Copiapo Tourist Places to Visit in Copiapo, Chile, America
Copiapo is the capital city of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region in the northern Chile covering a total area of 16,681.3 sq. km at an elevation of 391 meters. It is situated about 800 km north of Santiago, the capital of Chile and is widely known for its silver and copper mining industries, housing a bronze statue of the inventor of the Chañarcillo silver mines, Juan Godoy.
Geography of Copiapo:
Copiapo is geographically placed between 27°21′59″ S latitude and 70°19′59″ W longitude. It features a desert climate with mild winter and warm summer and receives an average rainfall of 12 mm per year.
History of Copiapo:
Copiapo was founded on December 8, 1744 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco with name San Francisco de la Selva de Copiapó (Saint Francis of the Jungle of Copiapó).
How to reach Copiapo?
Copiapo is catered by Desierto de Atacama Airport which handles flights to Santiago de Chile, served by both LAN and PAL Airlines and Antofagasta, El Salvador and Iquique, operated by Sky Airline. This airport is located around 50 km away from the midpoint of Copiapo and there are taxis always available at the airport and tourists can also rent cars.
Copiapo is also connected with Antofagasta, Iquique, Arica, La Serena and Santiago through roadway, served by Tur-bus and many other private bus companies.
Culture, Food and Shopping in Copiapo:
Copiapo is especially noted for its Raid Atacama which is an annual event magnetizing a large number of 4×4 automobiles in the globe.
Copiapo also houses many retail outlets including Lider Supermarket and the main food corners in Copiapo are as follows:
- Tierra Nuestra
- Anakena Gourmet
- Donde Camilo y La Pichina
- Domo Restaurant Bahia Inglesa
- Restaurant El Legado
Things to do in Copiapo:
- Mining sites
- Museums
- Parks
- Shopping
Places of interest in Copiapo:
Museo Mineralógico:
Museo Mineralógico is a museum with a great collection of minerals. Tourists are allowed until 17:45 PM every day and admission fee is Ch$600.
The Plaza A. Pratt:
The Plaza A. Pratt is a nice park situated in the heart of the city featuring with many indigenous trees as well as nice benches. Good relaxing point.
Historical wooden railway station:
There is an ancient railway station in Copiapo that dates back to the 19th century. Now it is declared as a National Monument.
Other places of interest near Copiapo include:
- Plaza de Armas
- Regional Museum of the Matta Family
- The San José Cooper Mine
- Schneider Park
- Santuario Candelaria Church
- Casa de la Cultura de Copiapo
- City Hall of Copiapó
- Universidad de Atacama
- Luis Valenzuela Hermosilla Stadium
- Copiapó River
- Parque Nacional Nevado Tres Cruces
- Bahia Inglesa
- Volcan Ojos del Salado
- Puerto Viejo
- Laguna Verde
Best time to visit Copiapo:
From March to May and August to December is the ideal time to trip Copiapo.
Accommodation options in Copiapo:
Copiapo hosts many standard accommodation centres with decent facilities and services like hot water bath, doctor on call, 24 hour internet connectivity and help desk and arrangement of car and bike and most of the hotels offer advance booking facility for tourist’s convenience. The prominent hotels in Copiapo are listed below:
- Hotel Diego de Almeida Copiapo
- Hotel Chagall
- Hotel & Casino Antay
- Hotel Montecatini I
- Hosteria Las Pircas
- Hotel La Casona
- Oasis de Atacama
- Hostal Maray
- Hotel Miramonti
- Hotel Bordeaux
- Hotel Rocca D’Argento
- San Francisco de la Selva
- Hotel Pulmahue
- Piedras Bayas Basecamp Atacama
- ostal Arenas de Atacama