Experiences and local guides in Iquique

Nature

Iquique is squeezed between the Pacific and a 600-metre wall of dunes, Cerro Dragón, which drops straight onto the city. North and south, miles of empty beaches and constant swell; inland, the Tamarugal pampa, the Pintados geoglyphs, the abandoned nitrate towns of Humberstone and Santa Laura, and higher up the altiplano villages and Volcán Isluga National Park.

Activities

• Tandem paragliding from Alto Hospicio landing on the beach, one of South America's best flying sites all year round
• Sandboarding and buggy descents on the Cerro Dragón dunes, sunset over the sea
• Surfing and bodyboarding at Cavancha, Huayquique and the big waves of El Colegio; kitesurfing and diving in the bay
• Humberstone and Santa Laura, World Heritage sites, Pintados geoglyphs and the Mamiña and Pica hot springs
• Altiplano: Colchane, Isluga, Huasco salt flat and flamingo lagoons at 4,000 m

When to go

All year: it almost never rains and temperatures range from 15 to 28 °C. December to March the sea is warmer and beaches busy; May to September thermal winds are ideal for paragliding and the altiplano is clear.

How to get there

Diego Aracena airport (IQQ) is 45 km south, with flights from Santiago (2 h 30), Antofagasta and Calama. Buses from Arica (4 hours), Calama and San Pedro (6 to 8 hours) and Santiago (24 hours). Paragliding and sandboard schools pick up at hotels; Humberstone is 45 minutes away on route 16.