Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the

Arica Province Arica Province () is one of two provinces of Chile's northernmost region, Arica y Parinacota. The province is bordered on the north by the Tacna Province of Peru, on the south by the Tamarugal Province in the Tarapacá Region, on the east the ...

of northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region. Arica is located at the bend of South America's western coast known as the Arica Bend or Arica Elbow. At the location of the city are two valleys that dissect the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

converge: Azapa and Lluta. These valleys provide citrus and olives for export. Arica is an important port for a large inland region of South America. The city serves a

free port A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

for Bolivia and manages a substantial part of that country's trade. In addition it is the end station of the Bolivian

oil pipeline A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The Un ...

beginning in Oruro. The city's strategic position is enhanced by being next to the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

, being connected to both

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

in Peru and

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

in Bolivia by railroad and being served by an international airport. Arica has an extremely dry climate, with almost no rainfall. Even so, the frequent maritime winds from the cold waters nearby renders a moderate desert climate. Its mild weather has made Arica known as the "city of the eternal spring" in Chile while its beaches are frequented by Bolivian society. The city was an important port already during Spanish colonial rule. Chile seized the city from Peru in 1880 during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, being recognized as Chilean by Peru in 1929. A substantial part of African Chileans live in or trace their origins to Arica.

History

Archaeological findings indicate that Arica was inhabited by different native groups dating back 10,000 years. These people are the first known culture to mummify their dead, predating the Egyptians by 2,000 years, and their mummies have been discovered as recently as 2004 and buried as shallow as <1 meter beneath the city's surface.

Colonial period

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

settled the land under captain Lucas Martinez de Begazo in 1541, and in 1570, the area was grandly retitled as "La Muy Ilustre y Real Ciudad San Marcos de Arica" (the very illustrious and royal city of San Marcos of Arica). At the time of the Spanish settlement the region around Arica was already multiethnic displaying a mix of local sedentary populations and

mitma ''Mitma'' was a policy of forced resettlement employed by the Inca Empire, Incas. It involved the forceful migration of groups of extended families or ethnic groups from their home territory to lands recently conquered by the Incas. The objective ...

settlers from the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

. The proportions of these are that the first made up about 66% of the population and the latter 25%. The remaining 9% were fishing-oreinted people known as Camanchacos. Many of the sedentary populations are thought to have spoken the

Puquina language Puquina (or Pukina) is an extinct language once spoken by a native ethnic group in the region surrounding Lake Titicaca (Peru and Bolivia) and in the north of Chile. It is often associated with the culture that built Tiwanaku. Remnants of Puqui ...

. In 1540 the

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

system was established in Arica and its sorroundings with conquistador Lucas Martínez de Vegaso obtaining 1,638 encomienda indians (a third of tributaries distributed). Pedro Pizarro and Pedro de la Fuente followed in numbers receiving each approximately 600 tributaries. By 1545, Arica was the main export entrepot for Bolivian

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

coming down from

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

, which then possessed the world's largest silver mine. Arica thus held a crucial role as one of the leading ports of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. These enviable riches made Arica the target for

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

s, and

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s, among whom

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

, Thomas Cavendish,

Richard Hawkins Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins (or Hawkyns) (c. 1562 – 17 April 1622) was a 17th-century English seaman, explorer and privateer. He was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins. Biography He was from his earlier days familiar with ships and the ...

, Joris van Spilbergen,

John Watling John, or George, Watling (died 1681) was a 17th-century England, English buccaneer.Esquemeling, John. ''The Buccaneers of America''. Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1893, pp. 388-413. It was said that he would never plunder on the Sabbath in Christiani ...

, Baltazar de Cordes,

Bartholomew Sharp Bartholomew Sharp (c. 1650 – 29 October 1702) was an English buccaneer and privateer. His career of piracy lasted seven years (1675–1682). In the Caribbean he took several ships, and raided the Gulf of Honduras and Portobelo. He took comman ...

, William Dampier, and John Clipperton all took part in looting the city. From 1540 to 1570 the population in the region of Arica shrank by 36% due to disease, death in mining or emigration to evade the harsh conditions imposed by the Spanish. In 1570 the Francisco de Toledo issued a decree reorganizing indigenous labour and taxation and among other things imposing the mita minera.

