Mamina

Mamina sits at about 2,700 metres in a canyon in the precordillera, watered by springs that come out hot - the village has been a bathing place since before the Spanish and its baths are still its business, with hot pools and a mud treatment used for skin and joints. The church of San Marcos, of the seventeenth century, has two bell towers built at noticeably different heights and set apart from the nave, an arrangement particular to it. Terraces around the village grow alfalfa and fruit. The population is Aymara, and like most of these precordillera villages it is much smaller than it once was.

What you actually see

• Hot springs in a canyon - used for bathing since before the Spanish.
• A church with mismatched towers - seventeenth century, set apart from the nave.
• Terraces of alfalfa and fruit - watered by the same springs.
• An Aymara village - much reduced from its former size.

When to go

Year round; nights are cold at 2,700 metres. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Accommodation and baths are simple and dated in places. The road in is long and partly gravel. Altitude is mild but noticeable. Services are limited.

Nearby

Pica is south; Iquique and the coast are west.