Lasana Pukara

The pukara at Lasana was built around the twelfth century on a rock spur above a bend of the Loa, with the river on three sides and a wall across the fourth, and it is dense: something over a hundred rooms of stone built against each other with narrow passages between, plus storage cells and lookout points. It was occupied by Atacameño people, taken into the Inca system, and abandoned after the Spanish arrival. It was declared a national monument in 1982 and consolidated since. Below it the Loa valley is green with alfalfa and fruit, which is the reason a fortified town stood here at all.

What's there

• Over a hundred stone rooms - built against each other with narrow lanes.
• A spur with river on three sides - the defensive position.
• Atacameño, then Inca - before abandonment after the conquest.
• A green valley below - the farmland the site controlled.

When to go

Year round; early or late for the heat. Two hours.

Good to know

Walls are consolidated but fragile and climbing on them is prohibited. There is no shade on the spur. Interpretation on site is limited. The village below has minimal services.

Nearby

Chiu Chiu and its church are downstream; Calama is south-west.

Key facts