Ruinas de Huanchaca & Museo del Desierto de Atacama
Rising from a clifftop in the south of the city like a crumbling Andean fortress, the Ruinas de Huanchaca are the skeletal remains of what was once the largest industrial complex in South America. Today the andesite stone walls house a world-class desert museum — and the view from the top over the Pacific is worth the visit alone.
A silver empire in ruins
The Huanchaca ruins are the vestiges of a silver smelter that operated between 1892 and 1902, processing ore shipped by train from Bolivian mines at Pulacayo and Oruro, some 750 kilometres away. At its peak it was the biggest industrial plant on the continent, owned by Chilean, British and Bolivian interests.
After only a decade of operation, collapsing silver prices and a catastrophic flood at the Bolivian mines forced the company to shut down in 1902. The massive andesite stone walls were left to the Atacama wind, and the ruins have been slowly reclaimed by the desert ever since.
The Museo del Desierto de Atacama inside
Embedded within the ruins, the Museo del Desierto de Atacama tells the story of the Atacama through geology, pre-Columbian cultures, the nitrate and silver boom, and the remarkable flora and fauna that survive in the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Exhibits are bilingual and thoughtfully curated.
The clifftop location means that every window and terrace frames a view of the Pacific — an almost absurd contrast with the desert interior the museum describes. Allow at least 90 minutes to do it justice.
Ruinas de Huanchaca & Museo del Desierto de Atacama on video
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