Coquimbo

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.

History

The natural harbour was used by Indigenous fishing people before Pedro de Valdivia took it over for Spain in 1550, and Coquimbo was recognised as a town in 1879. Charles Darwin stopped here on 14 May 1835 on the Beagle voyage and found the town remarkable only for its quietness; from the mid 1800s English settlers came with the gold and copper industry, which peaked around 1860, when a large English cemetery was built, and left their mark on the town's architecture and food (Wikipedia, Coquimbo).

Highlights

• 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.

Before you go

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.

Key facts