The capital of Chile’s northernmost region, Region I, Iquique is one of the country’s most visited cities. The attractions are a mild climate, commerce, the Atacama desert, natural and archaeological treasures, access to Peru and Bolivia and a great many recreational and sporting activities.
1. Beaches!
Cavancha is the beach best identified with the city, but Playa Brava, Playa Huayquique and Playa Blanca all share a smooth slope, great sand and a water temperature ranging between 16°C and 20°C, while the air is about 25 Cs average, ideal for sunbathing, swimming and water sports.2. Duty Free Shopping
ZOFRI (Zona Franca de Iquique) is the duty free shopping mall with more than 400 shops selling everything designer goods, cosmetics, electronics, furnishings, local handicrafts and much more.3. Pampa del Tamarugal
Clarence Fisk
The Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal is a preserved and protected stand of native tamraugo trees that were nearly wiped out in earlier centuries.
4. Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen de La Tirana
Clarence Fisk
"The most striking thing about the people are the dances performed on feast days, with groups coming for the most part from Arica, Iquique, Tocopilla and Chuquicamata. The dancing is accompanied by varied instruments such as trumpets and whistles, and the dancers dress in brightly colored costumes. According to researchers, these dances are said to come from the ancestral rhythms of Inca ceremonies, with traces from other Andean cultures."
5. Historic City Center
In Plaza Arturo Prat, the Torre del Reloj, Teatro Municipal, and the Centro Español all date from the heyday of nitrate (salitre) mining which brought huge wealth to the city. Declared a National Monument, the historic area includes homes, the passenger wharf, the old Customs House and the railway station, built by the "King of Salitre", Englishman John Thomas North.6. Sports
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Paragliding and samdboarding are only two of the outdoor recreational opportunities in the dunes and skies of Iquique.
7. Nitrate Mining Camps
Clarence Fisk
Now mostly abandoned, the camps, or Oficinas, once produced nitrate to fulfill the world's demands. Humberstone, adminsitrative buildings pictured here, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
8. Botica Libertad
Pharmacist Francisco Nicanor Saavedra Céspedes once owned this pharmacy, now a museum. On display are the hundreds of medicine bottles in glass and wood, balances, marble mortars and pestles, test tubes, and molds.9. Mamiña Oasis and Hot Springs
Thermal springs 120 km east of Iquique offer a tropical contrast to the Atacama desert and a welcome warm climate at the base of the Andes.10. Socavones de Pica
Legend has it that a Spanish explorer wanted to marry the daughter of an Indian chief, or cacique, who told him not until the desert valley bloomed between Matilla and Pica. The Spaniard promptly built the first irrigation canals and brought water to the area. He married the chief's daughter.Now, this fertile area supports fruit orchards and the hot springs bring vistors to enjoy the thermal pool, individual tub, mud and steam baths.
11. Parque Nacionales de Lauca
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"Declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, Lauca is the most accessible park in the Chilean Altiplano. Here you'll find Lago Chungara, one of the world's highest lakes, and wetlands home to a singular community of wildlife, including wild and domesticated american camels and over a hundred bird species."