Azapa Valley

The Azapa valley runs inland from Arica, watered by the San Jose river in a desert where nothing else grows, and it has been farmed continuously for thousands of years - now producing olives, mangoes and the small Azapa olive that is a national product. Halfway up it is the San Miguel de Azapa museum, run by the University of Tarapaca, which holds the principal collection of Chinchorro mummies along with textiles, tools and the material of the coastal and valley cultures. The valley also carries geoglyphs on the hillsides, figures of llamas and humans laid out in stone by caravan people, visible from the road.

What you actually see

• A green valley in absolute desert - watered by the San Jose river.
• The San Miguel de Azapa museum - the main Chinchorro collection.
• Azapa olives and mangoes - what the valley grows now.
• Hillside geoglyphs - llamas and figures laid out in stone.

When to go

Year round. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The mummies are human remains and the museum handles them with restrictions, including on photography. The museum has been through closures for building work. The valley road is agricultural and unremarkable between the sites.

Nearby

Arica is at the mouth of the valley; the Lluta valley and its geoglyphs are north.