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. 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.

History

On 18 September 1866 the Chilean miners José Santos Ossa and Francisco Puelma obtained a nitrate concession from the Bolivian government and found rich deposits at the Salar del Carmen, east of today's city, and the settlement known as La Chimba grew up around their venture. The Bolivian government made Antofagasta a major port, open to world trade, on 8 May 1872, the town grew on nitrate, silver and later copper, and in 1912 the British community put up a copy of the Big Ben clock tower in Plaza Colón (Wikipedia, Antofagasta).

What you'll find

• 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.

Practical notes

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.

Key facts