Places to Visit in Antofagasta, Chile, America

Places to Visit in Antofagasta, Chile, America

Antofagasta is a port city as well as the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region in the northern Chile. It is situated around 1100 km north of the capital of the country, Santiago at an elevation of 40 meters.

Antofagasta is a basically industrial area, specially known for mining activity and in recent years, it gradually turned towards tourism, retail, hotel accommodations and skyline development.

Geography of Antofagasta:

Antofagasta coordinates with 23°39′ S latitude and 70°24′ W longitude and spans over an area of 30,718.1 sq. km.

History of Antofagasta:

There are no specific theories about the origin of the name Antofagasta, although one source claims that, Antofagasta is formed by the combination of three words such as ‘Anto’, ‘Faya’ and ‘Gasta’ and its total meaning is ‘Town of the great salt lake’. Antofagasta houses many historical monuments dating back to the Spanish colonial period.

How to reach Antofagasta?

Antofagasta is served by Cerro Moreno International Airport situated around 25 km away from the centre of the city with scheduled flights to Iquique, Santiago de Chile, La Serena, Arica, Calama, Copiapó, El Salvador and Lima, operated by Aerolínea Principal, LAN Express and Sky Airline.

Terminal Carlos Oviedo Cavada is the major bus terminal of Antofagasta placed in the north side of the town. Passengers required to travel to San Pedro de Atacama, Iquique, Arica, Copiapó and Calama can board from here.

Food and Shopping in Antofagasta:

Day of Antofagasta celebrated on February 14^th annually with great enthusiasm and fervor and also city boasts all sorts of shops. List of major food corners in Antofagasta include:

Mu Grill House
Amares Costafusion
The Brick Restaurant
Club de Yates
San Pedro Bar y Restaurant

Things to do in Antofagasta:

Visit library and park
Shopping
Walking

Tourist Attractions in Antofagasta:

Japanese Park:

Japanese Park is a pleasant site which was constructed by the Japanese colony. It features eye-catching landscape as well as special plants.

University of Antofagasta Library:

University of Antofagasta is one of the traditional universities of Antofagasta, another being Catholic University of the North. Central Library of the university has a great collection of books related to the tradition and culture of Antofagasta.

San Pedro de Atacama:

San Pedro de Atacama is the major tourist destination of Antofagasta province, situated around 340 km away from the city of Antofagasta. It is home to many natural and man-made attractions including R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, Church of San Pedro, Chaxas Lagoon, El Tatio and Laguna Miscanti.

Other places of interest near Antofagasta include:

Laguna Cejar
Salar de Atacama
El Tatio
La Portada
Pan de Azucar National Park
Chacabuco
Ruinas de Huanchaca
Puritama Hot Springs
Valle de la Luna
Salar de Atacama
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory
Pukará de Quitor

Best time to visit Antofagasta:

From March to June is the best time to visit Antofagasta while the weather remains pleasant.

Accommodation options in Antofagasta:

Antofagasta hosts around 40 standard accommodation centres categorized as hotels, BB, inns and condominiums with tourists favor facilities such as spa, facial, airport shuttle and recreational activities. The prime hotels in Antofagasta are: