In the heart of Chile's Atacama Desert, Calama was founded as a resting place at the meeting of two Inca trails. It developed into a bustling mining town after the discovery of vast deposits of copper in the area, but today, it’s best known as the gateway to San Pedro de Atacama. Whether you’re on your way to further-flung desert adventures or trying to strike it rich, you’ll find plenty of things to do in and around Calama, from exploring the 12th-century ruins of the Pukará Lasana fort to spotting llamas and alpacas around Laguna Inka Coya.
The best time to visit Calama is during the Chilean summer (from December to February). You’ll enjoy long, warm, sunny days that are ideal for exploring and clear night skies that are perfect for stargazing. At the beginning of September, 44 miles (70 kilometers) away in the village of Ayquina, the Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ayquina Festival is the area’s most important religious festival and draws a large number of pilgrims.
Calama’s city center is compact enough to be covered on foot. For trips further afield, you can jump in a shared taxi (colectivo) or bus. Calama is a good place to rent a 4WD for adventures deeper into the Atacama Desert. The city also has convenient bus connections to other towns and cities in North Chile, including Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta, as well as flights to and from Santiago.
Around a 40-minute drive northeast of Calama, San Francisco de Chiu Chiu is a tiny village founded by the Spanish around 1610. It’s home to one of Chile’s oldest churches, the whitewashed adobe San Francisco de Chiu Chiu Church (Iglesia de San Francisco), which dates from the mid-17th century. Another 15 minutes north, you can explore the ruins of the Pukará de Lasana, a 12th-century pre-Columbian fort abandoned after the Spanish arrived.
