Coquimbo
A working port with an English quarter, a mosque, and an eighty-metre concrete cross on the hill.
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Coquimbo grew as the port for the mining of the Norte Chico, and British and other foreign merchants settled here in the nineteenth century, leaving the Barrio Ingles of timber and iron buildings around the old commercial streets. On the hill above stands the Cruz del Tercer Milenio, a concrete cross about eighty-three metres high built for the year 2000 with viewing platforms inside it, visible from the whole bay. The city also has a mosque, the Mohammed VI centre, built with Moroccan funding and craftsmen in 2007 and modelled on the Koutoubia in Marrakech, which is an unexpected thing on this coast.
What you actually see
- The Barrio Ingles - the merchants' quarter of timber and iron.
- The Cruz del Tercer Milenio - about eighty-three metres, built for 2000.
- A Moroccan-built mosque - modelled on the Koutoubia, finished 2007.
- A working port - the reason the city exists.
When to go
Year round; January and February are crowded. A full day.
Honest expectations
The city is rougher than La Serena next door and parts of the port area are not somewhere to wander at night. The cross charges for the lift and viewing levels. The mosque has visiting arrangements to respect.
Nearby
La Serena is north along the bay; Guanaqueros and Tongoy are south.
What to pack for Coquimbo
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.