Ask Chileans why they travel hundreds of kilometers through northern Chile and the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, to spend their vacations in Iquique, and they'll tell you it's because of the gentle year round climate and great beaches. Foreign visitors coming to Chile will love the beaches, but there are a host of other reasons to make the city a travel destination.
Iquique: Commerce and Duty Free Shopping
Behind the high rises along the coast and Calle Baquedano, the heart of the tourist area, Iquique bustles with commerce. Hodgepodges of shops roll up their metal doors. Wares pour onto sidewalks. Buses and taxis honk. Vendors call out for customers from blankets or small carts that dot the streets. The Mercado Central offers La Tourista, a lunch spot where it is hard to find a table. Locals say the pollo asado is the best in Chile.
The city pulses with life, yet quiet courtyards can be discovered with cool fountains, bougainvilleas lacing walls and shady benches that offer places to catch one's breath from the hubbub.
Iquique is the capital of the First Region and is one of the largest ports in the country. The city also has the largest duty free zones in South America, called the ZOFRI, or Zona Franca de Iquique, with a state of the art shopping center that offers over 400 stores with jewelry, perfume, a plethora of camera, electronic and computer stores.
Iquique is a city where one gets a feeling for all of Chile, the best and the worst of the country. The juxtaposition of prosperity and poverty is quite dramatic. Across from the ZOFRI, small shacks made of rusted tin baked by the sun lie helter skelter on a hillside. About an eighth of Chile's population is desperately poor, living in third world conditions. Yet the city is a testament of Chile's economic growth and its commitment to the rise of opportunities and better standards of living for its citizens.
Calle Baquedano, Heart of Iquique
On Calle Baquedano, a charming wooden boardwalk runs the length of the street. The colorful corrugated siding of refurbished mansions, built during the nitrate boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sparkle in the sun. El Centro Espanol, built in 1904, resembles a Moorish palace. Intricate mosaics cover the interior walls.
Both a clock tower, the official symbol of Iquique, and the neo-classical Teatro Municipal are located at the end of the Calle on Plaza Arturo Pratt. Constructed in 1890, Teatro Municipal still functions as an active theater. Presentations such as Danza-America, a dance festival that features folkloric groups from all over South America, occur frequently.
The Anker Nielsen National Museum is found near Calle Baquedano. Mummies from the Chinchorro culture are exhibited, along with objects from several Pre-Columbian tribes. There are special features about the Aymara culture, the largest indigenous group in South America, as well as displays about nitrate mining and the boom that resulted. At one time, more champagne was consumed in Iquique than in any other place on Earth. The lavish livestyle of the wealthy contrasted sharply with the slave like conditions the miners endured.
Iquique's Beautiful Beaches, Casino, Mount Dragon and Parque National Volcán Isluga
Playa Cavancha, the most popular beach, is open for swimming day and night all year long. Nature enthusiasts find basking sea turtles at La Playa Larga where boats are available for fishing expeditions. Rocky Playa Chanabayita, 39 miles south of the city, offers houses to rent and delicious seafood restaurants. Surfers and fisherman flock to La Playa de la Desembocadura del Loa.
El Casino de Iquique was built in 2,000 in the same Georgian style as the houses found along Calle Baquedano. The casino is opened nightly. There is live music and dancing every weekend.
Cerro Dragon, a massive sand dune, towers behind the city. From it, brave souls paraglide toward the sea. Archaeological tours can be arranged to visit petroglyphs, ruins of the ancient Tiwanaku culture, and the ghost town of Humberstone, once one of the most opulent cities on the planet when nitrate was in high demand worldwide.
Parque National Volcán Isluga is near Iquique, as well as salt flats full of flamingos and geothermal hot spots.
How to Get to Iquique
Flights to Iquique land at the Diego Aracena International Airport. Iquique is also a stop for many cruise ship lines. The city is on the Pan American Highway. Driving time takes approximately five and a half hours from Arica, near the Peruvian border and 12 hours from Antofagasta, to the south. Buses in Chile are affordable, reliable, comfortable and usually clean. Many people consider them the best way to tour Chile, especially through the eerily beautiful Atacama.
More at Suite 101:
Chile Tour: Arica
Sources:
- ABOUT,GoSouthAmerica:Chile, Retrieved July 15, 2010
- LET'SGOCHIILE, Iquique, Retrieved July 17, 2010
- MUSTEXPLORECHILE, Iquique, Retrieved July 19, 2010
- WELCOMECHILE, Far North, Retrieved July 15, 2010
Alethea Eason - Alethea Eason is a writer, teacher and free-lance editor. Hungry, her humorous middle grade science fiction novel was published by ...
