Arica

The seaside "City of Eternal Spring", where El Morro overlooks the Pacific, with Lauca National Park's Lake Chungará and volcanoes inland to the east.

Arica is Chile's northernmost city, right by the Peruvian border and squeezed between the Atacama Desert and the Pacific. It almost never rains and temperatures stay mild year-round, earning it the name "City of Eternal Spring". The city itself has two parts: downtown, with El Morro, the Eiffel company-designed San Marcos Cathedral and the old customs house, plus the city beaches and surf spots to the north and south; and the Azapa Valley to the east, where the San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum holds the world's oldest Chinchorro mummies (inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2021). Climbing Route 11 inland brings you to the town of Putre at 3,500 m and Lauca National Park at 4,000–4,500 m, where Lake Chungará, Parinacota Volcano, the Cotacotani Lagoons and Aymara villages form one of South America's most spectacular high-altitude routes. Seasons: the coast can be visited year-round; in the highlands, September–December is the clearest, January–March brings afternoon thunderstorms, and in June–August nights can drop to −15°C. Getting there: about 2.5 hours by air from Santiago, or overland across the border from Tacna in Peru. Plan on 4–5 days, and spend at least one night in Putre on the way up to reduce altitude sickness.

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