Chiu Chiu

Chiu Chiu is an Atacameño village on the Loa river, and its church of San Francisco, built in the mid-seventeenth century, is among the oldest standing in Chile. It is adobe with walls over a metre thick, a beamed cactus-wood roof, and - the detail everyone is shown - joints lashed with leather thongs rather than nailed, because iron was scarce and the technique held. There are no windows in the side walls. Near the village is the Laguna Inca Coya, a deep circular sinkhole lake with local stories attached, and the Chiu Chiu petroglyphs and the Lasana fortress are a short drive further up the valley.

History

The church of San Francisco was built in the mid-17th century, with adobe walls about 1.2 metres thick, a Latin-cross nave 27 metres long and 5 wide, and a roof frame of chañar, carob and cactus wood set with leather instead of nails and covered with mud and straw. Its original bell towers fell in the 19th century, and in a restoration of 1965 by the Ministry of Public Works the wooden belfry that had replaced them gave way to two towers of stone. The church was declared a national historic monument by Supreme Decree No. 5058 of 6 July 1951 (Spanish Wikipedia, Iglesia de San Francisco de Chiu Chiu).

The main sights

• A mid-seventeenth-century church - among the oldest standing in Chile.
• Roof joints lashed with leather - iron was scarce, so thongs held it.
• Cactus wood beams and thick adobe - the local building method.
• Laguna Inca Coya nearby - a deep circular sinkhole lake.

When to go

Year round. Two hours.

What to expect

The church is usually locked and opening it means finding the keyholder. The village is very small with almost no services. Photography inside may be restricted. It is a short stop on the way to Lasana or Ollague.

Nearby

Lasana pukara is up the valley; Calama is south-west.

Key facts