Humberstone Saltpeter Works

For decades Chile's economy ran on sodium nitrate, mined from the Atacama and shipped worldwide as fertiliser and explosive, and thousands of workers lived in company towns built in the driest desert on earth. Then synthetic nitrate was developed in Europe and the industry collapsed. Humberstone was abandoned in 1960 and left where it stood. Because it almost never rains here, it is still standing: the theatre with its seats in rows, the swimming pool built from a shipwreck's iron hull, the church, the market, the school, and street after street of workers' housing with the doors open to the sand. UNESCO listed it in 2005, along with the nearby Santa Laura works, whose industrial plant survives more completely.

Highlights

• The theatre - rows of seating and a stage still intact inside the shell.
• The swimming pool - built from the iron hull of a ship, in the middle of the desert.
• Workers' housing - streets of empty company homes with furniture and fittings left behind.
• Santa Laura - the neighbouring site, with the processing plant and chimney still standing.

When to go

Any time; it essentially never rains. Go early or late, since the middle of the day is brutally hot and glaring with no shade at all. The light on the corrugated iron is best in the last hour.

Things to know

Structures are decaying and some buildings are fenced off or unsafe, with loose iron and open floors. There is no shade and no water on site, and the heat is serious. The atmosphere divides people: some find it one of the most affecting places in Chile, others find it a rusting shell. A guide adds a great deal of context.

Nearby

Iquique's beaches and duty-free port are an hour west; the Pintados geoglyphs lie south.

Key facts