The War of the Pacific cannot be understood without an excursion to the coastal town of Pisagua, where you'll learn about the episodes that marked one of the main war conflicts in South America in the 19th century.
Pisagua Tour
After picking you up at your hotel in Arica between 8 am and 9 am, we'll head south towards Pisagua. This small coastal town in the Chilean region of Tarapacá was one of the main scenes of the War of the Pacific, a war that pitted Chile against Peru and Bolivia in the second half of the 19th century.
One of the main episodes of this conflict was the Battle of Dolores also known as The Battle of San Francisco, one of the great clashes of the so-called Tarapacá campaign. We'll learn about the history of this dispute and visit the Pisagua cemetery, whose wooden crosses look directly onto the Pacific Ocean.
The next stop will be in front of the monument dedicated to the landing and battle of Pisagua. After learning the details of this 1879 event, we'll discover Pisagua's past. We'll also see the large wooden buildings built at the time, the main vestiges of that period.
We'll take a break in a local restaurant to have lunch, which includes different dishes from the local cuisine. After regaining our strength, we'll learn about the origins of Pisagua as a detention centre in the 20th century. However, nowadays it has become a symbol in the defence of Human Rights.
Finally, we'll return to your hotel in Arica, where we'll arrive at 7 pm.
