Antofagasta

Antofagasta was Bolivian territory when it was founded in the 1860s to ship nitrate, and the tax dispute over that trade was the immediate trigger for the War of the Pacific in 1879, after which Chile took the whole coast and Bolivia lost its access to the sea - a grievance that is still live in Bolivian politics and still shapes relations between the two countries. The city now handles the copper of the region and is one of the wealthiest in Chile by output. It sits between the ocean and the coastal range in a place where measurable rain may not fall for years, and its water is piped from the Andes.

What you actually see

• A city founded on Bolivian ground - and taken by Chile after 1879.
• The trigger of the War of the Pacific - a nitrate tax dispute here.
• Chile's copper port - handling the region's output.
• Water piped from the Andes - rain here is close to nil.

When to go

Year round; the coastal climate is mild and dry in every season. A full day.

Honest expectations

This is a working industrial port, not a tourist city - the attractions are dispersed and modest. Coastal fog sits over it in the mornings. Accommodation is priced for mining business travel rather than visitors.

Nearby

La Portada is north along the coast; Paranal observatory is south.