Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.com
North Chile
Trip Planning & Itineraries
Norte Grande features the Pacific Ocean, the starkly desolate but unique Atacama Desert with its deeply incised canyons, and the Andean altiplano (steppe) with its volcanic summits. The region's great mineral wealth has given it a special role in Chilean history; most cities in the Atacama, such as Iquique and Antofagasta, owe their existence to nitrates and copper.
The Atacama is the most "perfect" of deserts; some coastal stations have never recorded measurable rainfall, although infrequent "El Niño" events can bring brief but phenomenal downpours in other places.
Suggested Itineraries in North Chile
In Arica, where Chile and Peru once fought bloody skirmishes, wealthy Bolivians now lounge on the beach, and Quechua and Aymara vendors sell handicrafts, vegetables and trinkets. Arica is a popular year-round resort, with warm currents and beach weather nearly every day; a drizzle falls only every few years.
Sleepy, laid-back San Pedro de Atacama is the gringo gathering spot of northern Chile, where Spanish-speaking locals are frequently outnumbered by German, French and English-speaking travelers.
- Plan Chile vacations on Yahoo! Travel
- Chile hotels from PlanetWare
- English-language notes from the blog Chile From Within
