Iquique and the nitrate works

What it is

Iquique is a beach city between the sea and the desert, with some two hundred thousand people, and almost everything you do from it fits a simple split: the sea and the historic centre for the sunny hours, and the nitrate works inland for the whole day you have to set aside for them. The history that explains the place is the nitrate story: the Oregon-pine houses of the centre and the abandoned works of the pampa are two halves of the same money.

So the trip is organised around the nitrate day. The rest fits before or after, and two nights are enough to see everything without rushing.

What to do in the city

Playa Cavancha is Iquique's main beach. You swim, surf and bodyboard, and around it are restaurants and cafés. The municipality has certified it with Blue Flag, and there are lifeguard stations at Cavancha and at Playa Brava, further south. The lifeguard service is set each season and no dates are published for this year's: confirm with the municipality if the plan depends on it. With a red flag you do not go past the breakers, and lifeguards pull out of the water anyone who tries. There are ramps and amphibious chairs near the third and fourth lifeguard towers, opposite the casino.

Paragliding takes off from Alto Hospicio, above the city, and lands at Playa Brava, so the view is the whole city with the sea at your feet. Iquique Zona Parapente sells the tandem flight, with transfer from the beach. The instructors are licensed and there are age and weight limits; pregnant women do not fly, so ask before booking. The wind rules, and the flight depends on it.

Cerro Dragón is a four-kilometre urban dune, declared a Nature Sanctuary, reached along Avenida Arturo Prat to the south. It is used for paragliding and sandboarding.

The Iquique Free Trade Zone, ZOFRI, is a walled compound of foreign-goods trade. It sells wholesale to neighbouring countries, and has a shopping centre open to the public, the Mall Zofri. It is the place for the afternoon's shopping, or for lunch if the nitrate day was left for another day. Ask about its hours before going.

Paseo Baquedano is Baquedano street from Plaza Prat: houses and shops of Oregon pine from the nitrate era, declared a typical zone and national monument. Among its buildings are the Torre Reloj, the Municipal Theatre, the Tarapacá Employees' Society building, on the plaza, and the Astoreca Palace, on the street itself. It is a walk, with no ticket or booking, and the Palace works as a cultural centre.

Two museums round out the centre. The Corbeta Esmeralda Museum is a ship museum, and the Iquique Regional Museum gathers the history of the region. They close on different days and both close on some holidays: check each one's calendar before planning the afternoon.

Humberstone and Santa Laura

Humberstone and Santa Laura are the two nitrate works that carry the trip: industrial towns of the pampa left as a museum. They are about forty-seven kilometres from the city, along route 16 inland to route 5 North, where the entrances are. The ticket is bought at Humberstone and is valid for both sites; the Santa Laura ticket is collected there.

You go on a tour, by car or by other means. Anyone going alone has to think about the day: the museum's water is not drinkable and the works are in the open. The museum offers three routes, express, intermediate and full, and Santa Laura has its own, with the leaching plant, the iodine house, the power house and the mills. The practical rule: pick the route that fits your day, and do not try to do both sites in depth in one morning.

Inside the grounds you may not smoke, eat in rooms or heritage buildings, and closed shoes are required. Bring a hat, sunscreen and your own water.

The nitrate and Pica day

There is a full-day tour that leaves Iquique with pickup at your lodging and combines Humberstone and Santa Laura with Pica and Matilla, and on the way back La Tirana and the Cocha Resbaladero. It is sold by Nomades, with a Spanish-speaking guide and lunch, and runs with a minimum number of passengers, so book with room to spare and ask whether a group already exists for your date. Entrance to the nitrate works is extra.

It is the plan for someone who does not drive and wants to see more than the works. Whoever prefers their own pace keeps to Humberstone and Santa Laura on their own, and leaves Pica for another time.

The Pintados geoglyphs

The Pintados geoglyphs are in the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve, on the Pan-American Highway. The trail is one kilometre and easy. The days and hours can change because of weather or the protected area's rules, so confirm before leaving. The ticket is bought at Pases Parques, where the fare is also shown.

Pintados is a separate excursion: you get there by car, or by asking the agency whether it includes it, and it does not fit the same day as Humberstone without rushing.

Where it is and how to get there

From Santiago there is a direct flight to Iquique. Diego Aracena airport is about forty-five kilometres from the centre, to the south, and the transfer is sold by Trans Iquique: shared, private taxi or van. You book by WhatsApp or through the company's form, and the driver waits at the airport's main door. Its list puts the shared service on the trip to the airport: confirm whether it covers arrival.

There is a bus from Santiago, but it is over 1,700 km: the plane is the sensible option. The bus does make sense to the south, to Antofagasta, 416 km away, and it is the way to continue to the desert.

Money and services

Sort out in the city what you need before heading inland: buy water and whatever you plan to eat, because the water at the Humberstone museum is not drinkable.

When to go

The beaches are used all year, though the lifeguards work by season, and the nitrate works have a winter and a summer schedule. If the trip falls on a weekend or a holiday, confirm the hours of the museums in the centre before planning the day.

How to split the days

Two nights are enough. The first day is the city: Cavancha in the morning, Paseo Baquedano and a museum in the afternoon, and paragliding if the wind cooperates. The second is the nitrate works, alone or with Pica, and leaves early. If an afternoon is left, ZOFRI or Playa Brava will fill it.

If you arrive late from Santiago, leave the nitrate works for the next morning and do not split them with another visit.

Itineraries

Iquique opens the five-day route from Iquique to San Pedro: the coastal nitrate works, the Paranal Saturday and the desert. The Antofagasta leg is covered in Antofagasta and the Paranal Saturday.

Where to sleep

Sleep in the centre or near Cavancha: from there you walk to Paseo Baquedano and the beach, and the nitrate tour picks up at your lodging.