Peruvian period (1821–1880)

Following the collapse of Spanish rule, in 1821, Arica was part of the recently independent Peruvian Republic. The Peruvian Constitution of 1823 regards it as a province of the Department of

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

. In 1855, Peru inaugurated the Arica-

railroad (53 km long), one of the first in Latin America. The rail line still functions today. The earthquake of August 13, 1868 struck near the city with an estimated magnitude of 8.0 to 9.0. Estimates on the death toll vary greatly, some estimates have the number at 25,000 to 70,000 people. Others estimate that the population of Arica was less than 3,000 people and the death toll was around 300. It triggered a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

, measurable across the Pacific in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, Japan and New Zealand. As Arica lies very close to the

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second p ...

zone known as the Peru–Chile Trench where the

Nazca Plate The Nazca plate or Nasca plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic list of tectonic plates, tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction, along the Peru– ...

dives beneath the

South American Plate The South American plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid ...

, the city is subject to

megathrust earthquake Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthq ...

Chilenization period (1880–1929)

Chilean forces occupied the region following the

. The Treaty of Ancón in 1883 formally acceded the region to Chilean control. The 1929 Tacna-Arica compromise in the Treaty of Lima subsequently restored

to Peru but Arica remained part of Chile.

Modern Arica (1929–present)

In 1958, the Chilean Government established the "Junta de Adelanto de Arica" (Board of Development for Arica), which promulgated many tax incentives for the establishment of industries, such as vehicle assembly plants, a tax-free zone, and a casino, among others. Many car manufacturers opened plants in Arica, such as

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

, Ford and

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

, which produced the Chevrolet LUV pickup until 2008. In 1975, together with Chile's new open economy policies, the "Junta de Adelanto de Arica" was abolished. The Arica and Parinacota Region was created on October 8, 2007, under Law 20.175, promulgated on March 23, 2007, by President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

in the city of Arica.

Promel toxic waste dumpsite

In 1984-1985, the Swedish metal company Boliden Mineral AB paid a local mineral extracting company, Promel Ldta., 10 million SEK ($1.2 million, $3.15 million in 2021 dollars) to receive, treat and confine around 20,000 tonnes of smeltery sludge from Rönnskärsverken in Skellefteå, containing among other things high levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and iron and smaller amounts of gold and silver. To earn additional income, Promel planned to extract various substances from the waste at its processing plant at Sitio F in the outskirts of Arica. The end products were mainly raw arsenic and iron-silver-gold oxides. The first shipment arrived in Arica in August 1984 and the processing of 500 kg test batches in October 1984 gave positive results with oversight from an official from the Chilean Health Authority in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. After the sludge processing had begun at large scale and the third and last shipment of sludge arrived to Promel's plant in Arica in July 1985, contact between Boliden and Promel ceased. In the late 1980s, Promel ceased all activities at Sitio F for unknown reasons and abandoned the remaining 10,000 tons of the highly toxic smelting sludge out in the open exposed to the elements. The area surrounding the plant was later used by the local authorities to build state-sponsored social housing aimed at low-income families. No physical barrier between the former plant and the residential area existed at the time. Residents of the new neighborhood had no knowledge about the contents of the sludge at the site, which became used as a playground by children. In the 1990s, many residents around the former plant began to show symptoms of lead and arsenic poisoning. In 1998, the Chilean authorities ordered Promel to move the toxic waste. Promel moved the sludge to a walled area on the other side of a nearby hill and covered the material with a plastic mat. It was supposed to be a temporary storage site, yet the material remains there to this day. Cleanup of the remaining parts of Sitio F finished as late as 2010. Even after the removal of the sludge, the health effects on the local population continue to be devastating. Almost 8,000 residents were tested for toxic substances in 2010. Of the 6600 people that got results back from the Chilean Health Authority, 12.9% showed arsenic in their urine samples. Studies have found very high rates of arsenic related lung cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer and skin cancer in the local population. Other health effects include non-cancerous heart and lung diseases and fertility problems such as low birth weights and spontaneous miscarriages. In 2013, 796 Arica residents, including human rights defenders, started legal action in Sweden against Boliden. The Court of Appeal for Northern Norrland held that the claims of the victims were time limited, and the Swedish Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Demography

According to the 2017 census by the National Statistics Institute, Arica spans an area of and has 222,619 inhabitants (110,115 men and 112,504 women). The population grew by 20% (37,351 people) between the 2002 and 2017 censuses. Arica is home to 97.7% of the total population of the region. The population of Arica is made up of various long-established groups in the region, and other more recent arrivals settled at differing times. Among the long-established groups, the oldest consists of indigenous

