ANTOFAGASTA: UNIQUE SKIES, HISTORY & NATURE – 4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS

Welcome at the airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon walking city tour. We will visit historic neighbourhood, where the Antofagasta to Bolivia Railway building is located and was declared a National Monument, Plaza Colón and San José Cathedral. At downtown, we will visit the Ruins of Huanchaca and its interesting Museum, with audio guide. Back to Hotel. Night in Antofagasta.

Paranal opens its doors to the public only on Saturdays, at 10:00 am or 2:00 pm, in regular service. We will leave 2 hours before from Antofagasta and on the way we will visit La Mano del Desierto, by Mario Irarrázaval. An eleven-meter high reinforced concrete sculpture representing a left hand. According to its creator, it embodies a primitive and magical force, which seeks to move from the reflection on life and death. We will continue to Paranal, the most advanced visible light observatory in the world, located at 2,600 meters high. Here we will take a guided tour of the facilities used by scientists, who have been waiting for years for the possibility of analyzing the information provided by the VLT (Very Large Telescope). Optional night astronomical observation! Night in Antofagasta. (B, L)

In the morning, visit Tropic of Capricorn Landmark, which has become one of the major tourist attractions in Antofagasta and a meeting point for astronomy lovers. We will continue towards Baquedano town, meeting point of two railway lines built in 1866 to improve the exploitation and export conditions of the saltpeter. At the old station you can see the former offices of the two railway companies, while in the courtyards you can still see cars, railway equipment and the Power House, built in 1916. Today is a site museum. We will continue to the former Chacabuco nitrate works, where the tour shows the historical legacy of this industrial camp representative of the time of the nitrate boom, with a strong impact on the national economy at the end of the 19th century. It was abandoned after 1945 and was later used as a political prison camp during the military dictatorship. The urban center, its plaza, theater, school and employee housing stand out, as well as the productive sector where you can see some machinery from this process. Return to hotel. Night in Antofagasta. (B, BL)

Morning at your leisure. Then, transfer to airport. (B)