We will begin our excursion by picking up from selected hotels in Iquique between 08:30 and 09:00 hrs, to travel into the interior of the Tarapacá Region and discover some of its main historical and archaeological attractions.
Our first visit will be to the former Humberstone and Santa Laura nitrate works, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . Here we will learn about a fundamental part of the history of the nitrate boom, touring the old facilities and observing the machinery used for the production that was later exported to different parts of the world.
In Humberstone we will walk through its historic streets and visit places that were once part of the daily life of its inhabitants, such as the market, the general store, the theater and the school.
We will then continue our journey south to the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve . Here we will enjoy our boxed lunch and visit CEDAM, CONAF`s Environmental Education Center, where we can learn more about the reserve`s unique ecosystem and the species that thrive in the extreme desert conditions.
Later, we`ll head towards the Pintados Geoglyph Park , one of the most important geoglyph sites in the region. During the journey, we`ll cross the vast landscapes of the Pintados Salt Flat to observe hundreds of ancient figures etched into the hillsides.
We will be able to appreciate anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and geometric figures distributed on different panels , discovering their importance as testimony of the cultures that inhabited and passed through this area centuries ago.
After exploring this impressive archaeological landscape in the middle of the desert, we will begin our return to Iquique, with an estimated arrival time around 6:30 pm.