Chile (Big North Region)
Arica

Known as the city of eternal spring, it is only 30 miles south of the Peruvian border. It's known for delightful restaurants and comfortable, modern hotels. Arica also has a lively night life with the gambling casino open all year round. 

This city also features some of the nicest beaches in Chile. In addition it was the center of a number of pre-Colombian Indian cultures and in it's museums can be found mummies that pre-date the Egyptians by 2,000 years! It is a great vacation spot.

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The carefully tended gardens of Arica, the first town in the north, make one forget the desert. It has excellent warm-water beaches and an interesting pre-columbine museum housing more than 10,000 years old mummies. 

Arica is the starting point for visiting the valleys of Azapa and Lluta, lake Chungara and the small villages of Socoroma, Putre and Parinacota. A picturesque train makes the trip from Arica to la Paz, Bolivia, twice a week.

Outside town
Crops have sprung up in the area thanks to the sea mist (camanchaca) and the hand of man, and what were once small mining ports have been transformed into blossoming towns blessed by superb climate and good infrastructure. 

The area around Arica is unique and includes lagoons, volcanoes, salt flats, geysers, hot springs, rivers and ravines, together with widespread Spanish legacy of the XVI century, churches and saltpeter deposits. Earlier civilizations even left mummies, among the oldest in the World.

Putre
Inland and further north than Arica it's a good place to acclimate yourself before going on an excursion of the highlands of Chungara Lake, It's 3,500 above sea level. You won't feel crowded either, there are only 600 inhabitants.