Pintados Geoglyphs

The hillsides at Pintados carry something in the order of four hundred figures spread over about four kilometres, made between roughly the eighth and fifteenth centuries by removing the dark desert surface to expose paler ground beneath, or by piling stones - llamas, humans, birds, fish, geometric forms and abstract patterns, some of them tens of metres across. They sit beside the route that caravans used to move between the altiplano and the coast, and are generally read as markers, territorial signs and ritual work rather than as messages. The site is part of the Pampa del Tamarugal reserve and has a marked path with viewing points.

What you actually see

• About four hundred figures - over roughly four kilometres of hillside.
• Made from the eighth to fifteenth centuries - by exposing paler ground.
• Llamas, people, birds and patterns - some tens of metres across.
• Beside a caravan route - between altiplano and coast.

When to go

Year round, early or late in the day when the low sun brings out the relief. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

The figures read best in raking light; at midday they flatten out and can be hard to see. There is no shade and it is extremely hot. Walking on the hillside is prohibited and damages the figures irreversibly.

Nearby

Humberstone saltpeter works are north; Iquique is on the coast west.