CAPRICORN TROPIC, BAQUEDANO & CHACABUCO SALTPETER DESTILERY – FULL DAY

We will leave from the Hotel in Antofagasta at 08:00 am to Calama. On the road, we will visit the Tropic of Capricorn milestone, one of the main tourist attractions in Antofagasta and meeting point for astronomy fans. Inaugurated on December 21st 2000, for the last solstice of the last millennium, exactly when the sun passed over the meridian, when the shadows disappeared for several minutes. It is 12.4 meters high and it is surrounded by a 30-meter diameter circle. We will continue to Baquedano town, where two railroads meet, constructed in 1866 to improve the saltpeter exploitation and exports conditions. At the old station building we can see the offices and ticket offices of the two railway companies. At the yards we can see wagons, railway materials and the Power House, built in 1916 by the Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado [State Railway Company], currently used as a museum. Further on the road, we will visit Chacabuco former nitrate company, to see the historical heritage of this industrial camp representative of the saltpeter golden age, which boosted the national economy at the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century. It was abandoned in 1945 and then used as prison camp during the military dictatorship. The highlights are the urban facilities, the square, the theatre, the school and the employee houses, besides the production area holding some saltpeter production machines.

Notes: the tour can be combined with a transfer out to Calama or to San Pedro de Atacama.

Duration: 8 hours.

-Regular tour departs everyday, all year long.
-Private tour departure schedule is coordinated previously with the passenger depending on their availability.