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

, such as the Aymara, whose presence in the region is of several millennia. These are followed by the second oldest, the local colonial-era groups, which includes local mestizos (of mixed Spanish-Amerindian origin), local criollos (whites of colonial Spanish origin), and local afrodescendants of colonial-era slaves. The third oldest group consists of early post-colonial

Chinese Chilean It is estimated that there are over 20,000 Chinese people in Chile. Chinese immigrants come from both China and Taiwan. Reasons for immigration A high demand for manpower in the Southern South American region was present around the 1950s–1960s ...

s who first arrived as miners and rail workers in the 1890s. These long-established groups of Ariqueños have been augmented by various later settlers, mostly other criollos and mestizo Chileans from elsewhere around Chile, but also numerous Europeans, who arrived in the 1900s, including more Spaniards arriving from Spain, as well as Italians, Greeks, British, and French. These arrived at different times during the last century. Some Ariqueños, primarily the indigenous Amerindians, but also the afro-descendants, share cultural affinities to counterpart populations in neighbouring border areas of Peru, and more distantly, Bolivia. The urban area of Arica has 175,441 inhabitants in an area of 41.89 km². Arica in 2007 had more than 185,000 inhabitants (not counting the inhabitants of the valleys and Lluta Azapa, with that reach almost to the 194.000 inhabitants). The growing city of Arica spreads outward into the desert and the Peru-Chile border. The Azapa Valley has developed a year-round agricultural economy due to improvements in irrigation and transportation of its products. The villages that make up the commune are Villa Frontera and San Miguel de Azapa. Some hamlets are Poconchile, Molinas, Sora, Las Maitas and Caleta Vitor. Arica was made famous in 1970 by the spiritual master Oscar Ichazo when he held a 10-month training there for 50 North Americans from the Esalen Institute in California. The Arica School, based in the United States of America, has influenced thousands of people all over the world. The commune of Arica is composed of 19 census districts. ''Source'': INE 2007 report, "Territorial division of Chile"

Notable residents

* Jean-François Dauxion-Lavaysse, a Frenchman, born in 1770 or 1775, died on 8 July 1829 in Arica. He was the first director of the Chilean National Museum of Natural History and the Botanical Garden. * Dante Poli – former footballer * Hipólito Unanue – physician, and briefly

President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

* Izkia Siches, former Vice president and minister of the interior of Chile. * Américo – singer * Chañaral Ortega-Miranda (b. 1973) – classical composer

Economics

Arica is the economical powerhouse of its region. It is an enormous trade and shipping point and vital for the maritimal access of

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Features

The '' Morro de Arica'' is a tall, nearly-vertical rock formation and hill located in the city, situated approximately 139 meters above sea level. It was the last bulwark of defense for the Peruvian troops who garrisoned the city. It was attacked and captured on 7 June 1880 by Chilean troops, as the final effort of their ''Campaña del Desierto'' ( Desert Campaign) during the

. Near to the city center is the Azapa Valley, an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentolives are grown. Economically, it is also an important port for Chilean

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

. The semi-tropical latitude, combined with the low humidity and the city's beaches, have made Arica a popular tourist destination. It is also a center of Chilean rail networks with

. For air travel, the region is serviced by Chacalluta International Airport. Arica has strong ties with the city of

. Many people cross the border daily as they travel between the two cities, partially due to the many services (for example, dentists, doctors, etc.) that are cheaper in Peru. Arica is connected to both Tacna and to La Paz via separate railroad lines. ElMorroDeArica.jpg, Morro de Arica AricaViewCoast.jpg, The city view from Morro de Arica Arica Aduana 2.jpg, Arica's Customs Office (Aduana de Arica), built by the Peruvian Government after the 1868 earthquake.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Arica has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "BWh" on climate maps. Unlike many other cities with arid climates, Arica seldom sees extreme temperatures throughout the course of the year and it is also relatively overcast. Arica is also known as the driest inhabited place on Earth, at least as measured by rainfall: average annual precipitation is 0.76 mm (0.03 inches), as measured at the airport meteorological station.

Administration

As a commune, Arica is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law ...

administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008–2012 alcalde is Waldo Sankán Martínez (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Arica is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

by Mr. Vlado Mirosevic (Partido Liberal) and Mr. Luis Rocaful as part of the 1st electoral district, which includes the entire Arica and Parinacota Region. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

José Miguel Insulza José Miguel Insulza Salinas (born June 2, 1943) is a Chilean politician, lawyer, and academic serving as a senator for the Arica y Parinacota Region since 2018. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999 and Ministe ...

