Oasis de Pica with Lunch

A diverse day tour of the Northern area of Chile! Discover the Oasis de Pica, a hillside village which has thermal waters that help produce succulent limes and other citrus fruit, as well as mangoes. You'll also visit the abandoned nitrate town of Santa Laura, as well as heading to Cerro Pintado, to see ancient geoglyphs.

This journey includes the nitrate plants, geoglyphs and the villages and oases which are located in the Pampa del Tamarugal.

Depart from Iquique towards the Pampa to arrive at the abandoned sites of the Santa Laura nitrate plant where a full visit is made of the remaining plant and there is the opportunity to discover the systems of extraction and processing of this important mineral.

A short distance away is Humberstone, the residential area for the workers of Santa Laura. Following a full visit to this fascinating abandoned town, head towards the Pampa del Tamarugal crossing an extensive wood of tamarind trees and the Salar de Pintados.

The Cerro Pintado, nearby is the home of over 400 geoglyphs made by ancient peoples on their journey from the high plateau of the Andes to the coast and depicts their way of life, maps and stories of their journeys.

Then head to the Oasis de Pica a hillside village where the existence of thermal waters has lead to the production of citrus fruits and mangos in the desert. Here lunch is served in a typical restaurant and there is the chance to bathe in the thermal pool (optional, entrance fee not included) The stop here includes a visit to the San Andrés Church.

Continue to the settlement of Matilla where the principal points of interest are the church of San Antonio with its Baroque bell tower and the 'lagar', both buildings dating back to the 18th century.

On the way back to Iquique, visit the village of La Tirana, famous for it's huge religious and folklore festival in July every year.

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