The Morro de Arica Hill is the city’s physical high point and most historic site as well – it was where the Chilean troops overtook the Peruvians in a deciding battle of the War in the Pacific in 1880.
Arica is just 10 miles from the Peruvian border and its climate is much like Palm Springs, CA. The stark and beautiful high desert (Chilean Altiplano) runs up to 14,000 feet. A drive into the Azapa valley takes you though an amazingly fertile valley that is like an oasis with olive trees and farms growing local fruit and vegetables. Along the valley, on the hillsides, are ancient geoglyphs.