( PS, 2018–2026) and José Durana (UDI, 2018–2026) as part of the 1st senatorial constituency (Arica and Parinacota Region and

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order Administrative divisions of Chile, administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique Province, Iquique and Tamarugal Province, Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica y Par ...

Sports

Arica was one of the four host cities of the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between ...

, and it was the venue for a Rip Curl Pro Search surfing event that took place from June 20 to July 1, 2007. Arica plays host to a leg of the International Bodyboarding Association's world tour event every year at the notorious "el flops" surf break. The event has been running since 2004.

Tourist attractions

# Morro de Arica: the prominent mount rising above the city, affording sweeping views. # Catedral de San Marcos de Arica: the magnificent church designed by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

was built in the 1870s. #Plaza Colón: the civic heart of the city, the public square is where its residents congregate for celebrations, diversions or just being a part of the community. Other attractions include the former house of the Governor, the Former Arica Custom House, railway station Arica-La Paz, the Archaeological and Anthropological Museum of San Miguel de Azapa, Sea and Historical Arms and Arica. For evening entertainment there is the Casino de Arica.

Beaches

More than 20 km of beaches, many known for the quality of surfing, span across the Coastal Range in the northern sector. The harbored location makes these beaches unique from other cities in Chile in terms of topography. From north to south the beaches are located Las Machas, Chinchorro, del Alacrán, El Laucho, La Lisera, Brava, Arenillas Negras,

La Capilla La Capilla is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of in the Tenza Valley. Borders * North with Úmbita and Pachavita * South w ...

, Corazones and La Liserilla.

Other tourist sites

* Chungará Lake: Arica is the main access road to the lake, the 29th highest in the world (and the 10th highest in South America), with an approximate height of 4517 metres. It is located within the Lauca National Park. * Pucará de Copaquilla: about 3,000 metres above sea level, dates from the 12th century, declared

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

, located on a promontory that serves as the defence has a double stone wall, which protects a series of internal spaces. From this point it is possible to observe the pre-and streams. *Termas de Jurasi a few miles southeast of

Putre Putre is a Chilean town and commune, capital of the Parinacota Province in the Arica-Parinacota Region. It is located east of Arica, at an altitude of . The town is backdropped by Taapaca volcanic complex. Putre is on the edge of the Lauc ...

, by Ruta 11-CH, turning off a dirt road. Underground waters are home to temperatures above which are reputed to have medicinal properties. *Surf Arica is a world-famous spot for surfing. The wave known as "El Gringo" hosts surfing and

bodyboarding Bodyboarding is a water sports, water sport in which the surfing, surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the in ...

world championships every year. In 2007, Arica was the site for an ASP world tour contest. Others stops on this tour include Hawaii,

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and South Africa.

Transport

Passenger train services on the

Arica–La Paz railway The Arica–La Paz railway or Ferrocarril de Arica–La Paz (FCALP) is a railway built by the Chilean government under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia. It was inaugurated on 13 May 1913 and is the shortest ...

ceased in 1996, but as of 2017 there were proposals to restart services from Arica as a tourist attraction (and for freight). In 2011, Chile announced plans to privatise the Port of Arica. These were opposed by Bolivia, as Arica is its main sea port. Chacalluta International Airport is the main airport in Arica and is located 18.5 km north of the city.

LATAM Chile LATAM Airlines Chile, formerly known as LAN Chile and LAN Airlines, is a Chilean multinational corporation, multinational airline based in Santiago and one of the founding companies of the LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline holding compa ...

, Amaszonas, JetSmart, and Sky Airline have scheduled commercial service to several Chilean airports.

References

External links

Portal informativo de la Region de Arica y Parinacota

Portal Turistico de la Region de Arica y Parinacota

Portal de panoramas y carretes de la Region de Arica y Parinacota

Municipality of Arica

Arica Tours to Parque Nacional Lauca and Atacama

New York Times article about the 1868 earthquakeArica-Chile in a nutshell
{{Authority control Capitals of Chilean regions Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Populated places in Arica Province Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1541 Atacama Desert War of the Pacific Weather extremes of Earth 1541 establishments in the Spanish Empire Coasts of Arica y Parinacota Region Populated places destroyed by earthquakes