites of the big battles of the Pacific war back in 1879, as Dolores and Pampa Germania held water reserves that were the objectives of those battles.
HUARA
In Huara you can find restaurants, a control point for Carabineros de Chile, small stores, phones and some auto repair garages, there is no gas station. Two interesting places to visit are the old drugstore and the Cemetery, both typical of the pampa.
TARAPACA AND CHUSMISA
Travelling inland from Huara on a fully paved road you can reach the village of Tarapacá,. On September 14 the second most important religious festival "San Lorenzo de Tarapacá" is celebrated, thousands of people attend.. Tarapacá is also historically important because it was the scene of one of the most bitter battles of the Pacific War.
Continuing on the same road you reach Chusmiza and finally Colchane neart the border with Bolivia. The road continues to Oruro with heavy truck traffic carrying goods from the Iquique Duty Free Zone to Bolivia.
POZO ALMONTE
Continuing south, about 2 km but not entering Iquique you reach Pozo Almonte whose main street is the Carretera Panamericana called "calle Comercio". There are several gas stations, mini markets, stores, hostal and hotels. Pozo Almonte is the dormitory town for mine workers and it has an unusually active night life for its size.
TERMAS DE MAMIÑA
From Pozo Almonte there is a paved road to the Termas de Mamiña, a well know thermal water resort near the altiplano border.
TIRANA; CAMIÑA AND PICA
Continuing south on the Carretera Panamericana through the Pampa del Tamarugal, there is a branch road to the village of La Tirana, where a most important religious festival is celebrated each July 15. The paved road continues across the desert to the beautiful oasis of the small village of La Huayca, and then the villages of Matilla and Pica, with thermal waters, disco and a superlative restaurant. Further towards the altiplano on a non paved road you reach the Salar del Huasco.
HUMBERSTONE AND SANTA LAURA
At the entrance to the branch road to Iquique there is the ghost town of Humberstone built in the nitrate era and subsequently abandoned by the sixties. A family guards the town which is an in-situ museum museum from the 19th century. There is a big theater, church, hotel and a unusual swimming pool made of iron. A must see for anyone who drives there, is the Oficina Santa Laura located just in front of Humberstone and that is a superlative place to take pictures.
ALTO HOSPICIO
Just before the spectacular entrance to Iquique is Alto Hospicio, a city where several thousand people live, mainly immigrants from the southern provinces of chile who moved there when the Iquique Duty Free Zone was booming. There are gas stations, stores, hostals, and other services.
IQUIQUE
The city of Iquique is a big trade and commerce activity center which started to boom with the duty free zone in the eighties and then blossomed with financial, real estate and mining booms.
The principal attractions are the Duty Free Zone with it's retail sales módulos where you can buy goods free of import taxes and no value added tax. The infrastructure and services of the duty free zone are impressive as it has all kind of facilities to serve the interests of tourists.. In the free zone is the Recinto Amurallado, open to foot traffic and closed to unauthorized vehicle entry, where there are warehouses for dealers wih active trade to the neighboring countries and the south of Chile. There is also the Mall Las Américas located away from the ZOFRI and offering similar features
Another atractive place in Iquique is the beach Playa Cavancha, recently redeveloped with a little theme park, children playground areas, beautiful parks and natural seashore landscapes..
Iquique has also a wide assortment of superlative hotels and gastronomic places, as well as an active nightlife headed by the Casino Municipal and many discos, bars and pubs.
Website of Ilustre Municipalidad de Iquique
Iquique's news at
1.- Km 16, Acha hill climb seems easy because you don't see a big canyon but it is the steepest section of the road with a 7.6% gradient. It is advisable to climb in 3rd gear the very short distance of no more than 4 Km
2.- Km 21at Acha heigths there is a group of sculptures called "Presencias Tutelares", by the ariqueño artist Juan Diaz Fleming
3.- Km 35 Chaca Norte canyon has a spectacular road through the edge of the mountain, however there is a slight 3.5% gradient and the bends are ample. Drive Cautiously as rocks may fall at any time specially at the high points.
4.-:Km. 40. Chaca is situated on the valley floor and there is a branch road to Caleta Vítor towards the sea. A great place for fishing and scuba diving. Sometimes Carabineros control vehicle speed at this point
5.- Km 45. Climb of Chaca Sur. A long climb of 17 km.easy ride 6.1% gradient with recently rebuilt road of 3 lanes and emergency ramps.
6.- Km 80A flat road which branches to Codpa comes to the downhill section of Cuesta de Camarones. Always use lower gear as it is not an easy 21 km drive. Injected cars usually turn off the engine automatically at this point and sometimes the "check engine" lights turn on. There is no problem and in the next engine off the light turns off. Rocks may fall onto the road so drive carefully. The gradient is 4.5% near the top and reaches 6% at its lower section
7.- Km 100.Att the end of Cuesta Camarones you reach the valley floor of the same name. In the small town of Cuya a police control point requires that you must present documentation (drivers licence, ownership card of vehicle, circulating card, insurance) and a fitosanitary check (you will not be allowed to pass non canned fruit and vegetable goods at this point). In Cuya there are several small places with sandwiches, cookies and beverages. You may also have lunch here
8.- Km 130: After the Cuya valley, with lot of bends and frequent speed controls you reach the 17 km climb of Cuesta de Chiza. At the starting point of this climb there are some easily reachable ancient geoglifos..
9.-Km 140: At Chiza hills the road climbs through the edge of an enormous canyon with the most beautiful landscape of the trip. At sunrise or late afternoon the scenery is spectacular with every possible shade of brown, white, red and blue. The gradient starts at 1.6% and reaches 6% over the next 14 Km.. At the end of this climb you reach the highest point of the road, at 1300 mt above sea level (approx.)
10.- Km 150, almost in the middle of the trip there is a long straight called "las 7 Pampas" with seven small depressions,. Drive carefully because the average downhill gradient is about 3% and vehicles gather too much speed. There might also be cracks in the paved surface which could cause accidents.
11.- Tana is the first of two twin valleys with short up and down sections containing many bends. In both valleys there are bridges at the end of a bend so drive cautiously.
12.- Tiliviche is the second valley and very similar to Tana. In Tiliviche founded in 1876 there is an ancient British cemetery (national monument). Here rest more than 100British, German and Scandinavian people who lived in the zone during the boom of the nitrate trade.
13.- View of Tiliviche valley
14.- Pampa del Tamarugal is a reforestation experiment from the sixties. Now there are more than a thousand acres with tamarugos, the only tree able to grow in the driest place in the world. The road is very long and straight in this part.
15.- Km 230, the town of Huara is an interesting place to visit, specially the old drugstore (now a museum) and the cemetery. There is a Carabineros heavy vehicle control point.
16.- Km 250, Straight sections continue until Fort Baquedano and the branch road to Iquique. Choose the first branch to the right.
17.- Km 270, From the branch to Iquique follow the straight road to the town of Pozo almonte and the south of Chile. At the start of the branch to Iquique is the ghost town of Santa Laura and the old nitrate factory of Humberstone, two absolutely must -see -places.
18.- Km 300, after 30 Km of winding busy road with heavy traffic you finally reach Iquique "Tierra de Campeones". Drive very cautiously on this road as it has the greatest risk of the entire journey.
