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Norte Chico
The region of Norte Chico - or “Little North” - bridges the gap between the fertile heartland and the vast deserts of Norte Grande which stretch across the borders into Peru and Bolivia.
And while its name makes the region sound like the far north’s little sibling, Norte Chico holds its own. La Serena, the slender nation’s second oldest city, boasts some of the best beaches in the entire country. The amazing desierto florido occurs, though rarely, in the seemingly barren desert around Vallenar, while Bahia Inglesa, Parque Nacional Nevado Tres Cruces, Laguna Verde, Ojos del Salado and the Reserva Natural Pingüino de Humboldt are all worth a visit.
Norte Chico is a semi-arid territory with limited vegetation. The Choapa, Limarí, Copiapó, Elqui and Huasco rivers flow from the Andes to the coast which allow the soil to be irrigated and cultivated. The verdant green areas which produce olives and apricots coil among the dry, browned colors of the arid land.
However, it is not that beauty which led to the population boom in the region, but rather of the mining industry. The Incas originally mined gold before the Spaniards arrived. Then the silver rush in the 19th century, along with the discovery of copper, allowed more wealth to flow through the region as it became the largest copper producer in the world from the 1840s to the 1870s.
Places in Norte Chico
- Illapel
- Ovalle
- Los Vilos
- Tongoy
- Vicuña
- Guanaqueros
- Copiapó
- The Huasco Valley Region
- Chañaral
- The Elqui Valley Region
- Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar
- Caldera
Norte Chico Travel Guide
All Activities in Norte Chico
Parque Nacional Fray Jorge
Declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977, the nearly 10,000 hectares of land comprising Fray Jorge national park ...
Gabriela Mistral Museum
This small museum, a short walk from Vicuña’s Plaza de Armas, is full of educational information (all in Spanish) and ...
Museo Regional de Atacama
The museum is home to displays on the War of the Pacific, on the history and development of mining in ...
Top Rated Hotels
Hotel Bellavista
Hotel Bellavista is an older hotel with crumbling walls, but the rooms are bright and clean, and the prices are ...
0% - 0 ratings
American Motel de Turismo
The ten-minute walk to the beach from this quiet hotel is quite far for the tiny beach town of Los ...
0% - 0 ratings
Hotel Summary: Vicuña
Although it’s a small town, Vicuña has several decent accommodation options for each price bracket. Almost all of them are ...
0% - 0 ratings
Top Rated Restaurants
Restaurant Costanera
Restaurant Costanera, a tasteful mid-range restaurant, has a mostly seafood menu with a long wine list and stately, friendly service. ...
0% - 0 ratings
Restaurante Roma
Restaurante Roma, on the city’s main drag, is one of the few places in town where you won’t encounter a ...
0% - 0 ratings
Las Cascabeles
Driving northbound on the Pan-American Highway you find Las Cascabeles restaurant near the exit for Los Vilos, before the exit ...
0% - 0 ratings
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Other V!VA Travel Guides Pages
Activities | Popular Norte Chico Destinations | Norte Chico HotelsTop Norte Chico Hotels | Other Norte Chico pages |
